Review of Any Woman's Blues, a Novel of Obsession by Erica Jong

Read in June, 2010
3 stars

Let me confess right up front that I'm an Erica Jong fan. I was titillated and shocked by Fear of Flying in the 80s, then read How to Save Your Own Life at the start of the 90s and it became, and still is, one of my favourite novels. Yes, Erica/Isidora/Leila seems obsessed by sex - but then who isn't? Because, you see, our libidinous heroine is not just after mindless coupling. She's not simply promiscuous. She doesn't use sex as a tool to manipulate men or situations. What she's after is what we all crave, although some of us don't have the wherewithal - or the guts - to take the quest as far as she does. What she craves is connection, the 'zipless fuck', the skinless encounter that takes us out of ourselves and that we approach only when the coupling is at its most vital, most intense, most passionate and probably most obsessive.

Jong has inspired me for years with her heroines and their lack of sexual inhibition, and with her honest and fearless writing. She goes where most of us writers - and readers - fear to tread, into the physical and psychological messiness, the self-sabotage, the contradictions, strengths and weaknesses of a woman trying to live as authentically as she can, in a society and time where female roles have changed dramatically on a superficial level, but much less so at the heart of things. Becoming a rich, famous author doesn't make the real deal any easier; if anything, it facilitates delusion, avoidance and self-destructive behaviour, but even at her worst there's an endearing self-awareness and deprecation that redeems Jong/Isidora/Leila.

It doesn't hurt that Jong can write; she puts you there, right into the story, even when you want to stand aside and judge: you're a woman, and you recognise, nay, you own the neuroses. Plus, I love the way she sends me off to research all those classical/literary/cultural references that have become hazy over the years. Another reviewer (on Goodreads) hated this. I don't. It adds to the richness of the experience for me.

So why the three star review? Why not four or five stars? Because I enjoyed How To Save Your Own Life more. Because so many of the themes are repetitive, which should not work against her because that's the way life is, but this is literature, and it does. Because I'm somewhat impatient with the heroine's substance abuse. I'm beginning to understand why people do it, why they are driven to seek escape from themselves by any means necessary. All the same, I can't help but be judgmental about this aspect of Jong's character(s). Life is hard, and it f***ing hurts, but medicating/drinking/drugging one's way through it gets no respect from me. Also, although I'm partial to New-Agey gobbledegook, sometimes it can seem like so much, well, gobbledegook. It's not Jong's fault; if I'd read the book when it was written I might have been more patient with this aspect of it. But two decades have passed since, and I've grown up a bit, and grown more discriminating. The 'California way' has palled somewhat.

For better or worse, Jong's stories have inspired me - as a woman, a feminist, and a writer, as someone who tries to live (and write) authentically, and who finds the whole realm of erotic attachment and exploration nothing short of riveting. That's quite an achievement for Jong. Now I'm off to read her Fear of Fifty.

A third Amazon review :)

This writing life is so uncertain, you learn to treasure every glimmer of light that comes your way. My ray today came from Café Au Lait's third review on Amazon. It was added June 17 but I didn't see it until tonight. The reader got the book in a library and is actually considering buying it. Here are some tidbits that have me smiling into the screen right now:

"Wasn't a 'romance' reader until this book!"
"a book that transcends the genre"
"plot is well-thought out"
"kept me intrigued the ENTIRE time"
"love the characters"

Thank you, reader, whoever you are. Now where did I put those happy-dance shoes? Never mind - I'll dance without!

Triple delight

I've been having Internet issues (yeah, again) and haven't been getting around to my favorite places as frequently as I'd like. Hopped over to akalol's This Beach Called Life and what did I find? Not just a brilliant award (I love these!), but a review of Café Au Lait as well!

They're both going on my sidebar, right over there -> -> ->

Thank you, akalol, for my first smile of the day!

I'm passing the Brilliante Weblog award along to: Zinnia, Nyc/caribbean ragazza, Guanaguanare, Spiral Skies, 40 is the new 20, The Urban Recluse, and The Anti-Wife.

And just to round things off, South Florida Caribbean News has a feature on Café au Lait.

Review #3

I really apologize for the 'me! me! me! my book!' tone that this blog has taken of late. It goes against the grain but... my novel is a brand new release and I have to do my part to promote it. In addition, I've promised to share the journey - so here we go again.

Another review! This one from Susan Barton over at Romance Readers at Heart, and I love it! Thank you, Ms. Barton! You certainly 'get' the story!

Five stars!

