Portnoy's Complaint

Portnoy's Complaint

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66  ·  rating details  ·  20,921 ratings  ·  1,231 reviews
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, neithe...more
Paperback, 274 pages
Published May 18th 1995 by Vintage (first published 1967)
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Community Reviews

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Malbadeen
Nov 02, 2010 Malbadeen rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Sarah's other pervey friends
Recommended to Malbadeen by: Sarah (what a perv)
It's recently been brought to my attention that my book reviews frequently are not actually about the book. And I'm wondering why would you want to know about the book when all you have to do is click on the little blurb about the book and then get on with the fascinating reading about...oh, say where I bought my milk last Tuesday or my fondest/most traumatic childhood memory, etc, etc.
And, yet. I aim to please so here is my sincere attempt to tell you something about this book. It (the book) go...more
Mariel
Jun 28, 2011 Mariel rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: constipated older Jewish men
Recommended to Mariel by: masterbators
I would have walked away in the conversation at the point of Portnoy proclaiming that he slept with the women that he did (anyone who would have him) as a way of conquering America. Essentially those who would not have him like historically against Jewish peoples (dude, you work for the mayor and are educated! You do what you want!). I am not Jewish and I wasn't alive in the '60s. Somewhere anyone is going to feel like that they don't belong. What I really liked about Portnoy's Complaint is the...more
Shovelmonkey1
Jan 27, 2012 Shovelmonkey1 rated it 1 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: those who are adventurous with offal
Recommended to Shovelmonkey1 by: 1001 books list
Shelves: 1001-books
Earlier today I grossly contradicted myself by stating that I'd enjoyed all the books I'd read which were written by Philip Roth. Then I realised I'd forgotten about Portnoy's Complaint.

There is a school of thought which says to write well you have to write about what you know. On that basis I know I definitely did not like this book, although that unfortunately does not guarantee that I will excel at writing about it. With that in mind Philip Roth is official King of writing about what you know...more
Yulia
It's a miracle: I've finished this thing, this book. I thought to read the end as a commenter noted it was a shaggy dog story, which made me wonder what the punch-line was, but as I read about this woman he called "the monkey," I became so furious in how he wrote of her with such hatred that I had to know more about their relationship, which took me back another section, and then another, till I'd finally been led to read the entire dang book.

And while I was sure I'd write something hateful abo...more
Daniel
I have a vague memory that when I first read "Portnoy's Complaint" as a teenager -- I was probably 16 or 17 at the time -- I either carried my paperback copy with me to my grandmother's condo, or perhaps just mentioned to her that I was reading the book. What a mistake. She was displeased with my choice in reading material, and wasn't shy about letting me know. This was many years before Philip Roth won the Pulitzer Prize, making him somewhat more respectable to the American Jewish community. To...more
Evan
I'm in the mood for this now and it's reading like a breeze. God, it's probably shameful to admit that I AM PORTNOY, but it would be just like me to say that very thing and mirror the guilt of the guy in the book. You wish your parents could read this, especially my neat freak, worrywart mom. I think a lot of Catholic households and Jewish households are not a lot different. This shit is funny and real and insightful. If the rest of the book is as good as the first 50 pages then we shall be quit...more
Tyler
Nov 07, 2008 Tyler rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Adults; Guys; Americana Fans
Recommended to Tyler by: Goodreads Reviewers
This entertaining and smartly written book managed the difficult task of amusing and impressing me. The protagonist, too Jewish to be American yet, in the end, too American to be Jewish, reeled me in with his humorous, potent stream of consciousness that tapped into my own musings and assured me that I'm not alone in dwelling upon, uh, inglorious imagery.

The humor comes across at times like stand-up comedy. You can see, then, how easily the author's concept could have gone flat. And so it would...more
Alex
I've been reading a lot of smut lately. It's not because I'm a horndog, though! No wait, yes it is. That's the reason. So I figured I'd check this out, because I heard it was dirty, and it is, but it is not sexy. Not...at...all...sexy.

