Fear of Flying

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: Talk about a novel that finally loves women-- this is my "girl be strong" read, it's everything that woman is: witty, wise and whimsical and for once not a victim. Virginia Woolfe said that women authors hadn't found an authentic female voice, but Erica Jong can join Jane Austen on the list of women writers who definitely have found an unapologetically female voice. Check out the disc "Zipless" by Vanessa Daou for a selection of Jongs poems set to music-- very sexy and beautiful.

Rating:
Summary: **Hooray**For the Symbolism...**Boo**For the Plot
Review: A very trippy novel filled with Freudian imagery! The explicit erotic fantasies and "bitchiness" of the main character, Isadora Wing, were entertaining. However, I found it to be very depressing in general. Although it is refreshing to see a female author write with such sexual inhibition....the plot seems to be lacking realism. Isadora actually made me nauseous at times with her bad selection of boy toys! I think a visit from the personal hygeine fairy would have been nice. She was definitely a woman who was playing with a few cards short of a full deck! In my opinion the first few chapters were the best...and the conclusion was disappointing and left me wanting more closure between Isadora & her husband!

Rating:
Summary: Not a timeless text
Review: The novel contains some unkosher stereotypes that detract from the sincerity of Isadora Zelda's enlightenment. Isadora seeks to create an unmolded definition of herself -- a non-suicidal, female artist free of male obsession. However, she mocks her African-American brother-in-law for being white because he is a wealthy doctor who enjoys golf (as if he is not allowed to define himself outside of typical views). Isadora wants others to value her poetry but mocks all greasy (her words) Arabs for writing poems. She wants a lover who will understand her complexity. Nonetheless, she takes the close-minded attitude that all Germans loved Hitler. Stereotypes and racial bias litter the novel (even her second husband is an inscrutable -her words again- Chinese man). I could not enjoy Isadora's rise to empowerment because her accent seemed dependent upon the lowering and dismissing of other people.

Rating:
Summary: brutally candid. superbly written.
Review: Wow. Erica Jong is a very open writer, who doesn't hold back. It's very refreshing to read a book where nothing is 200% perfect. I couldn't put the book down. The strength of Isadora is amazing, and it inspires others to overcome their fears. She gives the impression that it's OK to be scared. Accurate portrayal of reality, however sexually explicit. Despite, it's a good book.

Rating:
Summary: Lot of whining here
Review: Jong's writing is witty, clever, and insightful. This was also a pretty brave book, coming out when it did. I think her characters and situations (for the most part) were quite believable. Here's my gripe: Jong's major theme is that women (at least her heroine) yearn for love and security, but also adventure and excitement. What a revelation! I am a man, but guess what, folks? I'd kind of like to have a loving, dependable, child-rearing wife at home while I go off around the world having exciting affairs with other women. Pretty amazing that women might want that too, huh? My other gripe is that Isadora, while (see above) witty, intelligent and insightful, is also wealthy enough to be a lifelong world-traveler, have endless shrinks, countless affairs, and to complain about the accomodations on ocean cruises and Paris hotels. Poor baby; we all have problems like that. Given her social status, it's tough to sympathize with 300 pages of whining about problems that confront all women AND all men. I give this three stars despite the unsympathetic protagonist and because of Jong's writing ability.

Rating:
Summary: Great book about real person
Review: While there are many levels to this book (see the reviews below), what particularly appealed to me was its author's call to courage. In short, "Fear of Flying" is inspiring (to me) in that its main character is a very recognizable person who attempts to deal with very recognizable fears and anxieties. I have read it with great enjoyment on more than one occasion, each time being left with new insights and perspectives. Thankyou, Erica Jong.

Rating:
Summary: YES!
Review: this book was totally empowering! it's my favorite book. I've read it a million times. I am Isadora! what a great book!

Rating:
Summary: One Redeeming Quality
Review: Fear of Flying has earned its recognition for Jong's ability to put into words the seemingly universal desire for the "zipless f***," that melt-in-your-mouth no-strings sexual encounter we all dream of. Unluckily, this is the only redeeming quality about the book. Revolutionary as Jong's heroine's romantic escapades may have once appeared in print, they are now passe, poorly written, and long-winded descriptions of indecicive and often frustrating non-encounters. Once the description of the zf has been given, the book goes rapidly downhill. I struggled through the last half of the book, finding no reward for having done so. Rather than bothering to buy the book, visit a bookstore or library, flip through the pages until you see the famous passage, read it, and move on to other titles.

Rating:
Summary: I've never connected to anything like it before. Reassuring
Review: This is the first book I've read and actually could truly feel what Isadora was feeling. Fear of Flying was refreshing to read. It gave me hope as a woman. It is getting me through College.

Rating:
Summary: From Venice present into a past filled with Shakespeare.
Review: Erica Jong takes her heroine, Jessica, from the Venice Film Festival to the past where she is the Daughter of Shylock. She meets and makes love to William and his male lover. The three of them escape from Shylock with his money and rescue a fair maiden from a fate worse than death in a convent(read that as whorehouse) on an island off the Italian coast. When the novel ends, Jessica is back in New York City, pregnant with William's child. As with any theatrical piece, you must willingly suspend your disbelief and ride out the fantasy. Jong may be the best writer of historical fiction yet with her view of the interactions between men and women.