A beautifully written novel about the life of Sappho of Lesbos, Jong has woven together this beautiful tale of history, fantasy, and mythos that I will not soon forget, and shall most likely carry with me for the rest of my life.

The writing side was okay. I've heard people say that it's stiff, specifically in the dialogue, but I was reminded of the feeling of reading translated ancient Greek texts, so that didn't bother me. What did bother me was Sappho. She spends about 400 pages (in my edition) on her knees, making a fool of herself, pining for a MAN. Yes, she has lovers that are women but she seems so scientific with them, seeing their love as either just sex or a way to learn how to be a better lover for a MAN. I have no problem with her being a bi queen BUT its like the sapphic side of her was including because the author had to put it in the book and not because it was an essential part of the life and legacy of Sappho.

Completamente a digiuno sull'argomento mi sono immersa nella storia senza pormi domande, è un libro che si legge più come un romanzo di fantasia o una bellissima fiaba che come una biografia romanzata.
Mi sono ritrovata un po' bambina e, approdando sull'isola delle amazzoni, dei centauri e delle sirene, ho incontranto miti e leggende durante questa versione al femminile del'Odissea senza mai mettere in dubbio la loro autenticità come non mi capitava da molto tempo.
Della sua storia si sa poco e niente, partendo da poche fonti certe l'autrice ha inventato totalmente una storia iniziando dalla sua infanzia e dal rapporto con la sua schiava Prassinoa e passando attraverso la sua relazione con il poeta Alceo per finire poi sulla rupe dalla quale si dice si sia gettata per amore di un giovane barcaiolo.
La dea Afrodite, sempre presente nei suoi canti, compare anche qui in compagnia di Zeus, entrambi si dilettano a far affrontare nuove prove alla poetessa, come due burattinai manovrano i poveri umani dall'alto e governano le loro vite.

Mortali immortali, immortali mortali,
Che vivono la morte e muoiono la vita.
Eraclito

Il libro inzia con Saffo sulla rupre e avrei gradito che terminasse con il salto, un'improbabile lieto fine ha rovinato tutto.

This is one of my favorite books. I found Erica Jong's writing to be quite beautiful, lucid, and her story entertaining.
There were times as I read her words, that I felt as if I were in ancient Greece and singing my praises to Aphrodite right along side Sappho.
If you love mythology, I do highly recommend this.

I adore Erica Jong and consider her a beautifully poetic writer. My opinion of her has not changed upon reading,"Sappho's Leap." With that said, this was an uneven novel that often had distractions that took me out of the plot.
For example, although I endured all the extractions, the parallel conversations with Zeus and Aphrodite didn't work after awhile. I started skipping over these parts. The first half of the novel was much stronger---plot driven with very interesting characters. Her mother and stepfather, her slave Praxinoa and her lover Alcaeus all feature strongly. I love the chapter when she visits the island of the Amazons but unfortunately, a great character like Prax decides to stay on with the half breasted women and she's gone for most of the story. This is the same with Sappho's male love, Alcaeus. I would have liked to see this relationship develop more throughout the book.
I did think the ending was a bit whimsical with all of the characters introduced in the first half showing up toward the end in a boat while Sappho returns from the great depth.
I admire Jong her bravery to tackle a subject such a Sappho. She is a queen of erotica and loves to write about women's "deltas" and men's "phalli." But after a time, it loses its power and sometimes seems a bit contrived. There is eroticism in plenty but somehow the passion is lacking!
I enjoyed reading this...I just wish Jong had stuck to the main plot and cut out some of the distracting extractions. Yes, Sappho's poetry really works in the story but due to the unevenness of Jong getting off track too many times and throwing just too much in the mix, it gets a 4 star from me!

This is an interesting take on the power and influence of female sexuality and pleasure. I wouldn't describe this book as sexy as much as it is thought-provoking, refreshing, and ultimately a little sad. Highly recommend!

I have never read Erica Jong, but was intrigued by this book. It was fun to read. Lot's of historical characters and places. It is amazing to think that I visited the temples at Delphi where the ancient
Oracle resided and which Sappho visits. The Gods and Goddesses, mostly Zeus and Aphrodite and watching and betting on what Sappho will do.

Mount Helicon revisited

One hears the ancient immortals as they scoff at man's foibles and dispute his worth. Jong weaves her fable betwixt two worlds, disparate but equally fallible, Sappho of Lesbos is the heart that trembles with pleasure and cries for love. Antiquity fleshed out with mortal passions and strife. A refresher course in mythology, and a rousing read.

This book imagines the life of the famous poet Sappho, chronicling her adventures in a female version of the odyssey.
It starts off very strong, but it soon starts to meander… and the second half was very boring.
It felt like it had no real climax up until the last 5% of the book, and even that was more philosophical and not really engaging.
It passes as progressive, but only on the issue of sexuality. She plays on the idea that people were more open to bi/homosexuality in Ancient Greece.
But in almost everything else, it’s more or less convencional/conservative. The women are characterized as whores or madonnas and all the women are obsessed with motherhood, even the rebellious Sappho. The book mocks men for being driven by their phallusses, but Sappho goes from lover to lover, jeopardizing her life and legacy because of her desires. She spends the whole book pinning after a man, making her quest basically an attempt to return to him and her daughter. Her legacy and fame just happen to her, instead of being something she thinks about or longs for. Her actions and thoughts show a person that doesn’t really have any ambition, even though a few characters say she does.
And she places a slave as a willing lover… a slave, who has no choices and longs to be free is supposed to be in love with her master. And at the moment she decides to be free, Sappho tries to change her mind!
And the sex scenes are very cringy. The book mostly has an erotic tone rather than straight up erotica, but every time she mentions deltas and phallusses I wanted to stop reading. These situations were usually described in a few sentences and they felt out of place and poorly written.
It’s an ok book, but if you enjoy the topic, you’re better off reading Circe.

Op zestigjarige leeftijd schreef Erica Jong “Sappho’s leap”, alweer een picareske roman met een seksueel gulzige heldin. En het autobiografische karakter is weer niet ver weg. In de proloog schrijft ze: “In het verleden was het de charme van de jeugd waar ik wonderen mee verrichtte. Nu met de charme van de roem.” Aan het woord is Sappho, maar het mag duidelijk zijn dat Jong door haar mond spreekt. Die proloog situeert zich overigens op het klif van waar Sappho zich volgens de legende te pletter stortte “uit liefde voor een knappe jonge veerman”. Want Sappho mag dan nog haar naam hebben gegeven aan de vrouwenliefde, ook van mannen was ze niet vies. “Hield ik van vrouwen of van mannen? Of van beiden? Heeft de liefde wel een geslacht? Ik betwijfel het. Als je het geluk hebt te beminnen, wat kan het je dan schelen met welk vlees je geliefde is bekleed?” Ook hier heb ik weer de indruk dat de personae van Sappho en Jong over elkaar schuiven.

I love this book! I have read it several times now and am always transported by the mixture of the mythical and the personal. It describes the whole trajectory of Saphos life of which little is known. This fact has left the author a lot of space to play in and she does so with humour and a deep insight into human nature.

The prose was lyrical and lovely, but I would have liked more visual descriptions. I was also disappointed by Sappho's reckless behaviour for most of the beginning novel and couldn't bring myself to care about her.