The Girls in “My Library [is] Dukedom Large Enough”

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May 01, 2009 Lynne rated it really liked it

The Girls is the life story of Rose and Ruby Darlen, craniopagus twins who are joined at the head, who live to the age of 30. I’ve only previously read one other book on conjoined twins, Ludmila’s Broken English by DBC Pierre, which I did not care for (surprising because I LOVED his first novel, Vernon God Little) and Lansens’ novel does a much better job of humanizing these twins.

The story opens with the line “I have never looked into my sister’s eyes” (3), and Lansens takes us on an epic (and, The Girls is the life story of Rose and Ruby Darlen, craniopagus twins who are joined at the head, who live to the age of 30. I’ve only previously read one other book on conjoined twins, Ludmila’s Broken English by DBC Pierre, which I did not care for (surprising because I LOVED his first novel, Vernon God Little) and Lansens’ novel does a much better job of humanizing these twins.

The story opens with the line “I have never looked into my sister’s eyes” (3), and Lansens takes us on an epic (and, no, I don't think I use that word loosely) journey that delves deeply into the lives of Rose, the frizzy-haired, bookish twin, and Ruby, the pretty but lazy twin. Lansens creates two distinct characters who have their own jobs, hobbies, crushes, and fantasies, and she gives each twin a discrete voice. While Rose is the primary narrator, there are several chapters written by Ruby; these serve both to fill in gaps in Rose’s story of their lives and also to provide a different perspective on events that Rose has already described. Because this novel is written as a work in progress by the two characters, it truly allows us to be shown the events they have experienced rather than simply told about them. We’re experiencing these details of their lives at the same time they are re-experiencing them by writing about them. It's really a brilliant trick of narrative.

Early on in the book, Rose relays some advice given to her by her Aunt Lovey: “‘Write . . . as if you’ll never be read. That way you’ll be sure to tell the truth.’” Rosie’s comment to that idea is “But I do want to be read. I want to share this true story of my life—with you” (12). Ruby also writes as if she were writing to a dear friend, so the entire story is related in this easy type of conversation style, which makes me, as a reader, feel intimately connected with both of the narrators. That they both tell their stories with such unabashed honesty and pathos lends to this feeling as well.

One characteristic of the novel that I especially love is the phrasing Lansens employs. She writes passages like, “Aunt Lovey looked into her eyes, thinking they seemed too large, like a borrowed boot or an older sister’s sweater” (17-18)” and “I believe the best the dead can hope for is to be conjured from time to time, through a note of haunting music or a passage in a book” (5). That's prose poetry right there!

One interesting aspect about this book is that the voice of Rose seemed to change as the book progressed. In the early parts of the book, when Rose is describing her childhood, the voice actually seems very childlike. Rather than feeling like this book was written by a 30 year old woman looking back upon her life, the book felt as if the voice and writing were maturing (though Rose’s naiveté never went away) as the narrator aged. I’m not sure if this was purposeful, and I’m not sure if I liked it. Ruby’s voice, on the other hand, seems more authentic; I appreciate the way she skips around and goes off on tangents. This technique, undoubtedly, is to show, as Rose and Ruby both agree upon, that Ruby is not the writer of the family.

I love the fact that Lansens doesn’t focus on the specific details that go along with being a conjoined twin. She could have easily fallen into the trap of painstakingly describing Rose’s backaches from constantly having to carry Ruby around or the daily struggles for these girls to accomplish even the simplest tasks like going to the bathroom. Fortunately, these types of challenges are mentioned but not dwelled upon, which allows us to focus on these two characters as unique individuals who experience life’s events much the same way many of us do rather than view them as many people in the novel do: As town “freaks.”

I haven’t read a book in some time that affected me quite so much as this one; Ruby’s farewell, “I’ll miss you, and I’m not just saying that” (340), was just one of several passages that made cry like a little girl. Equal parts hilarity and gut-wrenching sorrow, if this book doesn’t make you feel something, anything, then you have no heart. Or soul.
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Apr 20, 2009 Christi rated it liked it

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Apr 16, 2009 Rebecca rated it liked it

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“My Library [is] Dukedom Large Enough”