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Narrated by Sarah, who in the year 2005 finds herself drawn into the tumultuous lives of her unconventional ancestors, Inventing Memory chronicles the lives of Sara's forebears. She calls to memory her great-grandmother Sarah, propelled by a Russian pogrom to America in 1906; her grandmother Salome, who cavorted with Henry Miller in prewar Paris; and finally her mother, Sally, a famous folk singer and emblem of the '60s. Through the paradoxical nature of memory Sarah comes to understand and impart her own story. Inventing Memory is the story of all women on the verge of the 21st century and recalls the saga of the 20th-century woman and her heroic struggle to be free. It is Erica Jong's most ambitious, complex and satisfying novel yet.
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INVENTING MEMORY ALSO BY ERICA JONG POETRY Fruits & Vegetables Half-Lives Loveroot At the Edge of the Body Ordinary Miracles Becoming Light FICTION Fear of Flying How to Save Your Own Life Fanny: Being the True History of the Adventures of Fanny Hackabout-Jones Megan’s Book of Divorce: (republished as Megan’s Two Houses) Parachutes & Kisses Serenissima: A Novel of Venice (republished as Shylock’s Daughter) Any Woman’s Blues Sappho’s Leap NONFICTION Witches The Devil at Large: Erica Jong on Henry Miller Fear of Fifty Seducing the Demon What Do Women Want? INVENTING MEMORY A Novel of Mothers and Daughters ERICA JONG Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. New York JEREMY P. TARCHER/PENGUIN Published by the Penguin Group Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, USA • Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.) • Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England • Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd) • Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd) • Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi-110 017, India • Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, North Shore 0745, Auckland, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd) • Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England Previously published in hardcover by HarperCollins in 1997 First Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin edition 2007 Copyright © 1997, 2007 by Erica Mann Jong All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions. Published simultaneously in Canada Most Tarcher/Penguin books are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchase for sales promotions, premiums, fund-raising, and educational needs. Special books or book excerpts also can be created to fit specific needs. For details, write Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Special Markets, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jong, Erica. Inventing memory : a novel of mothers and daughters / Erica Jong—1st Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin ed. p. cm. ISBN: 1-4295-4527-5 1. Mothers and daughters—Fiction. 2. Jewish women—Fiction. 3. Domestic fiction. 4. Jewish fiction. I. Title. PS3560.O56158 2007 2007017710 813 .54—dc22 While the author has made every effort to provide accurate telephone numbers and Internet addresses at the time of publication, neither the publisher nor the author assumes any responsibility for errors, or for changes that occur after publication. Further, the publisher does