Read as a preadolescent - where did I get my hands on it? A garage sale? My mom's bookshelf? - and would like to re-read as an adult. I was confused by 99% of the book as a kid. But I remember the "zipless fuck" and the dancing penis.

A woman writing about sex, breaking into the old boy's club of American macho novelists. ( )

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The female flip-side to Henry Miller's [book: Tropic of Cancer]? That's sort of how it was portrayed on its release. (Read Jong's The Devil At Large for more on that, and her correspondence/friendship with an elderly Miller) As much as this book is about sexual liberation, it's also about neuroses, the failings of stodgy psychoanalysis, and a woman's journey to find herself. ( )

Isadora Wing, jeune New-Yorkaise séduisante et insolente, se trouve dans une situation embarrassante : alors qu'elle a peur en avion, la voilà embarquée à dix mille mètres d'altitude avec cent dix-sept psychanalystes, dont sept l'ont eue comme analysante. Assis à côté d'elle, le septième est devenu son second mari. Bien qu'il l'ennuie terriblement, elle l'accompagne à Vienne où elle s'apprête à passer une semaine de séminaires fastidieux. Mais sa rencontre avec Adrian Goodlove, un Anglais au charme irrésistible, va bouleverser son voyage, son mariage et sa vie.
Érotique et littéraire, sensuel et intelligent, ce roman captivant a suscité une vive polémique lors de sa publication aux États-Unis en 1973, en plein mouvement de libération des femmes, et a valu à Erica Jong un succès international à seulement vingt-neuf ans. Le Complexe d'Icare est un chef d'oeuvre comique qui reste d'une insolence monumentale.
Source: Amazon - October 5, 2021

Exceptional and hilarious book by Jong that is not so strong for its story (the mild adulterous adventure of an anxious middle-class Jewish woman in Europe in the 1970s), but for its context (the role of women in contemporary society, and the belittlement of female roles as perceived through the protagonist's experiences). Said to have 'kick-started second wave feminism', the arguments presented through literature remain sadly relevant and are all the more powerful for this. ( )

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.
( )

This book might have earned itself a whole star just by being in the right place at the right time. In Geneva, trapped with nothing to read, this jumped out at me in a market. It was in English, I was grateful.... ( )

This book might have earned itself a whole star just by being in the right place at the right time. In Geneva, trapped with nothing to read, this jumped out at me in a market. It was in English, I was grateful.... ( )

To my surprise, the book left me with a different impression when I reread it a generation later. Yes, it’s packed with what a superficial juvenile might think is “liberating” sexual talk, and even by today’s standards it’s no tamer than ever. But now I just see a poor, lonely woman’s cry for help. She has no real friends, male or female, and the men in her life are all jerks to whom she offers sex because she can. But then, somewhere after having been used over and over by men who *she* thought she was using, she loses interest.

You won't understand this book if you're reading for prurient reasons, and if that's what you're looking for, I suggest you wait a few decades and read it after you know more about the awful mess some people make of their lives. ( )

Više je za trojku (trojku smatram za prosečnu ocenu), ali iako je oduženo i ne preterano enlightening for the most part, ipak ima enlightening momenata i zapravo ima poentu (iako neme razrešenje glavne priče). Nije genijalna poenta, ali nije ni loša. Ekstra zvezdica za trud. ( )

Women's liberation sexuality book, a classic must read from the early 1970's before age of AIDS. Really funny and smart! ( )

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. 37
When 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. 50
What I really wanted was to give birth to myself - the little girl I might have been in a different family, a different world.
Pg. 79/80
I 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. 198
Ambivalence 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. ( )

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. ( )

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. ( )

I really struggled reading this book. It has nothing really that appeals to me.
The form of feminism that's described, the sex, the first-person story. Didn't find it hilarious or interesting, just very annoying.

While reading, I just kept asking myself, ehy on earth this book has ever landed on the 1001-list and why it hasn't been removed. It must have something to do with the uproar it caused when it was first published. Otherwise, for the life of me I couldn't think of one... ( )

This is another book that I am uncomfortable rating with stars. I totally get what's great and important and funny about it. In it's own way, the book feels fresh and groundbreaking still. But it also struck me as almost unbearably sad and I am wondering how much of the social issues in the novel are still true for women today.

When it came out, and I read it, it was important to me. Now,,no big deal. I liked it. ( )

I think I snuck this off of my parents' bookshelf and read it without their knowledge. Moderately interesting. ( )

Henry Miller as a woman. Except much more lucid. ( )

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." ( )

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. ( )

This was about many things, but some of the more interesting parts were those that referenced what it is to be a writer. The character Isadora frequently refers to writers and considers their continuing failure to tell the truth- not for lack of effort but because it is impossible to present an objective truth that is separate from an author's personal perspective. Many of the authors Isadora reads are men who are noted for presenting masculine perspectives of femininity, which really was not helpful to her. She particularly mentions D.H. Lawrence, who produced a great deal of writing that I did not care for specifically because of what I view as warped presentations of women. This leads to examination of how Isadora created her view of individual feminine identity and how easy it was to lose her core self when in relations with men.

Psychoanalysis is discussed frequently as well. It was not positively portrayed here, seeming instead to be a waste of resources in most of this book and really not useful for Isadora. The men she interacts with are also definitely unappealing (and also quite unwashed). They seem to be self-focused, patronizing, and in general just really annoying. These components of this book didn't quite feel realistic to me. They describe situations that are realistic, but their actual portrayal felt false.

One aspect of what Isadora learned stood out as important beyond this novel: "You do not have to apologize for wanting your own soul. Your soul belonged to you- for better or worse. When all was said and done, it was all you had." This seems the greatest point of the book and is part of her thought process as she loses her fear.

Although definitely worth reading, this was not exactly enjoyable. There was a sexual component that seemed to be a focus, but that part of the book wasn't particularly interesting. Instead it served as background for the more interesting topic of how to construct a positive and individual feminine identity. ( )

I was amazed that a book written an era ago would still hold such poignant truths about women, sexuality and personal power. Erica's thoughtful plot line and boundary pushing sexuality combine to create a powerful message with well constructed writing and thought provoking analogies. ( )

Books about women finding themselves are a favorite of mine, and this book is one of the modern day originals on the subject. Through her emotional struggles to figure out what she truly wants, Isadora’s exploits and sometimes-spontaneous decisions are described in a very entertaining manner. This was one of the original books showing that women can become independent and strong within themselves, and it was a good one that every woman (and man) should read.