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 fur 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. (19941121)
Portnoy's Complaint (Vintage Blue)
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Philip Roth's gift for fantasy, his superb dialogue, his ability to evoke places and atmospheres, makes Portnoy's Complaint at once hilariously, scandalously funny and deeply moving (Philip French Financial Times )
Alexander Portnoy is a great comic character. He is going to be for many readers what his mother was for him: The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met (Julian Mitchell New Statesman )
A hysterically funny monologue which has already added a new prototype to American literature... Anyone who can recall anything of the awesome mystery and humiliating farce of growing up will find this book compulsive reading. And it is blessedly, extremely funny (Tony Tanner Spectator )
If it doesn't make you laugh, you may have lost your sense of humour (Week )
Scabrous language and fantastic comic energy (Jewish Renaissance )
Alexander Portnoy is a great comic character. He is going to be for many readers what his mother was for him: The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met (Julian Mitchell New Statesman )
A hysterically funny monologue which has already added a new prototype to American literature... Anyone who can recall anything of the awesome mystery and humiliating farce of growing up will find this book compulsive reading. And it is blessedly, extremely funny (Tony Tanner Spectator )
If it doesn't make you laugh, you may have lost your sense of humour (Week )
Scabrous language and fantastic comic energy (Jewish Renaissance )
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'The most outrageously funny book about sex yet written' Guardian (20040702)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm a complete newcomer to Philip Roth and picked this up on impulse in a second-hand bookshop (sorry amazon!). I loved it from start to finish and would recommend it to anyone, young, old, male or female, but with a few caveats. Firstly if you are coming new to it as I did, you might be surprised by the, shall we say frank-ness of the writing. I'm no prude but I was cringing as much as laughing during some of the more extreme passages. That a book written 40 years ago still has the power to shock is something - that its still worth reading and not just a passing fad is something else. Also, if you are at all familar with the tv show Curb Your Enthusiasm, it may be difficult not to read the whole book aloud in Larry David's voice inside your head; its very very Larry, and I suspect might have been a partial inspiration for his character on that show. Which is to say that it says a lot about being a modern Jewish male, with all the glories and hang-ups that (apparently) brings. Above all it manages to be enthralling without being remotely plot-driven and profound without being pretentious or heavy. Well done Mr Roth!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was the second book by Roth that I have read, after Everyman, and by comparison I found it much less insightful to the human (male) condition. From the cover notes I was also expecting it to be funnier. There are some hilarious moments but it is certainly not a comedy. Maybe it is the focus on what a "good Jewish boy" should do that made it more difficult for me to identify with the main character. The agonising battle against guilt and his biology (sexual drive) can perhaps only truly make sense from a Jewish perspective of expectation. That said the style, of one book-long monologue, does help build an increasing tension and revelation. In the end it cleverly exposes the life of self-justification and essentially selfish, shallow existence, even if the apparent shackles are broken and every indulgence gratified. This is probably a book that would resonate with a 30-year old wondering where to go in life, but not so much a 50-year old wondering what it all meant.
48 of 53 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Alexander portnoy details his life to the reader with wit and brilliance every step of the way. From his diatribes against his overbearing Jewish parents and growing up in the closed-mideness of Newark; to details of his grimmest and most filthy sexual encounters and fantasies. Portnoy's Complaint is a fantastically funny book about one mans urge to fulfill himself against all odds that heave been put in place against him due to an Oedipus complex and a need to be on the moral highground. Anyone who has read Philip Roth before will enjpoy this book, anyone who hasn't will find this a good starting point.
My only criticism lies in the sometimes long-winded descriptions of various stages of his adolescence and life - while although these are often funny,; they give the book a sluggish quality it otherwise would not possess.
On the whole, however, a good read and very, very funny.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Patchy
Starts well but drifts downhill pretty rapidly. By the end of the book I hated the main character, and his penis, as much as he did.
Published 1 month ago by Grant F Ferguson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good good good
Such a good book. American Pastoral was the first Roth book I read but I wish I'd started the right way round and read Portnoy's Complaint before - great introduction to a younger,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by E. M. Smith
1.0 out of 5 stars
Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) on Kindle copy
The book itself I remember as being hilarious when I read it years ago and I am hoping for the same experience again. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Sue Chepstow
5.0 out of 5 stars
Truthful, a confession without any censorship
So you start reading it and all of a sudden you understand that Portnoy is actually complaining to you, nothing official about it, no hidden meaning. Read more
Published 16 months ago by steelo
2.0 out of 5 stars
a dull read
This book is a tedious trail. It moves so slowly and does not get anywhere. It is quite a challenge to finish it. No problem to put it down and forget about it. Read more
Published 20 months ago by dmen
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Filthy Masterpiece
One of the most controversial American novels of the post-war period, Philip Roth's brilliant 'Portnoy's Complaint', chronicles the story of Alexander Portnoy, a self-deprecating... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. D Burin
4.0 out of 5 stars
still bewildered after all these years
read this book when it first came out and when i reached the last page i laughed out loud and re-read it .my copy was loaned out and never seen again. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2011 by Henry Walsh
2.0 out of 5 stars
portnoys complaint
I got this book because its reviews were so good, but I soon found out that it's one of those books whose popularity can be clearly linked to the time of its writing. Read more
Published on 27 May 2010 by Hazel Ellis-saxon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Portnoy's Complaint
Quick and efficient purchasing....Great bargain price.....Hilarious book - a classic from a master writer
Published on 9 Dec 2009 by G. M. Donald
4.0 out of 5 stars
Engaging study into teenage angst unresolved in a grown man
This is the second Roth novel I've read and as such I knew roughly what to expect.
Roth is a great writer and Portnoy's Complaint is a fairly formless account of teenage... Read more
Roth is a great writer and Portnoy's Complaint is a fairly formless account of teenage... Read more
Published on 9 Sep 2009 by Talc Demon
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