Portnoy's Complaint

By Philip Roth

The groundbreaking novel from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of American Pastoral that originally propelled its author to literary stardom: told in a continuous monologue from patient to psychoanalyst, this masterpiece draws us into the turbulent mind of one lust-ridden young Jewish bachelor named Alexander Portnoy.

One of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels of the Past 100 Years

“Deliciously funny . . . absurd and exuberant, wild and uproarious . . . a brilliantly vivid reading experience”—The New York Times Book Review

“Touching as well as hilariously lewd . . . Roth is vibrantly talented”—New York Review of Books

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.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 13, 2011
• ISBN: 9780307744050

Philip Roth

PHILIP ROTH (1933–2018) won the Pulitzer Prize for American Pastoral in 1997. In 1998 he received the National Medal of Arts at the White House and in 2002 the highest award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Gold Medal in Fiction, previously awarded to John Dos Passos, William Faulkner and Saul Bellow, among others. He twice won the National Book Award, the PEN/Faulkner Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award. In 2005 The Plot Against America received the Society of American Historians’ prize for “the outstanding historical novel on an American theme for 2003–2004” and the W.H. Smith Award for the Best Book of the Year, making Roth the first writer in the forty-six-year history of the prize to win it twice. In 2005 Roth became the third living American writer to have his works published in a comprehensive, definitive edition by the Library of America. In 2011 he received the National Humanities Medal at the White House, and was later named the fourth recipient of the Man Booker International Prize. In 2012 he won Spain’s highest honor, the Prince of Asturias Award, and in 2013 he received France’s highest honor, Commander of the Legion of Honor.

Reviews for Portnoy's Complaint

[xiaomarlo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hey, I know! Let's throw in an attempted rape scene right at the end, and then not really address or deal with it properly! It can act as a symbol whilst at the same time trivializing the event.

Four stars for brilliant, quotable writing.

[zerkalo-4 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Definitely the most hilarious novel I have read since Jerzy Pilch's "The strong Angel Inn" ( translated as "The Mighty Angel", Rochester, NY, Open Letter Books, 2009).

[eyejaybee · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don’t propose to spend too long writing about this sordid and utterly unamusing novel – I have already wasted more than enough time reading it. The edition that I read was even more heavily strewn with critics’ encomia than usual, all of them suggesting that this is a comic masterpiece, and it seems to have played a significant part in launching Philip Roth as one of those authors striving to bring off ‘The Great American Novel’. I wonder whether this is another case of the Emperor’s new clothes, with no one daring to rock the boat by suggesting that, rather than funny and acutely observed, it is simply a clumsy attempt to shock, which left no crass stereotype knowingly overlooked.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I hear Roth wanted this book to be a provocation and a scandal. Well, he really did a good job at that. I can imagine his blunt report on the endless series of masturbations and sexual variations by Alexander Portnoy caused a lot of annoyance and indignation, even though the book was published in that symbolic year 1968. And I sympathise with all those that state that Roth has done the jewish community in America much wrong by creating this archetype of the oversexed, schizofrenic modern jew. The book is really "over the top", I often thought - while reading - : do you really have to be so explicit to make your point?Well, as a matter of fact, I think Roth was wright! This book is one very long scream of a person in distress, a scream out of agony, a scream to help him deal with all his obessions: his overbaring parents, especially his mother, yes Mr Oidipous; his jewish identity with all its crazy rules, and the American view on what is proper and successful. Portnoy is a person in revolt, he wants to break all boundaries, and in a way he does, but to his personal discomfort and unhapiness. This long scream (the word 'complaint' is rather downplaying it) has great power of its own, but it is enhanced by the blunt style Roth uses: all the time Portnoy cries out, uses jewish references, statements by others, screams of despair and indignation. In a way it reminded me of Dostojevski's Notes from underground.So, in the end, my judgment is mixed: on the one hand this book has great power, Roth has found a voice of his own, and really goes all the way; on the other hand I don't really feel connected with this book, Alex Portnoy remains a stranger to me, though he tells me something about a certain society in a certain period of history.

[chandra_35 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hilarious.

