Love John Irving; hated this book. If the author had not been JI, I believe this book would never have been published. The first 150+ pages are beyond boring. -- THEN, the 8-year-old begins having sex.There was not a single character that elicited any feeling other than boredom. A child was repeatedly molested and several main characters died, but they were such empty shells that there was no emotional impact.-- A horrible waste of time.