Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth (ISBN:0679756450)

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		Portnoy's Complaint
	
				(147 reviews)			
(3500 Readers)

			Philip Roth		
	
Portnoy's Complaint n. [after Alexander Portnoy (1933-    )]  A disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually...more
 Portnoy's Complaint n. [after Alexander Portnoy (1933-    )]  A disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature. Spielvogel says: 'Acts of exhibitionism, voyeurism, fetishism, auto-eroticism and oral coitus are plentiful; as a consequence of the patient's "morality," however, neither fantasy nor act issues in genuine sexual gratification, but rather in overriding feelings of shame and the dread of retribution, particularly in the form of castration.' (Spielvogel, O. "The Puzzled Penis," Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse, Vol. XXIV, p. 909.) It is believed by Spielvogel that many of the symptoms can be traced to the bonds obtaining in the mother-child relationship.With a new Afterword by the author for the 25th Anniversary edition.   less

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I would say this book was as worthless as watching South Park (which I like very much) but for the last sentence in which the psychiatrist tells him what his narrative means in their doctor-patient context (I'm trying to give away nothing about the ending).  This is the only Roth book I've read, however.  Maybe it wasn't the best for me to begin with.  I did read and enjoy it.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Teenage angst is something that stays with you throughout your life. And to be able to relate to it in such detail and such despair is something that Philip Roth has done wonderfully well. After reading the book halfway through I've realised that my life was quite similar to that of Alexander Portnoy and I believe a lot of Indians from my generation would be able to relate to it.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Very funny book, if explicit and at times cringe-producing. Laughed out loud a few times.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
uno dei più cavillosamente divertenti che abbia mai letto

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
A fascinatingly hilarious stream-of-consciousness psychological sex novel of the absurd that revels the thoughts, fears, and neuroses of a young Jewish man through constant self-deprecating humor.  The book is an audacious & bawdy study in ruinous self-indulgence without being overly trashy, tawdry, cheap or otherwise too offensively vulgar.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
The book that vaulted Roth to commercial success is
1) More of a rant than a complaint
2) part narrative
3) part stand-up comedy routine (and the jokes and puns are funny)
The extent of this book's influence is evident in the work of Woody Allen and Larry David and even in the teen comedy "American Pie."  Unlike Portnoy's constipated father, Roth clearly had something to get out of his system...more
 The book that vaulted Roth to commercial success is
1) More of a rant than a complaint
2) part narrative
3) part stand-up comedy routine (and the jokes and puns are funny)
The extent of this book's influence is evident in the work of Woody Allen and Larry David and even in the teen comedy "American Pie."  Unlike Portnoy's constipated father, Roth clearly had something to get out of his system with this book and did so  successfully.
     But it takes so loooooonnnnnnggggg and the book really goes nowhere.  Read it in one sitting as you would it's contemporary bestseller "Love Story", if you can, or you'll find yourself putting off completing it for weeks, as I did.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Philip Roth's followup to GOODBYE, COLUMBUS, made him a household name in America.  PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT is a funny, rebellious, sexy, anti-establishment account of the times.  What's not to like for a young man in 1970?  Made into a fun movie in 1972 starring Richard Benjamin (who else?), Karen Black, Lee Grant and Jill Clayburgh.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Philip Roth (1969): "Portnoy's Complaint"

This is a gloriously well-written book. Adjectives like "hillarious" and "screamingly funny" abound if one samples opinions about it, and of course it's about sex and sex and sex and primal urges and counter-urges and one's mother. But these somewhat superficial words do not serve the honour the book deserves. I maintain that its primary tone is a very...more
 Philip Roth (1969): "Portnoy's Complaint"

This is a gloriously well-written book. Adjectives like "hillarious" and "screamingly funny" abound if one samples opinions about it, and of course it's about sex and sex and sex and primal urges and counter-urges and one's mother. But these somewhat superficial words do not serve the honour the book deserves. I maintain that its primary tone is a very serious one. Is it difficult to relate to a fifteen year old Jewish boy? Not at all; we all have a Jewish mother, somehow. 

Roth in 1969 reaches deeper and stretches longer than in his 1959 debut book "Goodbye, Columbus", for example. As we know Roth has matured further and is among the best-writing novelists in the world. Give him the Nobel.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
This is hilarious like laugh out loud.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
While reading this book, I was sure it was just a self-hating, pathetic, angry rant in which Portnoy blames everyone but himself (A little  autobiographical Mr. Roth?) for his ills and social impotence.  When I read the last sentence, the "Punch Line," to Roth's long-winded dirty joke, I laughed.  I laughed out loud and I laughed pretty hard.  Sure, the book was one big, sexually deviant...more
 While reading this book, I was sure it was just a self-hating, pathetic, angry rant in which Portnoy blames everyone but himself (A little  autobiographical Mr. Roth?) for his ills and social impotence.  When I read the last sentence, the "Punch Line," to Roth's long-winded dirty joke, I laughed.  I laughed out loud and I laughed pretty hard.  Sure, the book was one big, sexually deviant whine-fest, but Roth packaged it in a funny little box.  Roth's use of the English language is great, and the tone and inflection really do work with the plot and theme.   hide

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