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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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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)

Shelves: confused-or-informed-my-sexuality

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

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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 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 not fitting in the anyone should feel that way. You don't have to feel like you owe your family. How someone else feels about you is a lot about them. A lot of talking oneself into it doesn't hurt, I won't regret it later, what is the right thing to do. Sex as sex, not the whole damned future. You can live for the now and then still regret the past when the next now comes up. Or be afraid you are going to regret it. That can be anxiety inducing enough on its own.
(If the book had been written a couple of decades later there would be worse things than disappointing your parents with no grandchildren.)

The good thing about this book is that it is not easy to say for sure and pin Alexander Portnoy to one thing. Oh yeah, he felt sorry for himself, hemmed in and restrained. Unsatisfied always. He succumbed to worrying about what he should feel as much anyone else. He did believe that he was better than the Monkey (I liked the Monkey. If she became "clingy" and hoped for a new life outta Portnoy... Well, he might be her some day. Left alone out of years of pleasing only himself. Monkey chose her sexual freedom and later discovered the tragedy of shame. I wish she didn't have to feel shame! She could have been him before when younger. It's not fair thirty for her was old. He was 33!). The conquering getting back at them bullshit was boring and backtracking on the good stuff. The freedom with a price came to a conversational death by boring and big fat lie. It doesn't mean there wasn't anything else in there. I was just bored when it became about BEING Jewish instead of being any man. Besides, it doesn't feel like the truth! If you are going to be your own person, what does being Jewish have to do with the picture? Especially since you aren't religious, Portnoy?
It was too good before. Me against them instead of Me I wish it didn't have to be against anyone. Sighs That would be soemthing that would mean something to me (wishing) instead of a funny story about a guy who can talk circles around what he really wants. He did talk circles. I liked how he slipped up and was confused about his omnipresent mama, to side with dad or not (were they the same or not?), his sensible and taken for granted sister. The possibility of shame and dirty by what is alone. Aha! Is it not alone to group in with a label? I don't think so...

P.s. I can't find on youtube the scene on The Simpsons when Krusty the Clown pretends to have diarhea to practice his comedy routines in the bathroom. Portnoy homage! I remember the scene but I didn't get the reference when I'd seen it. :( (less)

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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

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Jan 09, 2009 Yulia rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-thought-i-hated-you

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 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 about Roth after first learning of his attitude towards the Monkey, leading me to foam at the mouth in outrage and plan to write up a summation of the evidence proving Portnoy's homosexuality, I've since not changed my mind about Portnoy, but come to see some humor in some of the events he relates, and so I can say it was worth reading this book if only for the passages on the perfect child and pianist Ronald Nimkin (p. 96), for which I give Roth kudos by enabling me to laugh about a suicide of all tragedies, and for the passage in which the Monkey accuses Portnoy of making her a lesbian by their fulfilling their mutual fantasy of sleeping with another woman. And so for these two wonderful moments, I give Portnoy two stars.

But then, I disagree that all this had to offer was a shaggy dog ending. As a shaggy dog story, this was a rather lame one. Really, what I would have loved would be to have it be told from the Monkey's perspective. She is the true star of this tale. She is the one whose adventures and neuroses I want to follow. But I could never expect Roth to pull this off successfully considering his great antipathy for womankind.

****************************************************************

(done at page 64) OK, I'm sick of Portnoy. I don't care about his testicles, I don't care where and how he masturbates, I don't care whom he thinks of to get off, I don't care that he doesn't believe in god, I don't care what will happen to his nagging mother, weak father, and pleading sister. I don't wish them ill: I simply don't care about them. May they rest in peace. Don't worry, I own the book. Maybe one day when I'm absolutely desperate to consider Roth's endless merits, I'll pick up where I left off and annoy myself some more. (less)

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Sep 30, 2009 Daniel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, glendale-library-store, re-read

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 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 be frank, though, even if he had already won the Pulitzer at that time, Grammy likely still would have seen "Portnoy's Complaint," and probably anything else by Roth, as a shanda fur die goyim and best avoided by her grandson. As an already somewhat lapsed Jew at the time, though, I found the novel hilarious, shocking and frighteningly accurate, if a bit exaggerated.

At more than double the age I was then, I decided to revisit "Portnoy's Complaint" for the first time, partly because I want to see if it's held up for me after all these years, and partly to see how it compares to the handful of other Roth novels I've read in recent years, including "The Anatomy Lesson" and "The Plot Against America." So what did I find? As an older and now completely lapsed Jew, I found "Portnoy's Complaint" hilarious, shocking and frighteningly accurate, if a bit exaggerated. It also stands heads and shoulders above the other Roth novels I've read. As far as I can tell, there's "Portnoy's Complaint," and then there's everything else he's written.

