I am not at all embarrassed to admit that I started reading The Group because I read a Vanity Fair article on the book and its subsequent film adaptation starring Jessica Walter (Lucille Bluth of 'Arrested Development') and Candice Bergen (Murphy Brown of 'Murphy Brown' and one of my spirit animals). The sexual content was considered to be at least titillating and at most revolutionary, and even as a very jaded 21-century woman who had seen every episode of 'Sex and the City' before college, I still manage to find it entertaining, though certainly more funny than romantic.
The titular "group" is a clique of Vassar graduates coming of age in early 1930s Manhattan. They experience love, sex, marriage, babies, jobs, money troubles, and death. A highlight for me has definitely been the incredibly detailed descriptions of their contraceptive efforts, as well as their dabbling in psychoanalysis.
Its cultural impact in 1963 can't be overstated, especially given how little of an impact it seems to have today, when most young women have never heard of The Group or Mary McCarthy, which is a shame. I think it probably suffered from being so sex-centric, and was thus seen as being kind of trashy, along the lines of other popular novels like Valley of the Dolls. There is a reference to The Group in an episode of 'Mad Men,' which is not surprising as it remained on the bestseller list for two years and would have been viewed as significant book for someone like Betty Draper, who would easily fit right in with The Group ladies. I've really been enjoying it so far, and I can't wait to finish it off so I can dive into the movie, which I have a feeling is going to be right up my alley.