Best Selling Books by Lori Lansens

Lori Lansens became one of Canada’s most sought after writers more than a year before her internationally heralded first book, Rush Home Road, would see publication in April 2002. So immediately and passionately was her novel embraced that it was already front-page arts news back in April 2001. Knopf Canada was the first publisher to buy this extraordinary debut novel, but just before the 2001 London Book Fair, Little, Brown US bought the rest of the world rights for a major six-figure sum (for Rush Home Road and the author''s yet-to-be-written second novel), and rights have now been sold in numerous countries. The Globe and Mail reported the record-breaking news with full, front-page coverage, and Little, Brown International Rights Director Linda Biagi found herself talking of nothing else in London; she sold Rush Home Road to a further 9 territories with the manuscript still unedited. Biagi likened the book to some of the most important literary achievements of our time, saying, “It’s as if John Irving had written The Color Purple.” Louise Dennys, the Executive Publisher of Knopf Canada, describes it as “a novel of startling beauty and great heart that will immediately find a place within that small, special tribe of books beloved by readers the world over.” The untold story of the descendants of the Underground Railroad Heartbreaking and wise, Rush Home Road tells the life story of Adelaide Shadd, who finds redemption in old age, and Sharla, a five-year-old mixed race girl abandoned to Addy’s care by her white mother. Born in the first decade of the 20th century in Rusholme (inspired by the real town of Buxton), in southwestern Ontario, an all-black community settled by fugitive slaves, Addy Shadd is raped as a teenager and forced to flee the family home. She makes her way on foot to Detroit, where she becomes the housekeeper for an elderly man and his grown son, both of whom develop a crush on her. When misfortune strikes again, she sets off to make a new life for herself in Canada. Thrown off the train at Keating, not far from her birthplace, she meets and eventually marries the train porter, the wonderful Mose, with whom she has a daughter. But when tragedy strikes, Addy is left alone. Now an old woman, she lives a quiet existence in a trailer park near Chatham. Her whole world changes when a young mother asks her to babysit her daughter, as it soon becomes clear that the mother is never coming back. Addy is glad of the company, but not sure if she’s up to the job of mothering this sweet, awkward five-year-old. Nor is she sure how much longer she’ll be around to do so. How she manages is part of the story of this brilliantly captivating novel. Written with verve, grace and unflinching emotional acuity, Rush Home Road is an epic story that explodes our notions of identity, justice, and heroism, penetrating one of our darkest periods with profound insight and humanity. Addy Shadd is a protagonist like no other -- full of quiet, steely bravery and tenderness of heart. This spellbinding novel will leave no reader untouched.

“We’ve been called many things: freaks, horrors, monsters, devils, witches, retards, wonders, marvels. To most, we’re a curiosity. In small-town Leaford, where we live and work, we’re just ‘The Girls.’” Rose and Ruby Darlen are closer than most twin sisters. Indeed, they have spent their twenty-nine years on earth joined at the head. Given that they share a web of essential veins, there is no possibility that they can be separated in their lifetime. Born in a small town in the midst of a tornado, the sisters are abandoned by their frightened teenaged mother and create a circus-like stir in the medical community. The attending nurse, however, sees their true beauty and decides to adopt them. Aunt Lovey is a warm-hearted, no-nonsense woman married to a gentle immigrant butcher, Uncle Stash. The middle-aged couple moves to a farm where the girls – “not hidden but unseen” – can live as normal a life as possible. For identical twins, Rose and Ruby are remarkably different both on the inside and out. Ruby has a beautiful face whereas Rose’s features are, in her own words, “misshapen and frankly grotesque.” And whereas Rose’s body is fully formed, Ruby’s bottom half is dwarfish – with her tiny thighs resting on Rose’s hip, she must be carried around like a small child or doll. The differences in their tastes are no less distinct. A poet and avid reader, Rose is also huge sports fan. Ruby, on the other hand, would sooner watch television than crack open a book – that is, anything but sports. They are rarely ready for bed at the same time and whereas Rose loves spicy food, Ruby has a “disturbing fondness for eggs.” On the eve of their thirtieth birthday, Rose sets out to write her autobiography. But because their lives have been so closely shared, Ruby insists on contributing the occasional chapter. And so, as Rose types away on her laptop, the technophobic Ruby scribbles longhand on a yellow legal pad. They’ve established one rule for their co-writing venture: neither is allowed to see what the other has written. Together, they tell the story of their lives as the world’s oldest surviving craniopagus twins – the literary Rose and straight-talking Ruby often seeing the same event in wildly different ways. Despite their extreme medical condition, the sisters express emotional truths that every reader will identify with: on losing a loved one, the hard lessons of compromise, the first stirrings of sexual desire, the pain of abandonment, and the transcendent power of love. Rose and Ruby Darlen of Baldoon County, Ontario, are two of the most extraordinary and unforgettable characters to spring into our literature. As Kirkus Reviews puts it, “The novel''s power lies in the wonderful narrative voices of Rose and Ruby. Lansens has created a richly nuanced, totally believable sibling relationship... An unsentimental, heartwarming page-turner.” The National Post writes: “Lansens’s beautiful writing is so detailed that it is often easy to forget that the material is not based on a true story. She captures what it would be like never to sleep, bathe, go for a walk, or meet friends on your own.”