[maxernst11 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I hear Roth wanted this book to be a provocation and a scandal. Well, he really did a good job at that. I can imagine his blunt report on the endless series of masturbations and sexual variations by Alexander Portnoy caused a lot of annoyance and indignation, even though the book was published in that symbolic year 1968. And I sympathise with all those that state that Roth has done the jewish community in America much wrong by creating this archetype of the oversexed, schizofrenic modern jew. The book is really "over the top", I often thought - while reading - : do you really have to be so explicit to make your point?Well, as a matter of fact, I think Roth was wright! This book is one very long scream of a person in distress, a scream out of agony, a scream to help him deal with all his obessions: his overbaring parents, especially his mother, yes Mr Oidipous; his jewish identity with all its crazy rules, and the American view on what is proper and successful. Portnoy is a person in revolt, he wants to break all boundaries, and in a way he does, but to his personal discomfort and unhapiness. This long scream (the word 'complaint' is rather downplaying it) has great power of its own, but it is enhanced by the blunt style Roth uses: all the time Portnoy cries out, uses jewish references, statements by others, screams of despair and indignation. In a way it reminded me of Dostojevski's Notes from underground.So, in the end, my judgment is mixed: on the one hand this book has great power, Roth has found a voice of his own, and really goes all the way; on the other hand I don't really feel connected with this book, Alex Portnoy remains a stranger to me, though he tells me something about a certain society in a certain period of history.

[sandydog1_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"Naked Lunch" without the drugs, and as written by a fifteen year-old.

[theampersand · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I first read this one back in high school and, in a lot of ways, it's as good as I remember it being. The book can be, by turns, funny, insightful, excruciating and observant, but what's most impressive about it is how incredibly unforced it seems: Roth's facility for rendering dialogue -- or rather, monologue -- is nothing less than amazing. Reading this one, you might as well be in the room with Alexander Portnoy, listening to him rant, remember, complain and interrogate himself. The novel verges on being some sort of historical document: in fifty years, you might be able to hand this to someone and say, "this is how American Jews spoke in the twentieth century." The text, which, of course, leans heavily on the passive voice, overflows with jokes, swears, regionalisms, and yiddishisms. You might also be able to say "this book perfectly expresses the condtradictions faced by the Jewish diaspora in the United States and exposes the cultural contradictions inherent in sixties-era liberalism." Any one of these would be an accomplishment, but Roth seems to pull them off all at once while barely breaking a sweat. It's half comedy routine and half exorcism, and it's a joy to read. But there are also a few things here that keep this from being a five-star review. The first is that Alexander Portnoy seemed a whole lot less likable the second time round that he did the first, though this might have been because when a teenager myself I focused on his accounts of his teenage troubles. These sections still go down easier: Portnoy's more endearing when he plays his parents' victim than when he's acting like a fault-finding, thoughtless, chauvinist, a role that he occupies for much of the book's second half. The fact that he knows that's he's being unbearable, most of the time, doesn't make this stuff easier to read. Also, the book suffers from what might be termed the Woody Allen problem: both Roth and Portnoy love, and love describing, beautiful women, which is fine. But if Alexander's such a hopelessly neurotic cad, how come he keeps ending up with such terrific babes? At times, the book drifts towards fantasy, which might be, I suppose, also fine. "Portnoy's Complaint" isn't a documentary, it's a study of a hopelessly divided psyche in which we get to see an unstoppable id fight it out with a socially conditioned superego. Of course, I imagine some readers will only be able to take so much of this: the book, good as it is, can be an exhausting to read. Alexander's subconscious, from the book's very first sentence, is stuck on blast. Even so, whether you end up loving, hating, or identifying with Alexander Portnoy, this one should be on everyone's "must read" list.

[pepperwings · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I guess the title encapsulates the book, it is largely complaints, some memoir-style writing, and eventually there's a little bit of a twist. I found it gained and lost momentum a lot, and was a slow read compared to what I expected.

[snowcatcradle · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The fact that this novel is considered controversial is the greatest recommendation that I can give.

[amerynth · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I really hated Philip Roth's novel "Portnoy's Complaint." I really didn't care for this whiny narrator, his obsession with sex and his mommy issues. I can't find anything redeeming to say about it at all -- so I'm moving on after having read a little more than half.

[brakketh-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book despite getting it before knowing what it was about. I found the Jewish character's neuroticism very amusing.