I won't bother saying much about the book's content here because either you've already read it don't need to be told about it, or you should read the book, and I don't want to ruin it for you by recounting the best parts. (Frankly, the whole book's great, and singling out the best parts would be a pretty daunting task.) But I do have one caveat: I'm not sure how well this book would resonate with anyone who didn't grow up as a male in a Jewish family in America. I'm not saying other people shouldn't read this book -- they should -- but I am saying that much of both its comedy and its meaningfulness likely will be lost on all readers who aren't male American Jews. As just one small example, only such a reader could truly appreciate the brilliance of a suicide note, from a son to his mother, mentioned in passing:

Mrs. Blumenthal called. Please bring your mah-jongg rules to the game tonight. Ronald

"Portnoy's Complain" is chock-full of profanity (including judicious use of the dreaded c-word), sexual depravity (and not just the famous meat scene), and ethnic stereotypes (including a hilarious depiction of the home life of WASPs). I've seen some people criticize this book for being too much of a comedy, too prone to Borscht Belt-style humor. Well, yes, but so what? The book is intended as a comedy, and the entire novel even ends with a punchline -- and not just any punchline, but a punchline that wouldn't be out of place on a Catskills stage.

Anyhow, there's no need for me to say much more about "Portnoy's Complaint." Plus, I have an easier time writing lengthy reviews of books I hate than ones I love wholeheartedly. Much like Alexander Portnoy, I'm not very good at being positive and upbeat. I'm just glad that the book held up as well as it did for me after all these years.

Sorry, Grammy.(less)

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Mar 17, 2009 Evan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: modern-library-top-100-list, my-faves, 2009-reads, tami-tomes, deliciously-nasty, __in-my-collection, sexuality, yearning, roth, jewish, favorites, men-behaving-badly

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 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 quite pleased.

(Yes. I'm reading the old yellow paperback edition. $1 from Half Price.)

Getting close to a third of the way in...What is it Dali said: "Stop stealing my dreams?" I say to Roth: "You've stolen my life, the angst in my head." I'm sort of in a mindmeld with this book. The conflicting feelings over one's parents, the tugs of opposing impulses: to respect and abhor, to compromise and rebel. This book is making me appreciate the efforts of my own mother more, whereas lately I've been inclined to overemphasize her faults; the deficiencies passed from her to me. Many lovely ruminations, not just masturbation... Reading transfixed.

I'm officially in awe of Roth, and the achievement of this book. Just surpassed the two-third mark in the evening after beginning this yesterday evening. The conflicts between outward respectability and inner desires; the baggage of youth; the rebellion against morality and tradition; the inner conflict (stated ostensibly as a therapy session); the anxiety and humiliation -- the insecurity of being the outsider, and of fighting against your own minority status; the grotesque beauty and brutality; the longing, the confusion, the pettiness, and the self-awareness thereof; the conflict of living two sets of values... This ALL SPEAKS to me. Roth is so focused, yet so diffuse. Every word of this is wise and sad and raw and real. This is referred to as a comic novel, but while there are laughs there's much more poignancy, for me. I just dig the shit out of this book. I mean, so much so that it might now be my favorite novel ever. But let's not get too hasty. Still going...

OK, well, this had everything for me. EVERYTHING! (and a lot of exclamation points just like that one). This is now, officially, my favorite book.(less)

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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

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Nov 15, 2012 Alex rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reading-through-history, 2012, smut

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

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Mar 10, 2013 Bev Hankins rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mcpl-book

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 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.

But, I digress. Back to the review. This is the story of Alexander Portnoy and the outpourings of his therapy sessions with Dr. Spielvogel. Portnoy goes on and on (and on and on and...) about growing up Jewish and what the pressures of his home life have done to him. Squashed in between his ramblings about his sex life (both solitary and in company), we are given little vignettes about life with father and Mother and sister. Mother, of course, being the dominant figure in Portnoy's life.

This book earned two stars out of my five star system. There were moments (brief, fleeting) of down-right brilliant hilarity. There were moments (even briefer and more fleeting) of thoughtful insight. These are the redeeming qualities that push Portnoy's Complaint from one star to two. Over-all, this is a self-centered, whiny, piece of sexual OCD with a central character who is hung up on himself, his penis and where he's putting it, and his Jewishness (not necessarily in that order). If the humor were more liberally sprinkled throughout and/or the main character actually showed some growth over the almost 300 pages, then I would have given it a higher rating. As it is, despite Portnoy's sporadic psychological comments about himself (which seem to be right on target), he never takes these musings to heart and applies them. The reader is left feeling that Portnoy will never get beyond the furtive fumbling in the bathroom or the frantic wranglings in the bedroom.

