When you see novelist Jenefer Shute at a reading, poised by the podium, you're surprised that this petite, well-dressed brunette, an image of control, is the author of novels about women's obsession--moments when women act on passion. Her first novel, Life-Size, portrayed the inner turmoil of a woman suffering from anorexia, obsessed with eating and her body. While well-reviewed by the likes of Naomi Wolf, People and the New York Times Book Review, it was not met with the strong reaction of surprise and discomfort that her second novel Sex Crimes has received. On every stop of her recent book tour, people would approach and ask what a nice literary author like herself was doing writing about sex and violence. Perhaps what worried them was that a woman was writing about these themes, and from a woman's perspective. Here, along with an excerpt of the book and a reading taped at New York City's Limbo Cafe, is the author's response. Photo of Jenefer Shute credit: Marion Ettlinger Send us comments