7. Fear Of Flying - Erica Jong
Mixing feminism and sex for a heady erotic literary brew, Erica Jong's 1973 novel Fear of Flying was a smash hit success and provoked much debate. In the novel, Jong coined the term 'zipless f**k' which is a sexual encounter for its own sake without any emotional ties or love to impede it. It entered the popular lexicon in the 70s and has seen a regeneration with the third wave of feminism. The narrator is on a plane to Austria which is filled with psychoanalysts - some of them have treated her. She ruminates about her fears of being on a plane due to recent insurgency and plane hijackings. When she lands in Vienna, she has a sexual encounter with faithful male friend Bennett and a subsequent fling with another guy called Adrian. She gives him her NYC address knowing he will never call. Travelling to London on a train to go and meet Bennett, she is molested by a train attendant and runs away to another carriage. She realises he could have been the ultimate 'zipless f**k' and then she realised that her fantasy revolted her. My personal literary God - John Updike - said the novel has a 'sexual frankness that belongs to, and hilariously extends the tradition of The Catcher in the Rye and Portnoy's Complaint'. If that is not an endorsement to read Fear of Flying, then I don't know what is. Updike was right, the novel is very funny, thoughtful and sexually explicit. Moreover, it is intelligent and well written. There is much debate about whom Erica Jong based the protagonist - Isadora Wing - were there autobiographical details? Or was it based on someone she knew? In 2008, Jong's sister Suzana revealed that the book was based on her and a time she spent in Lebanon. She denounced Jong and the book as being factitious. However Fear of Flying has sold 20 million copies around the world - particularly resonating with women in dull, lifeless marriages. The character of Isadora Wing is eccentric, unique, fiercely intelligent and has entertained readers for 40 years now. A class act all the way.