This was first posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks!
(less)

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Aug 28, 2008 Andrew rated it 4 of 5 stars

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 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 position in the New York mayor's cabinet and is by all exterior signals a very successful, intellectual man. His sexual urges and needs preclude him from being close to a woman beyond sex, though he wishes he could settle into the family-centric existence expected by his parents and his Weequahic neighborhood. Instead of falling in line with these expectations or dreams, however you interpret them, he is drawn to the exact opposite: lusting after shikses and not the "nice jewish girls" his mother desires for him, public masturbation & other sex acts, etc. But it is also obvious that the quiet family (jewish) life is not put on a pedestal either; his family appears as a bunch of raving lunatics bent on invading their son's life and protecting him from any possible harm, from infection to loneliness to infection to disease to injury to infection. His parents are satirized but he still longs for the life laid out for him. It is a complex novel about best-laid plans and the reality of human nature, and the constant conflict between the two.

the most interesting part of the book comes near the conclusion, when he dumps his erotic flavor of the week in athens while on vacation and hops a plane to israel in a state of disarray over his condition and life. at first, we think this might be the rehabilitation he needs; he marvels at no longer being a minority, but rather, in a country of jews, run by jews, where even the ice cream man is jewish. however, after he nearly succeeds in raping a socialist jewish woman in his hotel room, we see that he doesn't fit into this class either; he is simply a man who doesn't fit into any category. is this so much different than all of us? our parents create our expectations for us from birth, but in reality these expectations only fit into several categories, while the kaleidoscope of human personality far exceeds these simplistic classifications of what our lives should be.(less)

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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

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Feb 10, 2009 Caleb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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.

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Jul 23, 2010 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Broad minded people

Shelves: audio-book, 1001-books-read, 20th-century, usa, library-book-or-loan, man-booker-international

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

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Jun 13, 2013 Giuseppe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 1960-s, literature-american, genre-drama, esimio-sconosciuto

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 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 apprensivi, una madre affettuosa ma soffocante ed autoritaria, se avete la (s)fortuna di essere un uomo in tale società, se da voi ci si aspetta tanto (troppo), ebbene non vi servirà molto per capire questo libro e quello che dice.

Da bravo meridionale emigrato soddisfo molte delle condizioni suddette. Così non ho fatto alcuna fatica a immedesimarmi nel libro e rivedermi nella figura di Alexander Portnoy (ad onor del vero ci rivedo più mio fratello maggiore, mi ha salvato l'essere terzogenito: sono cresciuto più capafrésca avendo subito meno attenzioni, quindi con meno interesse intorno e meno aspettative). Dalle figure genitoriali, alla rivalsa sessuale (la mappa mentale degli USA da colonizzare stato per stato non è troppo dissimile da quella dell'Europa che avevo in mente nei primi del 2000), passando per il disagio delle proprie origini che si converte in motivo di superiorità in un ambiente esterno (studiatevi la categoria dei terroni fuggiaschi per capire cosa intendo), il malcelato amore per la propria cucina, l'affermazione non economica ma sociale in un ruolo "giusto" e tanto tanto altro. Insomma tante, troppe cose durante la lettura mi sembravano affini o addirittura autobiografiche, tanto da chiedermi se non fossi la reincarnazione di almeno una parte dell'anima di Roth (per me il romanzo è autobiografico, ci scommetto quello che volete) posto che è ancora in vita.

Certo i distinguo non mancano. Mio padre non è stitico, né mia madre è così melodrammatica (anche se certe frasi sono in ciclostilato), e nessuno dei due può essere considerato ignorante, anzi. Né ho l'anafettività nei rapporti di coppia di Portnoy. Né tuttavia le mie origini possono essere ricondotte a popolazioni dalla leggendaria intelligenza (vi assicuro però che non sono tonto). Però, devo ammettere, nonostante Portnoy sia un po' stronzo, ipocrita, egoista non riesco proprio a non avere un moto di simpatia nei suoi confronti.