[reed21-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Most people will, by now, have seen the neurotic, self-loathing/loving, Jew with mommy issues schtick somewhere before, so "Portnoy's Complaint" may not pack as potent a punch as it originally did in 1969. Regardless, Roth's book feels like the best, most authentic version of said schtick that I've read or watched anywhere. I'm not a big Woody Allen guy, but Roth is kind of like a darker, better Woody Allen.In case you don't already know what the book is about and haven't read the description, it's basically the narrator rambling to his psychiatrist (the psychiatrist has one line in the entire book) about his sexual desires, repressions, motivations, etc., many of which are influenced by his Jewish upbringing and the presence of his overbearing mother.I thought most of the book was very, very funny. I laughed sympathetically at the characters that the narrator was complaining about, while often laughing simultaneously AT the narrator for getting so worked up about things.I've seen/heard people complain about gratuitous depictions of sex and masturbation. One of the book's main themes is the narrator's simultaneous sexual obsession, guilt, and self-repression, so yeah, there are some sex scenes and some masturbation scenes. A couple of the sex scenes do get a little adventurous, but it's probably nothing you've never heard of before. In fact, if you've A) masturbated and B) had sex (these should both be prerequisites to reading "Portnoy's Complaint"), you're probably not too prudish for anything in here. It's a bit of a shame that the book has a reputation for sexual outrageousness, because it contains some of the most genuine descriptions of sexual desires and motivations.The only weak point of the book for me was the ending, which seemed a bit rushed and not all that strongly connected to the rest of the book. However, given that the book is basically comic ramblings about a horny kid growing up and trying to deal with his stereotypically shrewish Jewish mother, the plot was never a focus and the end was always going to feel a little abrupt. All in all, it's well worth reading for the humor, the depiction of growing up Jewish in 20th century Newark, and the honest exploration of sexual motivations.

[jazmsngr · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't really sure what I was getting into when I started Portnoy's Complaint. My first encounter with Roth was The Human Stain. Which I thought was really good. Portnoy is very well written-- as to be expected from Roth-- however, I couldn't really find any common ground with the characters and hence not a higher rating. Roth is a master at creating mental images with his writing. He is able to capture a characters voice and character and not just through physical descriptions. Roth paints a picture with the way characters react to situations, the way they speak within the context of various situations.
Portnoy's Complaint is sexually graphic throughout so beware anyone who may be easily offended.
I gave PC three stars because the book is put together very well; still, I wasn't crazy about the topic and a lot of the graphic exploits of Alexander Portnoy.

[barakketh · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this book despite getting it before knowing what it was about. I found the Jewish character's neuroticism very amusing.

[bkohl_6 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

No wonder Portnoy's Complaint is on everybody's top whatever list; it's the Great American Novel of the latter 20th century. Freudian sexual dysfunction, identity politics, and cultural alienation are all described with a self-conscious irony. The relentless grounding of Portnoy's problems in the physical made me laugh hysterically the first time I read it; the second time I wasn't sure which parts were meant to be funny. But reading the 1994 edition clears it all up: Roth helpfully includes an afterword in which he claims he got all the ideas for his books from a lost piece of paper in a roast-beef-serving cafeteria in 1956. Ha, ha. What's funnier - a literary masterpiece about masturbation or people who think a novel about masturbation is a literary masterpiece?Why only 3 stars? By the second reading, the shades of meaning were beginning to intrude on the funniness; I get the feeling that if I read it again I'll only learn more about Freud and won't laugh at all.

[qofd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Great story, a litle shocking in places!. Certainly a lot of mothers out there like that one.

[jonbrammer-788089 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Not what I expected - the ego contending with the id for superiority. The central conceit here is the urge for self-gratification, mainly symbolized in sex, masturbatory and otherwise, that stands in for the author's urge to write or the mind's desire for acceptance. Roth's picture of Jewish domestic life, with its neuroses and absurdities, influenced a lot of later comedy from Woody Allen to Jerry Seinfeld, who seem like pale imitations in comparison.

The profanity and sexual abandon might turn off some readers, but this is one of the funniest novels I have ever read. Roth writes with an honesty that, like his hero Alex Portnoy, is part perverted schmuck and part misunderstood genius.

[foof2you · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Interesting book about Alexander Portnoy and his complaint, actually should be, complaints. There are very many, his parents, religion, sex, his sex life all being told to his doctor. I would imagine that when this book was published it was probably very controversial with its free flowing talk of sex.One problem that I have with this book is the use of Yiddish words with no definition for those who are not familiar with the language.

[dbsovereign · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Roth makes us laugh in this rather sad tale of a Jewish boy, growing up a weirdly familiar landscape. A rambling confession of a man's growing pains in an oppressive family. Groundbreaking at the time.

