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Cover of Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

Fear of Flying

by Erica Jong

Isadora Wing tests sexual fantasy, marriage, and freedom in a candid, feverish, and sharply self-mocking voice.

Published
1973
Setting
Shelf rating
4.0

The story, briefly

Spoiler-free

A married writer travels to Vienna for a psychoanalytic conference and begins testing whether the freedom she imagines can survive contact with actual desire, love, and consequence.

What's inside

Isadora Wing accompanies her psychiatrist husband to Europe, meets another analyst, and leaves the marriage’s familiar boundaries behind on a restless journey through fantasy and self-discovery.

Why we recommend it

  1. A woman claims the sexual monologue

    Jong matches Miller’s immediacy and appetite with more irony and sharper self-scrutiny.

What this book explores

Book editions

Paperback edition cover
Paperback
Signet Classics
2024
ISBN-13
9780593817544

Reader reviews

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Cover of Sexus by Henry Miller

Sexus

Henry Miller

Another voice-driven novel in which private desire becomes the book’s raw material.

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The Lover

Marguerite Duras

Another woman turns a morally complicated sexual life into literature without apology.

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References

References

The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Fear of Flying, its publication, and its place in literary history.

  1. 1Fear of Flying — Open Library ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Open Library, Internet Archive
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
  2. 2Fear of Flying — Google Books edition record

    Official record
    Google Books
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
  1. 3Fear of Flying — Internet Archive ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Internet Archive
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
  2. 4Fear of Flying — Library of Congress books catalogue

    Official record
    Library of Congress
    Used for

    Official record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.

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