About this title: Isadora Wing, a poet, accompanies her psychiatrist husband Bennett to a conference in Vienna. She suddenly leaves him for a protracted affair with Adrian Goodlove, a British psychologist. When first published in 1973, Erica Jong's highly autobiographical novel became a bestseller noted for its themes of sex, feminism, and consciousness-raising.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
"I found myself torn between a deep sympathy and a recognition of kinship with Isadora Wing's struggles for identity, and an absolute frustration with her "stupidity" and floundering about in her half-assed attempts to figure out what she wanted out of life. No doubt this has a lot to do with my position as a member of Generation X, and the issues I grew up with. Interestingly, I'd say that I have a lot more in common with Isadora than my mother does, although Isadora is presumably closer in age to my mother.
I had a lot of trouble with Isadora's ability to let go of her own transgressions against the men in her life... this probably reflects my own inability to forgive myself. Isadora has quite a remarkable ability to forgive her own faults or at least to expect others to let them pass."
"i wasn't sure if i'd even finish this book. i stole it from my mom's attic when we were cleaning out her house to be sold. i was very sneaky, like a curious pre-teen snooping around and discovering porn. which is what i sort of thought it would be. i feared it would read like a peaches song: sad attempts at shock value via bawdy language and taboo subject matters. so imagine my surprise when it was actually good. as a fan of the coming-of-age novel in my younger years, why wouldn't i want to continue the tradition with a coming-into-adulthood novel? it was far less controversial than i expected, which was fine because instead it was sad and honest, which i much prefer."
"Erica Jong's Fear of Flying is a masterpiece. Her heroine, Isadora Wing, captures the essence of every woman in so many ways. Isadora throws herself into her relationships and over-analyzes them like all women. She has needs and wants and desires and feels guilty and yet and NOT guilty for having them. Jong has captured what is truely like to be a woman with her character, and the duality of our exsistence.
I think this book will speak to women in different ways. (And that, by the way is not to say that men shouldn't read this book also.) Some will identify with her opinions on men, and her ability to fall for the wrong guy. While others will identify with Isadora's comments on marriage and the myth it seems to perpetuate. Others will identify with the sexual nature of Isadora, as she has needs and wants and desires that we all are told we shouldn't have. I specifically thought that what Isadora had to say regarding marriage was keenly interesting and there were so many parts of the book that I wanted to hi-light and go back and read again. The writer in me also found what Isadora had to say as profound and distinctly rang true to some of my own feelings.
This isn't a book that should be read quickly, and I didn't. It's the kind of book that you need to spend some time in, letting the author's words digest in your brain and rattle around in there. She has a lot to say with her young and brash character and you to pay attention while reading it. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it an 8/10- and I'm now planning on getting my grubby little paws on the rest of Jong's works!"
"Read this book a long time ago and remember at as being both humerous and with tounge firmly in cheek a political statement on women's rights. Really enjoyed the read. I am not sure but I think it will stand the test of time well"
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