Customer Reviews

What Do Women Want? Bread, Roses, Sex, Power

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This book is more entertaining and likeable than I expected. Jong's honesty is admirable. She readily admits she didn't become pregnant till she could afford a nanny; most celebrities pretend they raised their children with no help. I liked the essay Lolita at Thirty best and also her views on Jane Eyre are very acute. Her literary criticism is the best thing in the book. Surprisingly erudite and sharp. Her essay on Anais Nin made me want to read the journals which I never have. She's at her least appealing when trying to show how wordly she is , i.e. 'My Italy' where she does an awful lot of name dropping as if all the famous people she knows validate her own imporance. Her daughter, Molly, wrote an article for Mode magazine where she related how her mother's friend, Joan Collins, called her fat. I wouldn't be surprised if Erica didn't drop Joan, for all her cruelty, simply because she's a celeb.

This book of essays does hold your attention. You may not like her point of view, but you'll have to give her credit for being honest about it. She covers it all in bits and pieces, the only clue to what they all have in commom is the title. Having sex is very important to her, and I found this theme tiring after a while. She does present herself as what I'd call a typical New Yorker. She seeks to impress the reader with her life, and it comes off sometimes as bragging. I'm a fan of Henry Miller so I enjoyed her first hand impression of him - they must have been soulmates, seeking sexual experiences where ever they could find them. I can see why given her point of view she feared fifty as it gets harder to attract strangers - so I may read more of her yet. If you're a writer you'll probably be interested in her struggles as an author and mother.

It is very hard to follow Jung's logic. Her book jumps around like a bunge cord, never staying long enough to explain her unsupportable conclusions. Most distressing is her apologetic acceptance of the behavior of the President. In fairness, there are some amusing parts.