There's an Onion article from...holy shit, fifteen years ago! I feel old...that I've always remembered: Chinese Laundry Owner Blasted For Reinforcing Negative Ethnic Stereotypes. It's a clever piece. I was reminded of it once again while reading Portnoy's Complaint...more
Bev Hankins
Just to start off...The best part of the book? The "Afterword to the Twenty-fifth-Anniversary Edition" by the author. Seriously. What I enjoyed most was learning that Roth has used a piece of paper emblazoned with 19 typewritten sentences that he found in a local diner back in 1956 to come up with the opening line for his first 19 novels. Being a budding author myself, I'm going to be on the look-out everywhere I go for a similar little bonanza--particularly if it's going to produce best-sellers...more
Andrew
Portnoy's Complaint has become known as "the sex book" by Philip Roth, and without a doubt it is not a book for those squeamish about frank & honest sexual portrayal. The book features Portnoy, a 30-something Jewish man from Newark, NJ apparently unleashing a 300 page tirade on his shrink as he describes his shortcomings in becoming the expectation of a Jewish man. He still struggles with what he deems juvenile, if not downright animalistic, sexual longings and impulses, yet he maintains a p...more
glenn
Jan 12, 2008 glenn rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone
On the 6th night of Chanukah my older brother gave me a copy of Portnoy’s complaint. As I tore open the wrapping paper my brother repeated statements along the lines of “prepare for your life to be completely changed” and “this is not so much a book as it is a right of passage”. While I don’t believe that reading Philip Roth’s most famous novel changed my life I did thoroughly enjoy this book. More specifically I enjoyed the books protagonist Alexander Portnoy. He is very much the sexually obses...more
Caleb
Roth is coming farther into his own voice here, and exploring his ideas, skimmed in other books, in a more, uh, penetrating fashion. Funny, embarassing, but sickeningly relatable. I'd go as far as to say it's a must read in Modern American Literature.
Lisa
Portnoy’s Complaint is Philip Roth’s third novel and the one that made him a celebrity. It’s an hilariously funny satire on Jewish guilt, and it’s very rude, with coarse language and frank sexual themes not for the faint-hearted. It explores Jewish identity in America and in particular, the secular Jewish son trying to escape the tyranny of tradition and find a place for himself outside suffocating family expectations.
To read the rest of this review please visit http://anzlitlovers.wordpress.com...more
Giuseppe
Roth sei tutti noi (me)

Un lungo monologo di un giovane ebreo newyorchese, alla fine degli sessanta, steso su un lettino di un psicoanalista mentre si lamenta della scombinatezza della propria vita dominata dalle figure genitoriali e da una totale anaffetività che si sublima in una bramosia sessuale infinita. Di questo parla Lamento di Portnoy.

Se avete la (s)fortuna di provenire da una società tradizionalista, con una forte impronta familistica, se avete la (s)fortuna di avere avuto dei genitori...more
Misha
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Jeremy
Philip Roth is the kind of writer that just doesn't seem to show up anymore. He is unflinching, fearless and unafraid. He doesn't mind getting really messy, since his topic - being human - is one of the most messy there is.

'The most outrageously funny book about sex yet written' is quotes 'The Guardian' on my cover, which is misleading (but, of course, the publisher is trying to grab the brower's attention, I realise...). It's not 'about sex', unless you're being very broad and Freudian about t...more
Morgan
This is a relentless barrage of neurotic banter. While occasionally funny, and frequently entertaining, it wore me out. Were it not for the consistent skill of Roth as a writer, I probably couldn't have endured the wave after wave of guilt and self-loathing. The book is tightly stylized with the focus on the general concept of the character, poking in and out of his history through a vomitous stream of consciousness. Portnoy's Complaint is clearly inspired by Mrs. Dalloway. Just take away the ob...more
[P]
We all love a good dick joke. I'm pretty sure someone once proved it, with charts and graphs and shit.

Hey, did you hear the one about the kid who popped his pecker into some liver, which his mum later served for dinner?

No? Oh, you're in for a treat, then.

Wiki [gotta love wiki] tells me that Portnoy's "every recollection in some way touches upon his central dilemma: his inability to enjoy the fruits of his sexual adventures even as his extreme libidinal urges force him to seek release in ever mo...more
Mike
First half is funny but once Portnoy begins to discuss his current goings-on the writing gets a bit self-conscious and strained. Portnoy himself is too broad to be interesting. Certain aspects of the book date it considerably, which isn't necessarily bad unless, like me, you hate the 60s. Enjoyable overall.
Chaitra
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
rachel
After hating and abandoning The Plot Against America, I wanted to give Philip Roth another try.

