11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

March 8 2016
Share 11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

Thanks in large part to “The Parent Trap,” one of my greatest wishes growing up was to discover my own separated-at-birth twin. We’d wear matching outfits and fool everyone into thinking we were the same person so I’d never have to do anything I hated again (conveniently, my imaginary twin would love taking math tests). These days, I’m resigned to my lot as a solo zygote, but the mystique of twins has never worn off. Whether you are a twin or simply dream of being one, these eleven books will have you seeing double.

I Know This Much Is True
by Wally Lamb

Dominick and Thomas are identical in every respect except one: Thomas suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. After Thomas cuts off his own hand in what he believes to be an act of sacrificial protest, Dominick must review his own status as the “normal” twin and confront the dark and suppressed truths of his own life in this tale of alienation, connection, and, above all, the power of familial bonds.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
I Know This Much Is True
Wally Lamb

Dominick and Thomas are identical in every respect except one: Thomas suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. After Thomas cuts off his own hand in what he believes to be an act of sacrificial protest, Dominick must review his own status as the “normal” twin and confront the dark and suppressed truths of his own life in this tale of alienation, connection, and, above all, the power of familial bonds.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

6 Heartfelt Book Reviews by Authors You Know and Love

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 27, 2022

6 Novels That Perfectly Capture New England

By Lisa Duffy | June 11, 2019

14 Extra-Long Reads to Cure Your Winter Blues

By Sarah Jane Abbott | February 1, 2019

The One Book I’ll Be Rereading for the Rest of My Life

By Liz Nugent | June 15, 2018

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

Close
The Girls
by Lori Lansens

Nearing the age of thirty, bookish Rose and beautiful Ruby are on the verge of becoming the oldest conjoined twins in history, but they are remarkable for a lot more than their unusual connection. Born joined at the head and known by everyone in their small town as “The Girls,” their sisterly bond is a powerful reminder of the fundamental joy of simply living a life.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
The Girls
Lori Lansens

Nearing the age of thirty, bookish Rose and beautiful Ruby are on the verge of becoming the oldest conjoined twins in history, but they are remarkable for a lot more than their unusual connection. Born joined at the head and known by everyone in their small town as “The Girls,” their sisterly bond is a powerful reminder of the fundamental joy of simply living a life.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

Close
The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy

In 1969 India, a set of fraternal twins live a lonely yet intimate childhood as their dysfunctional family slowly crumbles around them. In lush and vivid prose, Arundhati Roy crafts a world where love is governed by law, history demands sacrifices, and even small things can be extraordinary.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy’s debut novel has become a modern classic. Equal parts family saga, forbidden love story, and political drama, it chronicles in exquisite, atmospheric detail an affluent Indian family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

Staff Picks: 10 Classic Novels We Truly Enjoyed Reading for School

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 14, 2021

Author Picks: My 6 Favorite Opening Lines of Literature

By Rémy Ngamije | July 29, 2021

Steeped to Perfection: 11 Divine Book and Tea Pairings

By Sarah Jane Abbott | January 7, 2019

The 5 Best Books I Read Last Month

By Taylor Noel | July 7, 2017

12 Debut Novels You Won’t Want to Miss

By Taylor Noel | March 21, 2017

13 Book Recommendations from the Gilmore Girls Themselves

By Erin Madison | November 22, 2016

Close
The Distant Hours
by Kate Morton

A long-lost letter compels Edie Burchill to visit the great but decaying old house of the elderly Blythe spinsters—a set of twins and their disturbed younger sister. Edie is soon drawn into the mysteries of the house and the hidden truth of the sisters’ past in this richly atmospheric tapestry of madness, forbidden love, and family secrets.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
The Distant Hours
Kate Morton

A long-lost letter compels Edie Burchill to visit the great but decaying old house of the elderly Blythe spinsters—a set of twins and their disturbed younger sister. Edie is soon drawn into the mysteries of the house and the hidden truth of the sisters’ past in this richly atmospheric tapestry of madness, forbidden love, and family secrets.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

The 12 Most Popular Books of November

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 30, 2022

November eBook Deals: 10 Absorbing Books to Be Thankful For

By Off the Shelf Staff | November 3, 2022

The 12 Most Popular Books of October

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 29, 2021

10 Historical Novels Perfect for Crisp Autumn Nights

By Chris Gaudio | October 11, 2021

9 Creepy (But Not Too Creepy) Books for Scaredy-Cats

By Alice Martin | October 17, 2019

10 Extra-Long Books for Long Days at the Beach

By Alice Martin | July 24, 2019

Close
Night Road
by Kristin Hannah

When Mia’s best friend falls in love with Mia’s fraternal twin, Zach, the three form an inseparable trio—until one decision shatters their world in the blink of an eye. Luminous and emotionally nuanced, this unforgettable story raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, and loss.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Night Road
Kristin Hannah

When Mia’s best friend falls in love with Mia’s fraternal twin, Zach, the three form an inseparable trio—until one decision shatters their world in the blink of an eye. Luminous and emotionally nuanced, this unforgettable story raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, and loss.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

Close
Sisterland
by Curtis Sittenfeld

Identical twins Kate and Violet were born with uncanny psychic abilities, but where Violet embraced and even made a livelihood from her visions, Kate did her best to hide them and live a normal life. But when a minor earthquake hits their hometown, Kate is forced to face the part of herself she’s always tried to deny.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Sisterland
Curtis Sittenfeld

