How to Save Your Own Life by Erica Jong

In my opinion...

A very different read to everything I’ve been reading recently, that's for sure!

Firmly set in the 70s, it is the sequel to Erica Jong’s famous ‘Fear of Flying’, narrated by Isadora and appears to be loosely based on Jong’s own life.

It is very much an intellectual novel, but also is quite graphic with a lot of bad language and so will not be for everyone.

Isadora is a strong, outrageous character who challenges women to look at themselves and their relationships. I felt the narrator was very self absorbed, and so the story was more a series of events, all making a point.

Certainly different and challenging, but not necessarily a comfortable read for me.

Want to know more?

Hailed as one of the ninety-nine best novels published in English since 1939 by Anthony Burgess, How to Save Your Own Life is the daring sequel to Fear of Flying republished in time for International Women’s Day 2021.

Three years after the events of Fear of Flying, we catch up with Isadora Wing. With two marriages and a bestseller in her wake, Isadora finds herself in sunny California and the hedonistic Hollywood. From grief and betrayal to jealousy and trust, Jong explores the ways in which a marriage unravels. In the end, Isadora must learn to save herself.

Thank you @AgoraBooksLDN for giving me the opportunity to read this classic novel.