Fear of Fifty: A Midlife Memoir by Jong, Erica | Paperback | Biography & Autobiography

From Publishers Weekly

Jong ( Fanny ; Serenissima ) has consistently profiled clever and libidinous heroines who engage in series of bold adventures while striving toward self-knowledge and fulfillment. Once again she pens an amusing, picaresque novel that begs readers to take her seriously and appreciate her intellect; the story contains countless literary allusions and knowing references to culture high and low. Readers can also depend on heaping helpings of Jong's trademark approach to sex: superficially humorous yet deadly serious. She also plays Philip Roth-like games with the narrative, prefacing the novel with a mock-scholarly foreward to explain that the text has been pieced together following the death of its author, Isadora Wing, and interlarding the narrative with Socratic dialogues between Isadora and her heroine, a famous painter called Leila Sand. Leila battles addictions to an abusive lover and to alcohol; her fruitless search for "ecstasy, skinlessness" takes her through hellish liaisons and sadomasochistic encounters. Salvation comes in the form of Alcoholics Anonymous and the kindness of friends. The result verges on self-parody. As Fear of Flying was of and for the '70s, this book is clearly intended to address women's issues of the '90s. But somewhere along the way Jong has become less astute an observer of the times and more a self-obsessed chronicler. 75,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Leila Sand's "blues" aren't like those of any other. She's a world-class artist, a 40-something beauty with a 20-something lover, a mother of irresistible twin daughters, and a loyal friend with an unwavering support network. She's also a woman with a few addictions. In this latest novel, told as a roman a clef by Isadora Wing (of Jong's earlier books), Jong takes on the in-vogue themes of addiction, codependency, and recovery. But in Leila's journey from insanity to serenity, something doesn't ring true: her blue's simply aren't blue enough. It's as if our heroine just said "no" to addiction and then resumed her life with everything intact. This work begins with lots of promise, and the narrative is jazzed up with Jong's trademark raucous exploits and on-the-mark observations; the running theme of duality also adds interest. The narrative slips, however, when Leila joins Alcoholics Anonymous and does not itself recover in time for Jong's tidy finish. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/89.
- Michele Lodge, New York
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.