Are glinda and elphaba gay in the book

The book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire inspired the stage musical, but it contains far more explicit and disturbing scenes. One thing the book does allude to, though, is a lesbian subplot between Glinda and Elphaba.

While the musical avoids making any explicit references to Elphaba and Glinda being queer, the pair kiss in the original Gregory Maguire book and people have argued that lesbian subtext.