February 9th, 2011
A new year, and lots of lists and new reviews praising Bad Marie, including one TV appearance and love for Marcy’s first novel, Twins:
“Maybe my favorite book published new this year.” — bookreviewsbycurtbusch
Jewcy Top 10 Fiction Books Of 2010 — Jewcy
“One of the best five books of the year — impossible to put down once you start.” — The Staff Recommends
“Best Single-Sitting Guilty Pleasure Read.” — The Book Lady’s Blog
One of the “Top Five Overlooked Fiction Titles of 2010″ — NY1
One of the “Best 9 Books of 2010″ — Minnesota Reads
“Read this in two breathless sittings. Dermansky channels the cool brilliance of Patricia Highsmith.” — This Machine Kills Purists
“A delightful roller coaster of an adventure novel for literature lovers.” — nomadreader
“There is a reason people are RAVING about this book.” — Book Magic
“What an utterly compelling, sexy, darkly humorous and totally dysfunctional little novel this is!” — Des Greene, Novel Suggestions
“Marie’s simple spontaneity is a poor way to live, but a fine way to carry a novel.” — Hungry Like a Woolf
And, on Twins: “when the book finally drew to a close I turned into a blubbering mess.” — Jodi Chromey
November 27th, 2006
Talk. Talk. Talk. Marcy reveals her true opinions about the Olsen Twins and George Clooney at Conversations With Famous Writers. She talks about living the writer’s life in an outer boroughs in The Queens Chronicle and shares secrets about crafting teen trauma at Bildungsroman.
November 14th, 2006
Twins was selected for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award longlist. Nominations for books of “high literary merit” are made by libraries in capital and major cities around the world; 138 novels were nominated. The shortlist will be announced in April.
November 2nd, 2006
Susan Henderson and Marcy trade secrets from high school–and share old pictures–in their discussion of Twins on the literary website litpark.
October 29th, 2006
Marcy recently read a scene from Twins at the In The Flesh reading series. The juicy finale was caught on camera:
[youtube]qoElZTSJVfU[/youtube]
March 14th, 2006
The New York Public Library has selected TWINS for inclusion in Books for the Teen Age 2006.
January 5th, 2006
Marcy Dermanskys first novel, Twins, is a masterpiece for young or old adults. She gives us a sect of unidentical identical teenage twins, Chloe and Sue, so identical they cant bear each other. One wants to live only for her twinship, the other wants to be part of the world at large. At least at first. Dermanskys carefully drawn story, sad and funny by turns, keeps you guessing, and she brings off an optimistic but absolutely uncorny ending which is tremendously satisfying.–Paul
December 20th, 2005
I am not an identical twin. Before writing TWINS, I had started another novel about a young woman in San Francisco and then I realized that the last thing I wanted to do was write a book about myself. Instead, I set out to amuse myself. I started with a new, outlandish voice (Sue) and then countered her voice with a quiet, controlled opposite (Chloe). Read more.
December 11th, 2005
 Writers love identical twins. What tidier way to show different sides of one character, explore possible life paths or test the limits of nature and nuture? Dermansky does all that, but her twins (who take turns at narrating) transcend the gimmick in a brainy, emotionally sophisticated bildungsroman-for-two. Chloe, the elder by four minutes, longs for a life of her own, independent of her clingy sister, Sue, who envies her (Chloe is an eighth of an inch taller) and thinks shes smarter and prettier. Sue adores Chloe, whose every gesture toward independence sends her into paroxysms of jealousy. On their 13th birthday, she wheedles and bullies Chloe into getting tattoos with each twin bearing the other twins name. Sue thought tattoos would prove to the world that the bond we shared went deeper than DNA, Chloe explains. The funy thing was, the tattoos made us different. When we died, it would be easy for a forensic scientist to tell us apart. After we got tattoos, we were never really and truly the same. Both twins are obsessive, vulnerable, ambitious and hungry for love, but these qualities take on different forms. Chloe keeps her room in perfect order, setting herself apart from her untidy sister, while Sue vomits up her meals in an effort to stay the same weight as Chloe, who intently counts her calories. Yet as they mature and their circumstances change, they find themselves swapping roles. Most teenage protagonists have to learn what it means to be themselves, but Sue and Chloe have an extra task: learning what it means to be or not to be each other.
–Polly Shulman
November 16th, 2005
“A poignant, compelling story, Dermansky’s debut successfully reconnects us with adolescent angst and leaves us wondering which is the evil twin.” Read the review.
October 20th, 2005
I couldn’t stop seeing TWINS: The Movie in my head while I was writing the actual novel. Chloe and Sue were real to me, the scenes coming in as if I was part of the audience, watching. I could see my identical twins at the tattoo parlor: skinny and pale, cold and nervous in their pink bras. I could see angry Sue on her unicycle, riding defiantly through the snowed filled suburban streets. Or Chloe, in her shiny uniform on the basketball court, shooting free throw after free throw.
Here are some songs by indie artists that would be on the TWINS soundtrack
October 5th, 2005
By DARLENE JOLLY
Two very different sisters cope with pain in family”Twins” is a raw, extraordinary look at the lives of Chloe and Sue.
Born into wealth, they have never wanted for anything but love and acceptance from their parents and their brother. Their story becomes a dark, heart-breaking tale about adolescents trying to survive.
Chloe and Sue have long blond hair and blue eyes, but differ greatly. Chloe is the bookworm; Sue is the trouble-maker.
On their 13th birthday, Sue bullies Chloe into getting a tattoo. Sue has always tried to get her way; never happy, she’s determined Chloe won’t be either. Sue sometimes stalks Chloe when Chloe tries to do things on her own.
Lisa Markham, an up-and-coming model and the daughter of a former pro basketball player, becomes Chloe’s best friend at school. Sue thinks Lisa is trying to come between the twins. She breaks Lisa’s nose when she finds Lisa and Chloe shopping at a mall.
Chloe becomes more determined to succeed on her own. She excels at school and, with the help of Lisa’s father, becomes an exceptional athlete. While Chloe thrives, Sue succumbs to eating disorders and pills.
When their parents separate, the twins cope. But when their brother leaves for college and their parents reunite, the twins’ lives begin to unravel. Sue runs away and lives with one of her brother’s college friends. Chloe, living alone, takes in the first boy who shows her affection.
Each twin tells her story of her journey to self-discovery.
Darlene Jolly is a lifelong resident of the Monrovia community
|
"Irresistible." — Time Magazine
"Badass." — Esquire, Best New Books of 2010
"Sinful in all the right ways, delicate, seditious, and deliciously evil.” — Frederick Barthelme
 
 
|
