Nicole Abadie

Here,

Adele cheats on her husband.

She's an uncaring mother.

First scene we see of her with her toddler, she's berating her little boy.

She uses her best friend when she needs her and then she betrays her.

And in her work as a journalist, she makes up quotes and plagiarises.

So there's a lot not to like about Adele.

query then whether that impacts upon the enjoyment of the book as a whole or its literary merit.

As some commentators have pointed out, she seems to have it all.

She has a husband who's a gastroenterologist.

He sounds a bit dull.

He does sound dull, but he's very kind to her.

They live in a lovely apartment.

She's got a toddler.

She's got a good job.

They take good holidays.

So she seems at one level to have it all, but she's very dissatisfied.

And I heard a really interesting interview with Leila Slimani where she was talking about this book.

And she said that she wanted to explore what she calls the disappointment about sex and

And she makes the point in this book, Adele is always left wanting more.