fascinating choice to make a book about sappho focus on her relationships with men?? seems like my girl erica might want to revisit her understanding of sappho

Not what I expected in the least! Based on Jong's other book that I read, I thought this would be some modern lesbian coming-of-age story. Instead, I got historical fiction about the real Sappho. It was enjoyable, with lots of sex and adventures. And I loved the meta aspect of Zeus and Aphrodite discussing the story as it went along. One thing I didn't like was the poems that Jong tacked on at the end, same as in her other novel.. I don't think they're as good as her prose.

E' una Saffo che avremmo conosciuto volentieri, quella che descrive Erica Jong, passionale, curiosa, avventurosa. Forse era davvero così, unica donna che entra nell'Ade e ne esce ancor più libera.
Una madre divisa tra l'amore per sua figlia e la sua poesia, una donna contemporanea, che travalica ogni era.
Mi è piaciuto assai questo romanzo, forse perché mi ha riportato agli studi della mia gioventù e all'incontro con saffo, in prima liceo classico e poi anche perché scorre, una scrittura piacevole e intensa.

First time reading a Erica Jong book so I came in with no real expectations other than a good storyline with likeable characters. For the most part, this story fulfills my basic requirement although the likeability of the characters is somewhat debatable.

One of the challenges about Sappho, the person, is that there is so little personal information about her. This fact enables writers like Jong to embellish the story. Hence, I enjoyed Jong's narrative approach of casting Sappho as a female version of Odysseus traveling home to Ithaka after the Trojan war. While story elements in Sappho's Leap are meant to recall similar events in The Odyssey, my biggest problem is Sappho herself. I am at a loss to explain why she is so favored by the gods and forced to endure the long trials and tribulations of a marathon journey home to Lesbos. My question was "Why?" Is the story to be a feminist version of "The Odyssey?" If so, what does that statement actually mean? A story where the protagonist is a female? What is the overall point of this story? I finished the book with more than one head shake.

At the beginning of the story, Sappho is a naive child growing into a woman discovering her growing sexuality. By the end, she is an old woman who is tired of life and just wants to be reunited with past lovers in a fantasy world. I felt no compassion or sympathy for Sappho as she meanders from one lover to the next. I was less thrilled to discover the "love of her life" was Alcaeus of Mytilene, a character who repeatedly cheats on her. Mind you, so does Sappho but my problem is that Alcaeus is used a storyline prop to move Sappho along her journey. Personally the relationship between Sappho and Aesop is more interesting as Aesop helps to shape Sappho's personal growth . I think Jong does both Sappho and Aesop a disservice by forcing them into an alcohol-infused one-night stand to make Alcaeus jealous. Ironically enough, Sappho's relationships with the men are a tad more interesting than her relationships with the women which tends to fluctuate between bouts of obsessive jealousy on her lovers' part.

In the end, this was just an okay book for me with a rather ambiguous message. Like Sappho, I think the message is somewhat lost in the pages of time.

Beautifully written.

Recommended.

I saw mixed reviews for this book, and after reading I can see how one would have to be in the mood for this particular type of book, in order to enjoy it. Erica Jong did a very nice job taking mythological Roman theory and turning it into a novel that you feel you can relate to (in different ways). I applaud Jong's efforts and will read her works in the future.

Se devo essere sincera, non so dare una valutazione a questo libro. Non ho mai letto un libro del genere e credo di non avere le competenze per afferrarne davvero il valore. In ogni caso ho letto di molto peggio per cui in generale mi è piaciuto.
Non conoscevo Saffo e man mano che procedevao con la lettura ho cercato di informarmi, ma ho scoperto che su Saffo non si sa praticamente nulla. Quindi tutto quello che leggerete in questo libro è una rappresentazione personale della scrittrice di Saffo ed è frutto della sua fantasia e dell'interpretazione delle sue poesie.
Posso dire che ci sono molte ispirazioni e parti diverse in questo libro, e mixa stili e formati di scrittura.
Credo che l'intento generale fosse quello di creare un personaggio femminile che potesse fare da specchio a Ulisse e inventare un'odissea tutta al femminile. Si trovano spunti di riflessione interessanti, ma detto questo non è un libro che consiglierei a tutti.

Beautiful imagery and an intriguing, distinctive worldview. I've been thinking about this book for days, and I don't think I'll forget it. But I was so frustrated when we went into full, literal, magical fantasy. Instead of Sappho's world, I found myself carried into the world of Hercules and Xena. Sometimes, especially with the sacred, leaving some mystery is a powerful thing.