E alla fine il messaggio di Roth è chiaro, usando l'espediente psicanalitico: dalle tue origini non ti ci stacchi, che l'imprinting è qualcosa che ti porti dietro per tutta la vita e con cui ci devi convivere dovunque tu sia. Ma che non puoi nemmeno risolvere i tuoi conflitti tornando al punto di partenza, essendo questo diventato altro da te.(less)

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Dec 19, 2009 Misha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, novel, dirtydirtydirty

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I've got about 20 pages to go on this, but just finished watching the tail end of an episode of Half & Half over brunch and it sort of dove-tailed with some vague thoughts I've had about sexual deviancy (and representations thereof) while reading Portnoy's Complaint. In the TV show, a girl is dating a guy she really likes, thinks she might have a future with, until she learns he has a foot fetish. Then she unceremoniously dumps him and hops around saying "Ew!" for the last couple of minutes...more I've got about 20 pages to go on this, but just finished watching the tail end of an episode of Half & Half over brunch and it sort of dove-tailed with some vague thoughts I've had about sexual deviancy (and representations thereof) while reading Portnoy's Complaint. In the TV show, a girl is dating a guy she really likes, thinks she might have a future with, until she learns he has a foot fetish. Then she unceremoniously dumps him and hops around saying "Ew!" for the last couple of minutes of the show. My reaction is, "How vanilla do you have to be to get that freaked out by someone who likes to fondle feet? Work it for the foot rubs, you idiot!"

I used to have the same kinds of thoughts while watching Sex and the City, wherein Carrie Bradshaw was supposed to be the vanguard of all things sexual in that modern-day Gomorrah, New York, and yet was perplexed by things like dating a guy who was bisexual. I'll grant I might be a little thrown off by a guy who was into golden showers (another SatC episode), but bisexuality? Not even remotely deviant, or shouldn't be to a sophisticated New Yorker.

Same with BDSM. I don't get why people make such a big deal out of some people getting off on being tied down and spanked. You're not into it? Don't do it.

Maybe it's just that I'm excessively liberal in my sexual philosophy, but I find it rather absurd the things that are considered deviant in our sex-obsessed, yet sex-repressed, current American culture. Jacking off? It'd be deviant not to.

So I'm finding it interesting to read this book, which is a great representation of America's attitude toward sex. It was written in the mid-1960s when the Sexual Revolution was being waged (But was it ever won? I think that's arguable), and I think Roth probably captured a lot of pent-up sexual energy that most of America was feeling. He put everyone's dirty little thoughts and secrets into words along with the guilt imposed on them by the mother of all mothers, American Society. How much has all of that changed? Not much if even the parts of our culture that are supposed to represent sexual liberation (e.g. Sex in the City) haven't embraced anything close to the full spectrum of human sexuality.

When it comes down to it, Portnoy's deviance ain't all that deviant. I will give Roth the liver, particularly the family eating it afterward. That was one of my few "Ew!" moments while reading.

***

Now having finished, I liked the book a lot despite finding Alexander Portnoy a thoroughly unlikeable, self-involved, misanthropic character. The family stuff became repetitive and I thought the best bits were Portnoy's accounts of his relationship with The Monkey.(less)

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Oct 16, 2011 Jeremy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary, humour, review, canon

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

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Nov 21, 2012 Morgan rated it 3 of 5 stars

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

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Feb 23, 2013 [P] rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Mar 11, 2013 Mike rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy, novels, classics-reading-challenge-13

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.

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Dec 03, 2012 Chaitra rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy-on-guardians-top-1000, guardians-top-1000, read-in-2012, satire, humor, literary-fiction, philip-roth, humor-thats-not-funny, book-at-wall

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Yeah, ok. I got through this. My first Roth book, it probably won't be the last considering how many books he has on the 1001 lists, but it has definitely put all my to-read Roth books on the back burner. Let me put it this way. If Portnoy was an Indian, I would be very furious with this book. It is not that I cannot laugh at ethnic eccentricities. I could. But this is positively vitriolic. There is not one shred of evidence in Portnoy's million complaints that he took away anything positive fro...more Yeah, ok. I got through this. My first Roth book, it probably won't be the last considering how many books he has on the 1001 lists, but it has definitely put all my to-read Roth books on the back burner. Let me put it this way. If Portnoy was an Indian, I would be very furious with this book. It is not that I cannot laugh at ethnic eccentricities. I could. But this is positively vitriolic. There is not one shred of evidence in Portnoy's million complaints that he took away anything positive from his Jewish upbringing, and most of the things he complains about as being particularly Jewish, aren't. It's hard to sympathize with this selfish pig, and it gets worse and worse as we read about his smug self talking about his relationship with women.