A teenage girl is running for her life in “a near-future that is stark, visceral and terrifyingly real” in this national bestselling dystopian thriller (Ami McKay, author of The Birth House). Taking place over the course of forty-eight pulse-pounding hours, This Little Light draws readers into a near-future world of born-again Christians and celebrity worship where abortion is illegal and surveillance is everywhere. Sixteen-year-old Rory Miller and her best friend, Fee, are on the run after a bomb explodes at their elite Christian private school inside their triple-gated California community. As Rory and Fee struggle to evade a media-frenzied search led by zealots and bounty hunters, Rory blogs their story in real time, determined to leave behind a record in their own words in case they don’t make it out alive. Author Lori Lansens weaves an intense, urgent, and enthralling read about an all-too-believable near future—and the world we already live in.

On the morning of Wolf Truly''s eighteenth birthday, he boards the first cable car to head up the mountains just a few miles from his sun-bleached trailer home in the desert community outside of Palm Springs. Armed with nothing but the clothes on his back, Wolf''s intention that morning was to give up on life specifically at the mountain site of his best friend''s tragic accident one year ago. But on that shaky ride up the mountain, fate intervenes and Wolf meets three women that will leave an indelible imprint on the rest of his life. Through a series of missteps, the four wind up lost and stranded among the forested cliffs in sight of the desert city below, but unable to find a way down. As the days pass without rescue, we come to learn how each of them came to be on the mountain that morning. And as their situation shifts from misadventure to nightmare, the lost hikers forge an inextricable bond, pushing themselves, and each other, beyond their limits.

It’s the eve of her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and Mary Gooch is waiting for her husband, Jimmy, to come home. But Mary isn’t just waiting for Jimmy. She is waiting for a mother who accepts her, children she is unable to have, a life beyond the well-worn path from her bedroom to the refrigerator. Mary is waiting for her life to start. As she waits for Jimmy, the night passes into day and it becomes clear that he isn’t coming home. A letter left in the mailbox confirms her worst fears and Mary is left alone to make a difficult decision. Should she break free from her inertia and salvage her marriage? Or is the pull of the familiarity of her home, the predictability of her daily routines, too strong to resist? For the first time in her life, Mary decides to leave and boards a plane to California. She flies across the country in a desperate attempt to find her husband. The clothes, the marriage, the home that had given her a place to hide for so long are all gone. Mary soon finds that the bright sun and broad vistas of California force her to look up from the pavement, stop waiting and start living. What she finds when she does is an inner strength she’s never felt before. Through it all, Mary not only finds kindred spirits, but reunites with a more intimate stranger no longer sequestered by fear and habit: herself.