Honestly, I did not expect to like this at all. Roth is an author that always gets lumped into that little club of male writers who write from a very male perspective. Casual literary male privilege often leaves me cold and maybe a little angry. But this book was different: while Portnoy can be violently misogynistic, it's very clear that he is not a sturdy, stable man even though he desperately wants...more
Dale
Portnoy's Complaint is another one of those books that I feel has always been buzzing around on the periphery of my pop culture consciousness, so since there happened to be a copy lying around the house and I happened to need a new book to read, I picked it up. It was a nice, quick, moderately amusing good read.

Alexander Portnoy is neurotic, Jewish, and obsessed with sex. The book, in turn, is a kind of therapy confessional where he meanders back and forth across his young childhood, adolescence...more
Tony Cohen
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Grant
for me what this book is about is the struggle one faces to live up to others' expectations of a shared ethose simply because they happen to belong to the same group. most especially when the groups' expectations of lifestyle choices and ideals are not held by the individual. the group says why don't you accept your roots? the individual answers, because i had no choice in them, and now i have a choice. here the protagonist is not choosing against bieing jewish, but against being the jewish man...more
Caroline
Aug 22, 2007 Caroline rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Not for the sexually squeamish

Portnoy's Complaint is exactly that; the long first person complaint of an Alexander Portnoy, Port-Noir to goys, of how his Jewish upbringing has paralyzed him.

At 33 years of age Alex is still hopelessly devoted to jerking off and other lewd sexual acts. Much to the chagrin of his devoted, doting, if not smothering Jewish parents he is not interested in marriage, least of all producing such re-ver-ed grandchildren.

Phillip Roth is masterful with his execution of Portnoy's complaining;revealing...more
Jason
Well, what can I say? The man is a pig: a conceited, disgusting, racist, misogynist elitist. Full of contempt, a veritable monster at times. He drags everyone through the mud, everyone except himself: the poor, victimized misunderstood Portnoy. Or is it Roth himself?
Yet, this display of elitism and mockery and drama is absolutely gut-bursting hilarious. A riot of laughs, Jesus Christ! And, of course, being Roth, buried within its unapologetic arrogance and criticism is a wealth of insight,, bot...more
Kat
Feb 20, 2008 Kat rated it 2 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Woody Allen fans
Upon finishing this book, I heard myself say aloud (without warning): "that sucked."

There's a lot to recommend Roth as a writer and I think he's fully in control of what he's doing I just wish he were doing something else blah blah. This book is a 300-page monologue by a character who annoyed the crap out of me. Whatever fabulous edgy points Roth might have been making about the self-aggrandizement and self-congratulatory pseudolessons of psychotherapy, whatever incisive criticisms he may have b...more
Fionnuala
Smart, funny, outrageous, and totally irreverent concerning parents and religion, and sex, of course. For 1969, at least. And even though there have been reams of material written since about these subjects, this book doesn't feel dated. However Roth wasn't the only one tackling such subjects at that time, although he was probably the funniest. In the early sixties, in conservative catholic Ireland, John McGahern braved the wrath of the entire country when he dared to state some nasty truths abo...more
Lavinia
i tried. i really did. but it was more than i could bear. thank God i didn't buy the book. philip roth, i'll give you another chance, someday. but i'll pick something else.


15.10.08

Persians, Greeks, now Jews. First person narrative, Portnoy's confessions to his therapist are funny and witty. And yes, he's obsessed with sex, but I won't let this interfere with me enjoying a good reading. :D

16.10.08

"Good Christ, a Jewish man with parents alive is a fifteen-year-old boy, and will remain a fifteen-ye...more
marg
I took a reluctant break from 13th Tale to read PC for my heights book club. I compare this book to a well made dish that ends up being spiced too heavily-you can't appreciate what is good because your too turned off by the flavoring. Personally, I think Roth is a very talented writer - I am not one of those who says oh he hates Jews and is perverted. I mean he does and he is but that doesn't mean he can't write. However, this book was waaaaaaaaaaaaay too graphic and felt like Auslander does fic...more
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Philip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained early literary fame with the 1959 collection Goodbye, Columbus (winner of 1960's National Book Award), cemented it with his 1969 bestseller Portnoy's Complaint, and has continued to write critically-acclaimed works, many of which feature his fictional alter ego, Nathan Zuckerman. The Zuckerman novels began with The Ghost Writer in 1979, and inc...more
More about Philip Roth...
American Pastoral The Plot Against America The Human Stain Everyman Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories

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