Let's see. Portnoy hates his mother. All mothers his mother's age actually. At one point he says that if cows could talk, they would be talking like his mother and her group. His mother is a bit odd, and doesn't acknowledge personal boundaries, but coming from a country that on the whole is a bit vague on personal space, I really cannot take this guy seriously. He seems to be hating on his mother for wanting him to be a well behaved person. He turned out to be a pig, but I can't hate his mother for that. He relates a couple of incidents, pertaining to people other than himself. It would have worked if they had happened to him, Alex Portnoy. They don't, so I can't care for his second-hand outrage.

Portnoy hates all of the other women in his life as well. Paradoxically, they slobber all over him, without him having to pay them. Why? They, at least in parts, seem to perform every single kinky thought he must have had throughout his sex obsessed years, even with him treating them worse than door mats. Gah, there is a particularly irritating scene where his girlfriend doesn't want to go down on him, but still does to make him happy, and this man has the audacity to think that had he been a goy, she would have done it with no trouble at all. What? Never mind the bullshit he thinks about and does to the main woman in his life, Monkey. A troubled girl out of the coal mines in Wisconsin, she was the reason I kept reading. She seemed to have real issues, but we leave her hanging, literally, in a balcony in Greece (or Italy), threatening to fall off it. So, does this incident make Portnoy a better person? Ha! We leave him hating himself for not being able to rape a woman, because in Israel, where he is, he can't get it up.

Is this supposed to be funny? People call it that. There are a couple of instances of humor, but I don't think that's what the favorable reviews of this book mean. If Portnoy's complaints are meant to be funny, I'm glad I don't have the sense of humor to appreciate it. It is dirty, but only a particularly dense and horny teenager might think of the 250 pages of sex as sexy. Others will be too busy either feeling sorry for the women, or raising their eyebrows at how much this whole thing seems like adolescent wish fulfillment. I get that this thing was written in the 60s, it was different back then, and the mere mention of sex was enough to brand an author "brave". But, why is this re-iterated as fact even today? Should we tolerate racism and stereotyping just because it comes from an author of the same race?

I vacillated between a one and a two star rating for this. Ultimately my frustration wins over the language (which is quite good, I only wish it was describing something better), 1 star it is.(less)

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May 07, 2010 rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, nice-surprise, from-library, jewish

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

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Jan 18, 2008 Dale rated it 3 of 5 stars

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

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Jan 27, 2008 Tony Cohen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. There was something very comforting about this book to me. Maybe it had to do with he evolution of the Jew in America (being Jewish and all), or maybe it had to do with the general value/truth of the US melting pot (if you happen to be able to pass for a white person).

I loved how his childhood was just so foreign to me. It seemed like out of another century, not merely the generation before. Who are these Jews who are so unsure of themselves and their isolation, and belief that they are so easil...more

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Dec 11, 2007 Grant rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 20th-century-american-literary-nove

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 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 he is expected to be. here is a book length tirade about being a jewish american man by a jewish american man. portnoy seethes at the constant suffocation he has had to put up w/ because of his background: the self-hatred, anxiety/shame/deviant view regarding his exagerated sexual appetite, and overall inability to form deep relationships with most anyone. thse parts of his person do not fit into the jewish american man who he grew up around and who his parents long him to be. he at least partilly blames this on his upbgining: over concerned, intrusive jewish mother. and some of this is self-imposed. like holden caufield of cather in the rye, part of the pressue to meet the expectations of his parents, larger ring of family, and possibly the world is his of his own making. and i think that is true in life. of course those pressues exist and surround us, but to a certain extent they only become as imposing as we let them. and at the same time i think portnoy realizes it is that background that makes him who he is, the parts of his person he values above all. in at least some small way, who doesn't experience that inner conflict about one's own identity. one's self vs. where one came from.

i think roth asks questions about allegiances to groups very well. he has a story, "champion of the faith," i think it's called, where a jewish seargent is brown nosed by new jewish recruits to get special favor to accommodate their shared faith and standards of living. when the seargent finally concedes, he finds out the recruits did not use his favor as they'd promised. the point isn't these characters are jewish. it has as much to do with any group. the point is the danger of aligning with or favoring people simply because they happen to belong to the same group as you. i think roth is saying, we aren't the same people simply because we were born into a group, any kind of group, or even if we chose the same group. there are no short cuts to a relationship, so before i trust you, prove your worthiness.
(less)

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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

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Mar 22, 2013 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: american, favorites

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

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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

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Apr 23, 2012 Fionnuala rated it 4 of 5 stars

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

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Oct 16, 2008 Lavinia rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, fiction

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

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Jan 19, 2009 marg rated it 2 of 5 stars

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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About Philip Roth

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

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Goodbye, Columbus and Five Short Stories

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