Identical twins Kate and Violet were born with uncanny psychic abilities, but where Violet embraced and even made a livelihood from her visions, Kate did her best to hide them and live a normal life. But when a minor earthquake hits their hometown, Kate is forced to face the part of herself she’s always tried to deny.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

5 Novels to Celebrate the “Charmed” Reboot

By Will Rhino | October 12, 2018

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

Close
Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell

Cath and Wren are identical twins who, until recently, did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren doesn’t want to be one half of a pair anymore—she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties, and let loose. In this touching exploration of codependence and sisterhood, Cath and Wren must open their hearts to new people and new experiences, and discover their own identity without each other’s constant presence.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell

Cath and Wren are identical twins who, until recently, did absolutely everything together. Now they’re off to university and Wren doesn’t want to be one half of a pair anymore—she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties, and let loose. In this touching exploration of codependence and sisterhood, Cath and Wren must open their hearts to new people and new experiences, and discover their own identity without each other’s constant presence.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

8 FANtastic Books for the Literati Geek in You

By Kerry Fiallo | October 15, 2019

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

Close
Cutting for Stone
by Abraham Verghese

Set in Ethiopia and New York, this is the unforgettable story of twin brothers born of a secret union between an Indian nun and a British surgeon. As they come of age, passion and betrayal will tear them apart, but they can never truly escape their intensely intertwined fates.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Cutting for Stone
Abraham Verghese

Born of a secret union between an Indian woman and a British surgeon and bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, twin brothers come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

8 Books We Love Because of Our Dads

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 11, 2018

13 Fantastic Books Sure to Get Your Book Club Talking

By Erica Nelson | June 16, 2016

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

14 Must-Read Books Set Under the African Sun

By Emma Volk | January 12, 2016

13 Reasons to Join Our Mothers’ Book Club

By Off the Shelf Staff | September 22, 2015

Close
The Prince of Tides
by Pat Conroy

Born into a tragic yet extraordinary legacy, Tom and his gifted and troubled twin sister, Savannah, struggle to fashion their own lives amidst heartbreak and cruelty. Spanning forty years and filled with the vanishing beauty of South Carolina low country and the dusty glitter of New York City, Pat Conroy’s huge, brash thunderstorm of a novel is astonishing, cathartic, and profoundly human.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
The Prince of Tides
Pat Conroy

The sweeping forty year story of the Wingo children of South Carolina: Tom, Savannah and Luke who, along with their mother - who is definitely no rose herself - suffer through years of abuse at the hands of their nasty drinking father and finally are able to throw off and grow through the pain of their childhood. One for the ages.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

Love “This Is Us?” Here Are the 11 Books You Need to Read

By Julianna Haubner | January 3, 2018

In Memoriam: 12 Authors We Lost Too Soon in 2016

By Sarah Jane Abbott | December 26, 2016

14 Novels That Portray Diverse and Resilient American Families

By Erica Nelson | November 24, 2016

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

Some Literary Fathers You Will Be Happy Aren’t Yours

By Off the Shelf Staff | June 12, 2014

Close
Her Fearful Symmetry
by Audrey Niffenegger

Intensely attached twins Julia and Valentina move to London when their aunt dies and leaves them her apartment on the edge of Highgate Cemetery. As they become involved in the lives of the eccentric neighbors, the twins discover that much is still alive in Highgate—including, perhaps, their aunt.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo
Her Fearful Symmetry
Audrey Niffenegger

Intensely attached twins Julia and Valentina move to London when their aunt dies and leaves them her apartment on the edge of Highgate Cemetery. As they become involved in the lives of the eccentric neighbors, the twins discover that much is still alive in Highgate—including, perhaps, their aunt.

Amazon logo Audible logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo Bookshop logo

MENTIONED IN:

The 10 Most Popular Books Trending This May

By Off the Shelf Staff | May 31, 2021

May 2021 eBook Deals: 11 Thrilling Reads to Add to Your Digital Library

By Off the Shelf Staff | May 4, 2021

5 Books to Binge After Finishing the “Chilling Adventures of Sabrina”

By Jess Quinn | December 14, 2018

Our 13 Favorite Ghost Stories—Just in Time for Halloween!

By Off the Shelf Staff | October 26, 2017

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

Close
Chang and Eng
by Darin Strauss

Woven from the fabric of fact, myth, and imagination, this poignant and humanizing novel is based on the real-life story of nineteenth-century conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker, international celebrities who lived for more than six decades never more than seven inches apart, attached at the chest by a small band of skin and cartilage.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo
Chang and Eng
Darin Strauss

Woven from the fabric of fact, myth, and imagination, this poignant and humanizing novel is based on the real-life story of nineteenth-century conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker, international celebrities who lived for more than six decades never more than seven inches apart, attached at the chest by a small band of skin and cartilage.

Amazon logo Barnes & Noble logo Books a Million logo Google Play logo iBooks logo

MENTIONED IN:

11 Novels that Will Have You Seeing Double

By Emma Volk | March 8, 2016

Close

You must be logged in to add books to your shelf.

Please log in or sign up now.