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    Fear of Flying
    Fear of Flying
    Fear of Flying
    Audiobook11 hours

    Fear of Flying

    Written by Erica Jong

    Narrated by Hope Davis

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Originally published in 1973, the groundbreaking, uninhibited story of Isadora Wing and her desire to fly free caused a national sensation. In The New York Times, Henry Miller compared it to his own classic, Tropic of Cancer and predicted that ""this book will make literary history..."" It has sold more than twelve million copies. Now, after thirty years, the revolutionary novel known as Fear of Flying still stands as a timeless tale of self-discovery, liberation, and womanhood.

    Editor's Note

    An erotic classic…

    Poetic and sexually frank, this multimillion-selling erotic classic by one of the pioneering voices of female sexual independence remains evocative and compelling decades after its original publication.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCaedmon
    Release dateMay 23, 2006
    ISBN9780061190667
    Fear of Flying
    Author

    Erica Jong

    Erica Jong is an award-winning poet, novelist, and essayist best known for her eight bestselling novels, including the international bestseller Fear of Flying. She is also the author of seven award-winning collections of poetry.

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    Reviews for Fear of Flying

    3.5/5

    803 ratings44 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Jong makes us laugh at her fear and her various sexual escapades. This book allowed straight women to imagine going where only gay men had gone before. "The zipless fuck is absolutely pure. It is free of ulterior motives. There is no power game . The man is not 'taking' and the woman is not 'giving.' No one is attempting to cuckold a husband or humiliate a wife. No one is trying to prove anything or get anything out of anyone. The zipless fuck is the purest thing there is. And it is rarer than the unicorn. And I have never had one."
    • 2/5
      Schandaalroman uit de jaren '70, vooral omdat Jong als vrouw openlijk over seks praat. Maar eerlijk gezegd, ik vind dat Jong amper uitstijgt boven het niveau van het klassieke narcistische dagboek. Heel af en toe bekoort ze met enkele rake analyses van de mannelijke dominantie, maar de ultieme femistische overwinning vinden het hysterisch najagen van mannetjes, lijkt me nogal bedenkelijk.
    • 1/5
      I tried to read this, I really did. But 75 pages in, and I was just tired of hearing Isadora whine about everything. So much of this was taking place inside her head (analyzing herself, apparently), and I found it tedious. I'm no prude, but the language was crass, and when put together with (what I perceived as) her constant whining, it got old fast. I just couldn't get into this book. Maybe I missed something. But when I have a TBR list of hundreds (yes, hundreds) of books I want to read, I can't justify wasting my time with a book that is just annoying me.
    • 4/5
      An exploration into the psychology of a woman finding herself, at the vanguard of the feminist movement of the 1960s. It deserves its shocking reputation even all these years later, with a relish for scatology reminiscent of Rabelais, always with a commitment to tell the emotional truth about the main character's life. Gradually, in fits and starts, Isadora invents a way to define who she is independent of the men around her. Each of these guys is described with an instinct for depicting the deep possessiveness, amounting to creepiness, that constitutes a recurring theme in her life. By the end of her misadventures, I got the sense that she was going to try something different for a change in hopes that she might have a hope of happiness.
      It's a challenge to read this now and keep in mind that the things the author was doing in the 1960s was considered far out of bounds, because of all the novels which she helped inspire in the years since. A profanity-laced story, full of shocking confessional scenes, with characters who refuse to recognize societal boundaries and go still (mostly) unpunished for their transgressions would not be considered unique in this century. Perhaps the author would be accused of button-pushing or seeking attention, but not of trying to pull down society as a whole.
    • 4/5
      I consider this to be a bold, feminist book. Irritatingly, on its cover is a "generous" verdict by John Updike (difficult to understand why it had to be there in the first place): "most delicious erotic novel a woman ever wrote". Well, I suppose he did not get it. Quotes:Pg. 37When I look back at my not yet thirty-year-old life, I see all my lovers sitting alternately back to back as if in a game of musical chairs. Each one an antidote to the one that went before. Each one a reaction, an about-face, a rebound.Pg. 50What I really wanted was to give birth to myself - the little girl I might have been in a different family, a different world.Pg. 79/80I know some good marriages. Second marriages mostly. Marriages where both people have outgrown the bullshit of me-Tarzan, you-Jane and ae just trying to get through their days by helping each other, being good to each other, doing the chores as they come up and not worrying too much bout who does what. Some men reach that delightfully relaxed state of affairs about age forty or after a couple of divorces. Maybe marriages are best in middl age. When all the nonsense fals away and you realize you have to love one another because you're going to die anyway.Pg. 198Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own.Pg. 277"Life has no plot" is one of my favourite lines. At least it has no plot whil you're still living. And after you die, the plot is not our concern.
    • 5/5
      This has been one of my favorites since I first read it at 18. I picked it up at a library when I was at a crossroads of my own, and I started laughing so hard I had to check it out so I could leave the nasty stares behind.

