Ugly Bugly

by Lars Ramslie

Earl og Betty er siamesiske tvillinger. De har forsøkt å livnære seg som sirkusartister og freaks, men blir alltid utstøtt av de andre fordi de blir for merkelige. Earl vil opp og frem i verden, men sliter med å være ydmyk nok og med søsteren som er nokså religiøs. Mellom seg har de en tredje hånd ingen av dem klarer å kontrollere.

Genres: Novels

401 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Lars Ramslie (born 1974) is a Norwegian novelist. He made his literary début in 1997 with the novel Biopsi, for which he was awarded the Tarjei Vesaas' debutantpris. His novel Fatso from 2003 was basis for a film from 2008.

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Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so unlike anything I'd normally read, I can't really remember how I happened upon it, but it was absolutely gripping. It's the tale of conjoined twins at the turn of the century and all the prejudices and life-style choices which are presented to them. Entirely fictional, a male and female conjoined twin is a physical impossibilty, apparently, nonetheless their plight is utterly believable. It's a seedy life they've been forced into (attractions at a brothel - although not prostitutes) but the warmth of some people around them and the undoubted improvement on the life they had before or alternatives available(circus) make it somewhat appealing.
The tale is told through the male's eyes (Earl) and all the difficulties of being permanently joined at the chest and shoulder to his sister, are in turn fascinating at others, amusing. Imagine having the chance to build a wrestling career but your disinterested sister will have to come into the ring with you? And then there's Betty, how can she fall in love with her brother always hanging around? And yet she does.
A note: this is a translation from Norwegian by Deborah Dawkin and I admit to normally shying away from translations as, a bit like snoring, I find myself waiting for the next language blip. However, I was absolutely blown away by this and never would have believed it wasn't the mother-tongue version.