Erica Jong:  Fear of dying, 9781782117483, Canongate, paperback

Erica Jong is better known for her “Fear of Flying” which sold millions of copies all over the world in 40 languages, she is the creator of the coin word “zipless fuck” – a synonym during the sexual revolution and feminism in the seventies. This tells you my age of course, I read her as a young woman, a must read in those days.

“Fear of dying”, dealing with much more serious subjects, is written with the same sense of humor and light-hearted tone as in “Fear of Flying”. Those of us baby boomers who have either lost parents already or are dealing with very old parents seeing them in the last stages of their lives, can truly identify with this novel. Many times I found I had had similar thought (although this is fiction) but written very obviously based on some autobiographical experiences. Very ancient parents are not the only problem our New York Jewish heroine Vanessa Wonderman encounters.  The whole book is set in a very wealthy New York East Side enclave and has some fabulous Jewish humor. Vanessa’s husband Asher, the love of her life and soulmate she met and married in her forties after some sexually active years as a single, becomes seriously ill just as her parents are declining and dying, he naturally loses all interest in sex recovering from a life threatening illness. Not wanting to give up entirely that part of her life just yet and needing it very much as a life affirmation, Vanessa signs up to a casual encounter online site leading to some very peculiar meetings with men.  At her side with some sobering adivse is her trusted friend Isadora who happens to be the heroine in “Fear of Flying” – very clever Erica Jong!

Glinda, Vanessa’s wild child daughter, is about to present her with the next life change – Vanessa will become a grandmother soon.

Erica Jong’s novel is light-hearted, funny and yet serious, dealing with very heavy

thoughts and changes in life most of us encounter at one point especially after hitting our sixties.  I loved the book, it really struck a chord with me, and 266 pages read quickly. This is Erica Jong in great form, she tackles the big stuff fearlessly and with much humor, and you really feel more positive and alive having read the book. More of it please! 

The German edition is called "Angst vorm Sterben" by S. Fischer Verlag.