Just discovered that Harriet Klausner, described by Time magazine as "one of the world's most prolific and influential book reviewers", has given Café au Lait five stars on the Barnes & Noble page! As far as I'm aware, this is the first review to go up on a bookstore site.

Thank you, Ms. Klausner! So glad you enjoyed it!

Snippet, courtesy Phyllis

Another Dorchester author, the lovely Phyllis Bourne Williams, author of A Moment on the Lips and By New Year's Day from the anthology The Holiday Inn, dropped by and, reading that I didn't have access to the Romantic Times review of Café au Lait, e-mailed it to me. Here's what she wrote:

"RT said: 'Even if the reader has never set foot in the Caribbean, the sights and sounds, perfectly described in this book, will make you feel like you're there. The story is one you've probably read before - girl meets boy, boy resists attraction, girl and boy give in to their feelings - but throw in some unexpected drama, and you've got yourself an entertaining novel.'

The rest is just a summary of your plot."

Thank you, Phyllis. As a writer yourself, you must know how much I appreciate this.

And another! One I can read, too...

I'm just back from my three day hiatus in a beach house in Toco (a remote seaside community on the north-eastern tip of the island) with two former colleagues and a handful of their students.

It was just what the doctor ordered - a complete break from routine, different spaces and faces, and a hike through the forest to a hidden waterfall and rock pool in Rampanalgas! It was goooooood to throw on the old backpack and plod through the rain, sodden leaves, mud and roots, thinking of nothing but the next foothold. It was liberating to plunge into the ice cold pool and swim around while the boys leapt screaming from a ledge high above the deep end. To watch the fish skulking in the dark shadows. To breathe clean, moist air smelling of mist and green things. To wade through the stream, to scramble over boulders and fallen trees.

The only casualty was my cell phone. I don't think Nokia designed it for hiking through pouring rain. I'm not burying it yet, though. My son had one that was famous for its miraculous recoveries after being repeatedly shattered and drowned.

I got back at sunset today, fired up the computer and what did I find? Another Google alert, and another review - one that I can read, too... This one is by Harriet Klausner, and a bit of research revealed a fascinating article about her from Time magazine.

Thank you, Ms. Klausner. You're my first, and hell, I'm happy.

First Review

Another Google alert just in. Romantic Times Book Review magazine has reviewed Café au Lait in its current edition. I think my blood pressure spiked when I saw this because... hell, it's a review. Reviewers have the power to diminish, depress and demoralize even seasoned, successful, acclaimed writers.

I clicked on the link, dread and hope combusting in my head, and to my relief found that they've given the novel three stars out of their maximum of 4 and a half - not stratospheric, but pretty decent. The review itself won't be up on their website for two months, and I've never seen that magazine here, so I can't read what they've said about the story. Don't know if I even want to. But I will - in two months, I suppose.

Reality Bites

One of my writer friends recently received a review of his collection of short stories and although it was a mixed bag (from "part-gripping, part-lackluster" to "Stanford captivates with shocking plot twists and turns") the overall tone was negative. Several of the criticisms with regard to my friend's execution of the stories may well be merited, but I take issue with the reviewer's claim that although the stories are set in Trinidad and Tobago they provide no "insight into Caribbean history and culture". The events could have taken place in Anytown, USA, he claims.

This brings me to the whole question of people's preconceptions. My friend did not attempt to write a travelogue. He did not write his stories to acquaint foreigners with the culture and history of 'the islands'. He wrote about the violent crime that is right now tearing the fabric of his homeland to shreds. According to the reviewer, the stories "tell little of island life". Oh, really? What the reviewer means is that the stories tell little about his preconceptions of island life. In fact, the stories showcase the reality of life on this island right now; violence is an issue that Trinidadians confront every day, and I don't believe the writer should be chastened for omitting titillating cultural soupçons and historical tidbits from his stories.

Our similarities transcend our differences. Our struggles are universal. The reviewer himself says that "Stanford gives much more attention to exploring universal questions: What is right? What is wrong? What is justice?" If these are concerns that Anyone, from Anytown, USA can relate to, what of it? Why is this considered a flaw in the work? An American writer of similar stories would not be rebuked for his laser focus on the central issues. He would not be told to include more cultural and historical elements in his stories.

Criticize the writer's pacing, his prose, his characterization, his use of dialogue or whatever, I say, but please, don't censure him for not writing about limbo dancers drinking rum under coconut trees to pander to the assumed preconceptions of a 'foreign' audience.