      There is something about Jong's tone, which is candid and irreverent, that is so endearing. It creates an instant rapport with the reader, especially if that reader has found herself, more than once, thinking some of Isadora's exact same thoughts.

      I thoroughly enjoy it, every time I read it.
    • 3/5
      This was much better than I'd expected. It's reputation does it no service, as I had kind of expected a feminist 50 Shades...but was so glad to find that was not what this book is! The sex is actually pretty minimal (for a book about sex) and not very hardcore. I liked Isadora, though I did find her problematic as a feminist figure because although the book ends with her possibly finding her identity beyond the men in her life, it's not a given and the whole of the book is spent with her defining herself by her relationships. Maybe if Jong had spent more time on that self discovery and less on talking about psychoanalysis, I'd have felt this book more rightly deserved it's feminist stamp. It is very of it's time but in the same breath it doesn't feel dated. A lot of ideas in it must have been quite radical when it first came out, and I love the bravery of it. The part where she unexpectedly gets her period is something that can still be taboo to talk about now, so it was pretty cool to see it being put out there like that. I just wish there had been more about Isadora and less about the men in her life.
    • 1/5
      I hated this book, and that's all I'm going to say about it as I read it long ago. But I remember that I well and truly loathed it and if I hated a book that much now, I wouldn't bother finishing it.
    • 5/5
      This is one of the best feminist (probably erotica?) book I've read! Every woman should read this and be free of any expectations, obligations! I love love Erica Jong!
    • 4/5
      I received a 40th anniversary copy thanks to the Early Reviewers program, but I didn’t really know what to expect from this book, other than it should be thought-provoking since it is a seminal feminist book. I was nicely surprised by how much I enjoyed it and found that it still resonates to today’s reader. Isadora Wing travels to Vienna with her psycho-analyst husband to attend a conference. Then she takes off on a jaunt through Europe with another man and we are treated to the story of her life. We learn about Isadora’s struggles; what is her role as a woman when she wants to be more than a just a wife and also has sexual fantasies about other men, what does it mean that she’d rather be a writer than a mother, is she strong enough to ever be without a man? One interesting tidbit that resonated with me was how Isadora refused to learn how to type (even though it would help her immensely as a writer) because she felt that would box her in as a stereotypical woman and somehow define her. It made me appreciate that I don’t feel this is the case any longer and allows women the freedom to pursue a full spectrum of skills, jobs, hobbies, etc.
    • 5/5
      Really Really good, unexpected. It is amazing that this book was written in the early 70s. Now I just wish I knew what happened after the ending!
    • 5/5
      I thought this was going to be dated, but it was still relevant today and quite insightful. She was so open about her feelings about herself, the men in her life, and about sexuality that it still was a little shocking but in a good way.
    • 3/5
      As others have noted, Isadora lacks subtlety as a character. She is over-aggressive and over-sexed. But when this novel was written, it was challenging established ideas of femininity and female libido, so I am forgiving of that flaw. I don't think the world would have gotten a subtle message in the 1970s, so I commend Jong for writing such a brave book back then. That said, this book hasn't aged all that gracefully.
    • 4/5
      Erica creates almost an anti-heroine in this book. Isadora Wing is a Jewish American Princess, native New Yorker, & has the market on guilt cornered. She's a poet & a writer, married to her second husband Bennett, a shrink she married shortly after her first marriage to Brian was annulled. Brian had a psychotic break, tried to strangle her, & was moved to a private mental institution in California. Her family is quixotic, radical, & also artistic, everything that Bennett is not. Her adventures begin when she accompanies Bennett to Vienna for a conference for psychoanalysts, & she is smitten with Adrian Goodlove, another analyst. Written with self deprecating humor, Isadora's journey of self discovery is very funny, imminently readable, & I can see why it made both the Banned/Challenged book list for it's liberating ideas when it comes to women & their own sexuality, which she speaks openly about, & the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list.Written in 1973, this book is indeed a modern day classic, & I'm really glad I finally read it
    • 3/5
      Interesting story from a woman's perspective on her sexuality and relationships. You can feel her pain in dealing with her desires to be herself and wanting to be in a loving relationship with her spouse. It is difficult to know whether her feelings are universal or whether she is not representative of most women. I moderately recommend the book with the reservation that some may not lke the frank discussions of sex.
    • 3/5
      I recieved Fear of Flying as part of a Goodreads giveaway.

      Fear of Flying begins as poet and writer Isadora Wing accompanies her second husband, Bennett, a psychoanalyst, to Vienna for a conference. There she meets Adrian, a married British analyst who piques her interest. As Isadora confronts (and eventually succumbs to) temptation, we learn about her past, from her childhood with her eccentric artist mother and three sisters, to her string of lovers up to and including Bennett and Adrian.