Uma história emocionante de aventura, sacrifício e sobrevivência na natureza implacável de uma montanha lendária. Assim que completa 18 anos, Wolf Truly pega o teleférico para o topo da montanha que se ergue sobre a cidade em que vive. Ele planeja tirar a própria vida. Em vez disso, acaba se deparando com três mulheres vagando pela floresta, estranhas que mudarão o rumo da sua vida. Quando uma série de infortúnios deixa esse grupo preso em meio à natureza selvagem, eles logo percebem que podem contar apenas um com o outro para se defender da brutalidade da floresta. Conforme os dias passam e sua desventura se transforma em pesadelo, essas quatro almas perdidas formam um laço inquebrável. A montanha é uma história sobre redenção e dificuldade; sobre a realidade brutal da natureza; sobre o amadurecimento em qualquer idade; e sobre as formas singulares como mantemos uns aos outros vivos.

5 kilos pris à la mort de son père, 10 à la suite de sa fausse-couche... En raison de son obésité, Marie se complaît jour après jour dans une solitude mortifère. Consumée par un quotidien qui se résume à des allers-retours entre son lit et le frigidaire, Marie, ne vit que pour et par Jimmy, son mari. Or, un soir, à la veille de ses noces d''argent, celui-ci ne regagne pas leur maison en Ontario. Résolue à retrouver Jimmy, Marie délaisse sa vie sans remous et s''envole pour Los Angeles. Au fil de rencontres insolites, avec un immigrant mexicain, puis des triplés dont elle prendra soin comme s''ils étaient ses propres enfants, Marie apprend à s''ouvrir aux autres et à se libérer de ses peurs. Son périple sous le soleil de Californie devient contre toute attente un voyage initiatique où la personne recherchée n''est peut-être qu''elle-même... L''auteur des Filles, reconnue pour l''humanité de ses portraits d''êtres insolites, merveilleusement attachants, montre avec humour et délicatesse que les miracles existent et qu''ils ne sont pas toujours là où on les imagine.

Meet Rose and Ruby: sisters, best friends, confidantes, and conjoined twins. Since their birth, Rose and Ruby Darlen have been known simply as "the girls." They make friends, fall in love, have jobs, love their parents, and follow their dreams. But the Darlens are special. Now nearing their 30th birthday, they are history''s oldest craniopagus twins, joined at the head by a spot the size of a bread plate. When Rose, the bookish sister, sets out to write her autobiography, it inevitably becomes the story of her short but extraordinary life with Ruby.

Da sempre attratta da figure emarginate e fuori dal comune, Lori Lansens ci regala un romanzo intimo e appassionante dalla splendida scrittura, e una protagonista che, con le sue fragilità e le sue paure, sarà difficile non amare.

Een ontroerende roman over een vrouw op het keerpunt van haar leven, een moedige vrouw die op eigen kracht de wereld ontdekt. Mary is te dik en dat weet ze. Ze leidt een geïsoleerd bestaan in Leaford, haar man is de enige persoon die haar leven nog enige kleur geeft. Maar aan de vooravond van hun vijfentwintigjarige huwelijksfeest komt hij niet meer thuis en lijkt hij van de aardbodem verdwenen. Er rest Mary niets anders dan haar huis te verlaten. Met een scherp oog voor menselijke verhoudingen en haar verfijnde pen beschrijft Lori Lansens de zoektocht van Mary Gooch naar haar man; een zoektocht waarbij ze vooral zichzelf vindt.