Historical fiction about a womam who is well known only through the fragments of her poetry from 2500+ years ago. It combines some history as well as mythology into an easy to read story.

Reconstructing the life of Sappho is no simple literary endeavour. Erica Jong takes on the formidable task of animating a figure whose historical record is fragmentary at best. Given that the poet’s surviving corpus consists of a mere handful of verses, subject to endless scholarly debate, any attempt to fashion a cohesive biographical narrative is necessarily speculative. Jong not only embraces this challenge but further layers the text with mythical creatures, divine-human interactions, and a first-person perspective from Sappho herself—an audacious move in an already precarious narrative framework.

As an exercise in imagined biography, the novel succeeds in its fundamental objective, but several structural and stylistic choices prove problematic. Dialogue is frequently burdened with anachronistic exposition, as characters explain cultural norms that would have been self-evident to their contemporaries, resulting in a sense of artificiality. The pacing is erratic, shifting from fleeting moments to vast temporal leaps within a single page, disrupting narrative cohesion. The inconsistent use of untranslated Greek and Egyptian terms—some left in their original form, others inexplicably rendered into English—creates an uneven linguistic texture that feels more haphazard than deliberate.

Furthermore, the text struggles with internal logic, particularly in its handling of divine intervention. Protagonists are occasionally rescued by what can only be described as narrative convenience, yet the gods, despite their established presence, are conspicuously absent from these moments. This undermines the credibility of the semi-mythical setting. The inclusion of the Hanging Gardens as one of the “future” Seven Wonders is not only temporally implausible but serves no discernible narrative purpose. And then there’s Zeus himself, who at one point utters the absurd line: “Plato, schmato!”—a moment so jarringly anachronistic it borders on self-parody.

Jong, to her credit, is fully aware of the liberties she takes, noting that the scarcity of verifiable details about Sappho is an obstacle for historians but a gift for novelists. This perspective justifies many of the text’s imaginative flourishes. Her portrayal of Sappho’s sensuality and bisexuality is refreshingly unapologetic, and the protagonist’s voice—self-assured yet fallible—offers an engaging perspective.

Ultimately, the novel is an enjoyable read, provided one does not expect rigorous historicity. However, its distinctly American sensibility—particularly in its dialogue and cultural framing—may feel incongruous within the ancient Mediterranean setting.

Disappointing. The first-person narration makes her poetry and her life too obvious, consumable.

I have always been a fan of Greek mythology. Although I'd never heard of Sappho until discovering this novel more than a year ago, I've come to appreciate the attention Jong gives to Sappho's life and poetry.

The novel moves quickly and is just what I've come to expect from this author's writing. The prose is witty, sensual and retrospective as the protagonist laments the taking of her daughter while longing for the embrace of her lover. Imagery describing the Greek isle of Lesbos and other locales is exquisite and alluring.

Jong's Sappho undergoes differing degrees of change from the time she departs her native island to the conclusion of the novel. The beginning of the story finds Sappho precocious, albeit extremely naive. The circumstances she encounters - nearly losing her life from shipwreck, landing in the domain of the amazons, braving Hades' domain - teach her about herself and the ever changing world in which she lives. These lessons give Sappho a wisdom she would not have otherwise attained. This wisdom becomes a vital asset in the final chapters as she must once again navigate the precarious terrain of new love while struggling to mend relations with her daughter and instruct young, eager students.

The conclusion leaves the reader with a question, one it seems Jong attempts to answer throughout the whole of the book. Do human beings decide their own fate? Or, are they subjected solely to the whims of some fickle higher power? Jong leaves this question unanswered.

I selected this book to read as part of my "research" for a current novella project. I was looking for novels with a strong female lead. This book certainly fits the bill. What makes it more spectacular is the fact that, despite its intrinsically feminine angle, Sappho is almost completely inundated by the presence of men. Whether the memory of her dead father or the company of Aesop the fable-maker, Sappho must define her own existence separate from the constant influence of men. For this reason, I found this book an excellent tool for my "research".

I would encourage the male reader not to shy away from this book, despite its feminine qualities. If Erica Jong excels at anything, it is writing a universal character whose application crosses the boundaries of sex, social opinion, and religious predisposition. It is a profound piece of work.