      Fear of Flying has to be commended for its bravery. I agree with the foreword in which it's said that today, a book that deals in great part with a woman's sexual thoughts and escapades might be consigned to the "chick lit" label without a second glance. But in the early-to-mid-1970s when it was published, it was revolutionary. Isadora is a frank narrator, letting the reader in on all the deep, dirty, and often conflicting thoughts that explain her actions. It's both a funny and a difficult read, asking tough questions about love, commitment and happiness.

      While I found Isadora's character magnificently well-drawn, it was a little difficult to connect/identify with her personally, which probably kept me from appreciating the book as much as I might have under different circumstances.

      All in all, though, a very entertaining read, especially given its historical significance. Recommended.
    • 3/5
      For years I have heard about this book. I can't really recall what people said about it beyond that it was a feminist book- but I have been aware of it for at least a decade. When it came up as an Early reviewer book I thought it would be great to read it.This was a challenging book to read - not because of the ideas in it - but because I found the protagonist so hard to relate to and frankly - incredibly unlikable. I don't know if this is a result of the time that it was written in and just that the author was trying to make a very big statement so she made her character over the top - but to me Isadora came across as shrill, hypocritical and to use some particularly apt current slang - a hot mess.I realize that this kind of book hadn't really been written at the time this was published. It is frank in its discussion of sex and has a female character with a raging libido which, I guess, was breaking ground at the time. To me - the book would have been so much more powerful if there had been anything about Isadora that was likable or relatable. I plugged through this book even though I really wanted to put it down after the first 100 pages. I am definitely going to go read some reviews of it to see if I can understand it's importance better.
    • 5/5
      I love this book. When the 40th anniversary of "Fear of Flying" came up as an option, I was curious to see if it would still resonate with me. As I recall, I first read this novel about 30 years ago when I was in college. It was a period during which I was becoming aware of "feminist" lit (anniversary edition of "The Women's Room" next maybe?). Although I read many of Jong's subsequent novels, I was often disappointed, remembering, not the story, but the feelings evoked by FofF. To my surprise, I found it equally as engaging and insightful all these years later. Now that I've married, divorced, married--this "coming of age" story seemed to have even more dimensions of meaning. I've underlined a number of passages that I want to reflect on further. It's not often that happens with a work of fiction. I'm also looking forward to pulling my original copy off the shelf to see if I marked that one up and how it compares. This is a book that I will likely set aside for my niece and encourage her to read as she moves into adulthood and relationships. Despite the jokes that have floated about, it's not about the sex. There is more sex in most young adult lit these days. It's the journey and that's what makes it enduring and a classic.
    • 4/5
      I read Fear of Flying by Erica Jong 40 years ago, so this read was interesting to me due to the passing of time and the changes in our society. I enjoyed the book more this time than last. I'm an older person now and have a new perspective on the psychology of human beings. Forty years ago the thoughts expressed in the book were new and somewhat shocking due to the frank way which Erica Jong wrote about women - - their needs, their fears, their decisions, and their bodies. The main character is Isadora, a writer with many insecurities, and the narrative is her own stream-of-consciousness version of her family, her loves, and herself. Erica Jong allows us to know Isadora in the most intimate way of her inner thoughts, and the scenes and characters become alive in the what Isadora relates to us.
    • 3/5
      I wound up saving this book to read for Banned Books Week and while Fear of Flying is very much of it's time, I did find it to be worth while reading. Isadora Wing's amorous adventures are not as compelling as the emotional journey she takes via her bad romances to figure out what it is she wants in and from life. Yes, the language is saltier than a bag of pretzels but if you look past that, there are some thoughtful insights to be found.
    • 4/5
      I really wasn't sure about this book at first. It felt really dated and I'm sure it was shocking at the time, but color me jaded- the ideas presented aren't revolutionary anymore. And then I got to the end and the journey was worth it. It's still a little self-indulgent and if you don't remember the context (first published in 1973), it feels a little like someone's mom remembering her "glory days", but there is a story to relate to here, for men and women.
    • 4/5
      I received this as part of the LibraryThing Earlier Reviewers and despite the rather overzealous navelgazing of the main character, I rather enjoyed this book. I found her writing refreshing in a way that's rare. Even though I didn't know half of the people she constantly references (really it felt like this character was the ultimate name-dropper even though I know the book is 40), I still enjoyed the overall journey. I especially liked how she pinned down adolescence - I may not be anything like the main character or her friends, but I saw certain people I know in her descriptions and I found myself nodding along with that part of the book. But as much as I nodded at some parts I also rolled my eyes at a lot of the rest heh. Just a bit too much back and forth and should I or shouldn't I for me. Still, one of the more interesting reads I've had lately.