Acolhido com entusiasmo pela crítica internacional, o romance ''The Girls'' conquistou o ''Richard and Judy Award'' como um dos três melhores títulos publicados na Inglaterra em 2006, além de ter ocupado por várias semanas a lista dos mais vendidos no Reino Unido. De lá para cá, o livro tem conquistado fãs incondicionais. Entre eles, admiradores de prestígio como a escritora chilena Isabel Allende, que classificou a obra como uma ''história extraordinária'', por sua mescla de tragédia e comédia temperada com ingredientes como amor, vínculo espiritual, lealdade e humanismo. A escritora e roteirista canadense Lori Lansen - que estreou na literatura em 2002 com o aclamado Rush Home Road, sem tradução no Brasil - conta que a inspiração para o romance surgiu num estalo. Certa noite, ela e seu filho estavam sentados à mesa, lado a lado. O garotinho aproximou-se, colou a face no rosto da mãe e disse - ''Às vezes, eu queria que a gente ficasse grudado desse jeito''. Foi a luz que deu origem à trama de ''Meninas Inseparáveis''. No livro, a autora lança um olhar cheio de ternura sobre duas gêmeas muito especiais - Rose e Ruby, irmãs siamesas craniópagas (unidas pela cabeça), que - aos 29 anos e prestes a quebrar o recorde mundial de longevidade nessa condição peculiar - decidem escrever suas memórias. Narrado ora por Rose, ora por Ruby, o livro mostra como as mesmas experiências de vida podem produzir interpretações absolutamente distintas, conforme a perspectiva do observador. Com delicadeza e poesia, Lori Lansen passa ao largo do clichê maniqueísta dos gêmeos de comportamentos opostos. Suas protagonistas se revelam personagens ricos, contraditórios, repletos de nuances e - como todos nós - muitas vezes são o contrário daquilo que gostariam de aparentar. Ao longo da trama, a candidata a escritora Rose se revela bem menos consciente e madura do que sua auto-imagem sugere, ao mesmo tempo em que a supostamente frívola Ruby se assume como mulher assertiva, com aguda visão da realidade. À medida que a história avança, a autora desmonta preconceitos e humaniza o ''diferente'', levando o leitor à identificação com o universo das gêmeas e seus sentimentos íntimos - os quais, logo descobrimos, são muito próximos de nossos próprios pensamentos e emoções. À beira de completar o 30o aniversário, Rose e Ruby fazem seu acerto de contas com toda uma existência privada de palavras como solidão ou autonomia. Como saldo, contudo, não restam frustração ou mágoa - mas apenas o desejo de continuar reafirmando suas individualidades, sem renunciar ao cuidado de uma com a outra. Um cuidado tamanho que pode ser mais bem definido como amor incondicional.

Die 5-jährige Sharla, ein äMischlingsbalgä, wird von ihrer Mutter abgeschoben, weil diese mit ihrem neuen Freund ungestört sein will. Die alte Farbige Addy, die in einer Wohnwagensiedlung am Eriesee lebt, nimmt die Kleine für ein paar Dollar Entgelt bei sich auf. Auch Addy wurde einst von ihrer Familie verstossen, weil sie als 15-Jährige nach einer Vergewaltigung schwanger wurde und man ihr zudem die Schuld am Tod ihres Bruders gab. Während sie sich liebevoll und soweit es ihre angeschlagene Gesundheit zulässt um das aufgeweckte kleine Mädchen kümmert, erinnert sie sich an ihr eigenes wechselvolles Leben, dabei schieben sich in ihrem leicht verwirrten Zustand Vergangenheit und Gegenwart mehr und mehr übereinander.

Je n''ai jamais regardé ma soeur dans les yeux. Je n''ai jamais pris mon bain toute seule. Je n''ai jamais tendu les bras vers une lune ensorceleuse, la nuit, les pieds dans l''herbe. On ne m''a jamais embrassée comme ça. Et pourtant j''ai été aimée, ô combien aimée... " Tels sont les premiers mots du journal intime que Rose entreprend à vingt-neuf ans, sachant ses jours et ceux de Ruby comptés. Qu''elles aient atteint cet âge relève déjà du miracle. Dans le comté de Baldoon, au Canada, Rose, et Ruby mènent une vie hors du commun - elles sont siamoises - et tout ce qu''il y a de plus ordinaire, entourées de leurs parents adoptifs et de leurs nombreux amis. Ni monstres, ni merveilles, ni phénomènes de foire, elles sont les filles, tout simplement. Au fil de réflexions graves et drôles, se dessinent deux destins unis par la fatalité, mais surtout par un amour inconditionnel, plus grand que soi. Lori Lansens nous révèle, à travers l''histoire singulière de Rose et de Ruby, une part d''humanité où chacun se reconnaîtra.

