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A review by sonia_reppe
Fear of Flying by Erica Jong
5.0
This was first published in 1973. Sexy, smart, humorous, this story, told in 1st-person, is of 29-year-old college instructor/writer, psychiatrist's wife, Isadora, has sexual fantasies and then muses about these and tries to psychoanalyze herself; but though she goes to therapy and is filled with questions, she just seems like a healthy normal woman who has to figure out and deal with her desires; and not just sexual desires, but career-wise, and all that.
While in Europe with her husband, she falls hard for this other man, who wants to fool around with her but doesn't love her. She loves her husband, but she goes back and forth. Jong has written a realistic portrait of marriage, their fights, their love-making (which is good, and satisfying for Isadora) but Isadora can't help that she becomes obsessed with Adrian (the other man), who kind of antagonizes her, and uses her.
I love this true-to-life scenario. (Which you don't get in Romance novels--they're usually fake). I love reading about love relationships and characters that seem real. Isadora says, "I simply wanted them both. It was the choosing that was impossible."
I'm going to quote Jennifer Weiner's introduction: "Isadora's encounters tended more toward the limp, the disappointing, and the comically gross that they did toward the erotic."
I don't think I would've like this as much if I had read it ten or more years ago. I think someone would have to have had experiences with relationships in order to like it. Not jaded, but just not idealistic in their views anymore.
While in Europe with her husband, she falls hard for this other man, who wants to fool around with her but doesn't love her. She loves her husband, but she goes back and forth. Jong has written a realistic portrait of marriage, their fights, their love-making (which is good, and satisfying for Isadora) but Isadora can't help that she becomes obsessed with Adrian (the other man), who kind of antagonizes her, and uses her.
I love this true-to-life scenario. (Which you don't get in Romance novels--they're usually fake). I love reading about love relationships and characters that seem real. Isadora says, "I simply wanted them both. It was the choosing that was impossible."
I'm going to quote Jennifer Weiner's introduction: "Isadora's encounters tended more toward the limp, the disappointing, and the comically gross that they did toward the erotic."
I don't think I would've like this as much if I had read it ten or more years ago. I think someone would have to have had experiences with relationships in order to like it. Not jaded, but just not idealistic in their views anymore.