    • 3/5
      Read on its own without any historical context, Fear of Flying is a weakly developed story about one woman’s sexual exploits. It is filled with fantasies, obsession and compulsions, and an overwhelming sense of naiveté and immaturity. It brings to mind, well, screams, STD’s! The cavalier attitude towards STD’s is frightening. Yet, this was the age of the 60’s to early 70’s, with free love and a casual sense of commitment. What I cannot figure out is this – why was there such a commotion over Fear of Flying? Hadn’t anyone read Lady Chatterly’s Lover? The binding force between these two novels is the mind-body relationship; to be a whole woman one must feel actively alive in both areas. The difference being, Lady Chatterly desired sexual freedom and choice and Isadora (FOF protagonist) had it. The major disparity between these two books is literary. D.H. Lawrence composed a beautiful and passionate piece of literature, where Erica Jong described sexual freedom by using coarse phrases, repetitively. Women are not freed by dehumanizing our sexual decisions and experiences. This does not mean I view her book as pornographic and without purpose. I am simply stating that the book feels artless and ostentatious. It has the same effect as when women declared their freedom by burning bras. The effect? - A bunch of women still bound by the same social-sexual rules and mores, now left with prematurely sagging breasts. Whatever its purpose, Fear of Flying is not a great piece of literature. It is not even a good read. At best, it is light reading made for erotic entertainment, as with other romance novels of this genre. It is not a life changing book. However, I am not steadfast in my conviction. Historically, as it relates to women embracing their sexuality, I condone it whole-heartedly. An odd contradiction, I know.
    • 3/5
      I know this was a groundbreaking book in it's day. It covered taboo topics, discussed thoughts, feelings and emotions that were absolutely shocking for a woman to have. While not discounting the cultural importance the book (40 years later), I find it to be dated-especially the language ("bread" meaning money, for example) and less relevant. Granted, dated language do not a poor read make, I'm just not sure readers younger than me, I'm 48, would be able to connect with Isadora Wing, and I'm really almost too young to quite "get it".
    • 1/5
      This book was on my must read list for years, so I was delighted to win an ARE of the 40th Anniversary Edition. Unfortunately, my delight dissipated upon beginning to actually read it. Maybe it didn't bode well for me that I can't stand Jennifer Weiner's work? I struggled to get through this novel, finding the characters nothing less than obnoxious. In my opinion, the language was gratuitously foul, and I've admittedly been known to cuss like a sailor. Perhaps the shock factor of Isadora's narrative helped earn this novel its notoriety, but I find myself regretting the time I spent reading it.
    • 1/5
      I tried to read this, I really did. But 75 pages in, and I was just tired of hearing Isadora whine about everything. So much of this was taking place inside her head (analyzing herself, apparently), and I found it tedious. I'm no prude, but the language was crass, and when put together with (what I perceived as) her constant whining, it got old fast. I just couldn't get into this book. Maybe I missed something. But when I have a TBR list of hundreds (yes, hundreds) of books I want to read, I can't justify wasting my time with a book that is just annoying me.
    • 4/5
      The takeaway from Jong's Fear of Flying is the underlying message of freedom (especially freedom from fear). To fly is to be free and this is one woman's story about wanting that ability to become unfettered and free. Her sexuality and psychology are just metaphors for the deeper meaning of feminism and a woman taking control of her life...like a man. Yes, there is sex and lots of it but that's not what Fear of Flying is all about.
    • 2/5
      Schandaalroman uit de jaren '70, vooral omdat Jong als vrouw openlijk over seks praat. Maar eerlijk gezegd, ik vind dat Jong amper uitstijgt boven het niveau van het klassieke narcistische dagboek. Heel af en toe bekoort ze met enkele rake analyses van de mannelijke dominantie, maar de ultieme femistische overwinning vinden het hysterisch najagen van mannetjes, lijkt me nogal bedenkelijk.
    • 3/5
      I'm surprised at how much I remember from my first reading of this at age 13. Either I was very impressionable or I gave it a VERY close reading. Probably both.What's interesting to me now is what I took away then. Most of the literary references and all the shrink jokes went over my head. But the sex/feminist stuff hit home as much as it can when you're 13. Not that I related, so much, but it was like having a salty-mouthed drama queen older sister laying all this stuff out for me. And a lot of the sociology was really instructive. So much was outside my sheltered scope—about being raised a certain kind of assimilated Jew (which I was) and, weirdly, a lot about attitudes coming out of WWII. It was written only 30 years after, and there was so much emotion right there on the surface. I think that was one of the first things I ever read that dealt with WWII and the Holocaust and the fallout in an honest, realistic way.In the end it was a bit too narcissistic and all the self-realization schtick got tiresome. But she definitely made her point, and I'm sure at the time it was all very appropriate.
    • 3/5
      I've had this book for ages, and pulled it off the shelf to read another 1001 book. I didn't enjoy it very much - maybe it just doesn't translate to 2012.