"En 2024, au coeur d’une Californie où la droite religieuse s’impose en autorité, Rory Miller et sa meilleure amie, Feliza Lopez, sont accusées d’avoir fait exploser une bombe dans leur école privée le soir du Bal de la pureté américaine. Leurs têtes sont mises à prix, elles sont recherchées de toutes parts. Terrorisées, les deux adolescentes trouvent refuge à l’intérieur d’une remise dans les montagnes dominant Malibu, à l’abri des drones qui les traquent. Rory reste à l’affût de ce qui s’écrit sur Internet, convaincue qu’elles sont victimes d’un complot fomenté par les Croisés, des croyants antiavortement qui prônent la virginité jusqu’au mariage. Sur son blogue intitulé Cette petite lueur, elle conteste ce nouvel ordre et relate les quarante-huit heures les plus éprouvantes de sa jeune vie.Un roman haletant doublé d’une mise en garde contre les dérives possibles de nos sociétés, qui aborde aussi la fragilité des droits que nous croyons acquis. Lori Lansens, à qui l’on doit Les Filles et Les égarés, a donné naissance encore une fois à des femmes inoubliables."--Page 4 de la couverture

Wanneer een bejaarde zwarte vrouw plotseling voor een klein meisje moet zorgen, herinnert ze zich haar eigen moeizame leven nadat ze als 14-jarige was verkracht.

Neste livro a autora procura apresentar a questão da obesidade e do amor próprio, buscando mostrar que o sucesso está na mão de cada um e que rótulos foram feitos para serem quebrados. A personagem do livro, Mary, trabalha numa farmácia, tem 43 anos, 1,67 de altura, pesa 150 quilos e está se preparando para a comemoração de bodas de prata com o alto e bonito Jimmy Gooch. Contudo, ele desaparece, deixando-lhe um bilhete e uma conta com razoável quantia. Assustada e sem compreender o porquê de tal atitude, Mary sai em busca de seu amado. Ela nunca esteve em um aeroporto, não sabe usar celular e se assusta com qualquer problema financeiro. Dessa forma, Lori Lansens busca tratar de questões como a busca pelo corpo perfeito e a não aceitação das pessoas diante de quem escolhe não seguir um script ''ideal''. Além disso, pretende fazer o debate sobre estar ou não apaixonado.

Denne episke romanen veksler mellom to tidsplan. Vi møter Sharla, en fem år gammel mulattjente som blir forlatt av sin hvite mor. Hun plasseres hos den svarte, eldre kvinnen Addy, som blir som en bestemor for Sharla. Tilbake i tid blir vi kjent med Addys tragiske forhistorie og årsakene til at hun bor i en campingpark. I nåtiden tar en alvorlig syk Addy med seg Sharla tilbake til hjembyen Rusholme. Her avdekkes nye hemmeligheter og spørsmålet er om de to endelig har kommet hjem. Dette er Lori Lansens andre bok oversatt til norsk. I 2010 kom Aldri alene.

Lori Lansensin Pitkä tie kotiin on tarina rakkauden ja muistin voimasta sekä kahdesta ihmisestä, jotka muuttavat toistensa elämän pysyvästi.

On the eve of their Silver Anniversary, Mary Gooch is waiting for her husband Jimmy to come home. As night turns to day, it becomes frighteningly clear to Mary that he is gone. Through the years, disappointment and worry have brought Mary''s life to a standstill, and she has let her universe shrink to the well-worn path from the bedroom to the refrigerator. But her husband''s disappearance startles her out of her inertia, and she begins a desperate search.

43 år gamle Mary har et vakkert ansikt, men en stor kropp på 142 kilo. Kvelden de skal feire 25 års bryllupsdag kommer ikke mannen hjem. Han har fått nok. Mary reiser til svigermor i California for å lete etter ektemannen. Her møter hun bassenggutten Jesus Garcia og en taxisjåfør fra Israel. Etter hvert går det opp for henne hvordan hun skal ta livet tilbake.