2007 Bookmark

The Girls by Lori Lansens

I have never looked into my sister’s eyes. I have never bathed alone. I have never stood in the grass at night and raised my arms to a beguiling moon. I’ve never used an airplane bathroom. Or worn a hat. Or been kissed like that. I’ve never driven a car. Or slept through the night. Never a private talk. Or solo walk. I’ve never climbed a tree. Or faded into a crowd. So many things I’ve never done, but oh, how I’ve been loved. And, if such things were to be, I’d live a thousand lives as me, to be loved so exponentially.    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’.  by Lori Lansens

The Girls is written with two voices – each twin, Ruby (the pretty one, artistic and fashion conscious, but intellectually lazy) and Rose( frizzy haired, bookish and rather serious), writing in turn. Lori Lansens manages to create two distinct and colourful personalities, drawing the reader into the experience of living as a conjoined twin. Ruby and Rose each have their own jobs, their own interests and their own fantasies. The twins find their way into the hearts of most people they meet. Although this might appear unlikely, it seems that once people move beyond the extraordinary way the girls look, they are captivated by their courage and individuality. The girls have different friends, relationships and even a love affair. There are moments of profound sadness and moments where the reader might well envy the girls their deep and abiding love for one another. by Elaine Walker

Critical Praise

"The Girls skillfully tackles a tricky subject with both laugh-out-loud humor and grace."

—Redbook

"A complex consideration of identity and individuality, of sameness and difference, of what it means to be normal and what it takes to feel at home in the world."

—Francine Prose, People

"Lansens, who has a gentle, open way of writing, makes of these two girls a kind of perfect marriage, harmonious and everlasting."

—Stacey D'Erasmo, New York Times Book Review

"This is not a book about the grotesque but a book about love, about being bound to someone else and accepting the situation gracefully, even gratefully."

—Malena Watrous, San Francisco Chronicle

Life, Death & Bialys by Dylan Shaffer

"Filled with passages which are laugh out loud funny and switching to passages which are poignant, all without missing a beat, Life, Death & Bialys is a warm human story of how two men found their way back to a mutually supportive relationship."- Bestsellersworld.com

"If somebody told me they wrote a book about learning to bake bread with their curmudgeonly, dying father, I would have said, 'Break out the violins and wake me up when it's over.' But Dylan Schaffer has created something genuinely sharp and entertaining here. What a fantastic surprise." - Beth Lisik, author of Everybody in the Pool

THE PAGE 99 TEST

“Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you." ~Ford Madox Ford

I hate to admit it, but I’d never heard about this page 99 business before. I mean, I’ve read a little Ford Madox Ford, but his advice about turning to page 99 to find the essence of a book stuck me, initially, as a little weird. Then I tried it with my latest book, a memoir about how me and my dying father baked our way to truth and reconciliation, called Life, Death & Bialys: A Father/Son Baking Story. And let me tell you, FMF turns out to have been a freaking genius.

Here’s a bit from page 99:

“We walk outside and stand in front of the store eating. Cream cheese would be nice, but I can see how eating it dry is a purer bialy experience.

We hear someone with an English accent say to her friends, ‘It’s just like a bagel, but without the hole.’

Flip [my father] steps over and corrects her ...

Legal Work - Cases author has handled:

The San Francisco dog mauling case: We represent Marjorie Knoller, who was originally convicted of murder after her dog fatally attacked a woman in her apartment building in San Francisco.

The Gambino Family Prosecution: This was the case in which Sammy "the bull" Gravano switched sides and testified for the government.

The Repressed Memory Murder case: George Franklin, was accused by his daughter of having killed her best friend when she was eight years old. Franklin's daughter claimed to have repressed the memory for twenty years. It was the first and only murder case ever tried on a repressed memory theory.

The Mitchell Brothers Murder: We represented Jim Mitchell in the appeal from his conviction for killing his brother, Artie. The Mitchell Brothers are famous for having produced one of the first feature- length pornographic films.

The Billionaire Boys Club Case: We represented Ben Dosti, who was part of a group of young Beverly Hills men who reportedly kidnapped an Iranian business man for the purpose of extorting money from him.

The Boneyard Killer: We represented an elderly woman who was convicted of killing nine men in her boarding house in Sacramento California and burying them in her back yard.

The Bialy Book Video

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

A Thousand Splendid Suns tells the story two women against the background of the last forty years in Afghanistan. Mariam was born an illegitimate child in 1959 and was married off to a man from Kabul when she was 15. Her husband was abusive and cruel and he forced her to wear a burqa even though many liberal women in Kabul were free to go without it. Laila was born just before the Russian invasion and had dreams of a life of education and travel. A bomb kills most of her family and she recovers from her wounds in Mariam's house. While the woman bond, Mariam's husband has his eyes on Laila. With the emergence of the Taliban, the women have few options, if any. Review of books

Characters

Mariam is a 15 year old girl when the book begins. The story centers around her and the events of her life as they intertwine with Laila.

Nana is Mariam's mother, who used to be a servant in Jalil's house and had an affair with him. He built her a kolba (small hut) to live in and raise Mariam.

Mullah Faizullah is Mariam's elderly Koran teacher and friend.

Jalil is Mariam's father, a man who had three wives before he had an affair with Nana. Marries Mariam to Rasheed, but later regrets sending her away.

Laila is a young, beautiful, educated girl coming from an upper class family when first introduced. Her life becomes tied with Mariam's when she is forced into marrying Rasheed, Mariam's husband.

Rasheed is the villain of the story. Rasheed marries Mariam through an arrangement with her father and later marries Laila by deceiving her.

Tariq is a boy that grew up in Kabul with Laila. They were best friends and eventually lovers.

Aziza is the daughter of Laila and Tariq, conceived when Laila was 14 and causing her to marry Rasheed.

Zalmai is Laila and Rasheed's son.

About the Author

While in medical practice, Khaled Hosseini began writing his first novel,  

The Kite Runner, in March of 2001. In 2003, The Kite Runner, was published and has since become an international bestseller, published in 38 countries. In 2006 he was named a goodwill envoy to UNHCR, the

 United Nations Refugee Agency.  His second novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns was published in May of 2007. He lives in northern California.