I just re-read the novel, and I forced myself to read every page, rather than breezing through the Jules Segal and Lucy bits. I had not really been aware of the heavy and totally irrelevent and lurid sexual content of the novel.

Don't misunderstand me, I'm not offended by the content, but it just seems so mis-placed in this great novel. Was it just a device to increase sales?

I first read the novel as a 13 year old schoolgirl, and I remember being profoundly shocked by the novel, the first 'adult' book I had read.

How do other women feel about this?