Synopses & Reviews
First published in 1997,
Inventing Memory is about four generations of remarkable women from a Jewish-American family-their triumphs, tragedies, scandals, and love affairs-as related by Sara Solomon, the youngest of these women. While trying to chronicle their history, the story becomes essentially hers, as she comes to understand the nature of memory, the way all of us both invent and assimilate our ancestors. In learning about the women in her family, Sara discovers how to create her own future.
Synopsis
"A sexy tale celebrating the strength and creativity we inherit from our mothers" (Glamour), Inventing Memory is Erica Jong's mesmerizing, beautifully written saga of modern womanhood and the struggle for freedom, vividly brought to life through four generations of remarkable mothers and daughters.
With more than 22 million copies of her blockbuster books sold worldwide, novelist, poet, and essayist Erica Jong has been stirring the passions of readers for 25 years, giving voice to contemporary women and the issues that define their lives. From her controversial classic Fear of Flying to her acclaimed Fear of Fifty. legions of fans trust her for witty innovative, gutsy writing. Now comes her most ambitious and satisfying novel yet.
Spanning a hundred years, Inventing Memory captures the whole of the twentieth century through four unforgettable women whose stories come alive through Sara, the younger. A single mother working on an extraordinary research project, Sara carefully excavates the lives of her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother to understand the roots of her own identity. Drawn to these women, she discovers the power and passion that is her matriarchal birthright, and learns the meaning and substance of her exceptional family and the legacy she will pass to her daughter.
Rich ... brimming with trenchant observations about the eternal man -- woman thing". -- New York Times Book Review
About the Author
Erica Jong is the author of nineteen books of poetry, fiction, and memoir, including
Fear of Flying, which has more than 18 million copies in print worldwide. Her most recent essays have appeared in
The New York Times Book Review, and she is a frequent guest on television talk shows. Currently working on a novel featuring Isadora Wing—the heroine of
Fear of Flying—as a woman of a certain age, Erica and her lawyer husband live in New York City and Connecticut. Her daughter, Molly Jong-Fast, is also an author.
Erica Jong left a Ph.D. program at Columbia to write her ground-breaking novel Fear of Flying, published in 1973. Jong is the author of numerous award-winning books of poetry and novels including Fanny, How to Save Your Own Life, Parachutes and Kisses, Any Woman’s Blues, and the forthcoming Sappho’s Leap. She is also the author of the memoir Fear of Fifty. She lives in New York City and Connecticut.