[bjkelley · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

274 pages that turn out to be a rant to a psychiatrist. I read this book a few pages at a time and really enjoyed it. I can't imagine sitting down and reading it in one fell swoop. Looking forward to seeing the movie now and seeing how they adapted the book to the screen.

[pilgrimjess · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

"You can no more make someone tell the truth than you can force someone to love you."First published in 1969, 'Portnoy's Complaint' is a long monologue, apparently to a psychiatrist, by Jewish American bachelor Alex Portnoy, . The psychiatrist says nothing until the closing line and is only purely a device to allow Alex to talk aloud. He recounts his Jewish childhood with his neurotic parents and subsequent relationship history in which he sought refuge in experimental sex from his own neuroses.There are a few major themes in this novel. Identity is certainly one of them. Much of the book centres around what it means to be Jewish, even if most of it features Alex's attempts to avoid such a label. Guilt is another important theme. Alex is raised in a society which trains you to be obedient through arbitrary rules (often featuring food) so that you will obey them in later life but as he grows older, bruised by the consequences of these restrictions, Alex struggles to differentiate between which rules are valid and which are simply ridiculous.Just like the therapist the reader isn't meant to engage with Portnoy's complaints and opinions merely to listen. Yiddish terms are scattered throughout the book and maybe these meant that I missed some of the finer points that the author was trying to make but whatever the reason after a while I found this a tedious ramble. I would by no means regard myself as a prude but the endless talk about masturbation in particular left me cold. Alex was so selfish that on one occasion he is amazed when a young woman is upset when he breaks up with her, because as far as he is concerned only his feelings count. I cannot say that I actually laughed out loud but did on occasions smile at the scandalous humour. But after a while I just wanted to shout at Portnoy to think about someone else for a change and was tempted to take a break from him. I had been really looking forward to reading this book beforehand but found it a little hit and miss, a book in which the author simply tries to show just how clever he is and ultimately disappointing.

[dantarlin · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I decided to reread this novel, which I first read 30 years ago in high school. It doesn't read quite as well this time in light of 2021 values. For one thing, there's a disturbing sexual assault scene right at the end that would have been read very differently in the late 1960s; and there are many references to African Americans and other racial minorities that would never be written now.But this book remains amazing. It's scandalously sexual- the whole book is about sex and Jewish neuroses related to sex. The book is one long rant by Alexander Portnoy, a 33 year old lawyer raised in Newark by his overbearing mother and constipated insurance-selling father, telling his therapist about his life up to then. We read all about his masturbation, early experiences with local girls, adult relationships with various gentiles, and life with his emasculating mother. It might be tough to understand without some knowledge about America in mid-Century America and Jewish culture in particular.What's really amazing to me is that Roth writes about the milieu and the culture and the city in which he grew up, so the book obviously reads as autobiographical. And what a bearing of the soul! Roth's later Zuckerberg novels reference the fictional author Zuckerman's scandalous first book which caused his parents such anguish, and I can't believe this book didn't do the same to the real-life author's family. Roth fully commits to Truth (strange to say in a work of fiction, but it's a sort of Truth), damn the consequences. It's an act of courage.But the Zuckerman novels are better- not as funny or as manic, but better written and less exhausting.

[superpeer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Portnoy's complaint is a really insightful and funny book. Although for some reason I found it a bit hard to read much of it at once, it was still an enjoyable read. The way Roth talks about Portnoy's childhood is magically embarrassing. Portnoy is really a character to relate to. If you're a cynical pervert. I'd recommend it.

[jeffome · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A rather unusual book........one that went along more easily than i would have thought had i known what i was diving into ahead of time. It is basically the ranting self-deprecating stream of consciousness rambling of a very Jewish young man to his therapist, feebly attempting to make sense of his chaotic, guilt-ridden life. Having, myself, grown up in a very middle-class, very WASP-y central PA neighborhood, my personal connection to anything Jewish was virtually non-existent....that was until i was fortunate enough to get accepted to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. I was then confronted with an entirely different culture of Ivy League Jewish students that had obviously had a very different upbringing than I did, most from the Metropolitan New York/Long Island area. Habits, clothing, priorities, religious practices, accents, attitudes, food, and so much more that was completely new to me, so different in some respects that i definitely felt the odd man out. It was merely my complete ignorance; the dictionary definition type. I just did not know. And, of course, over time, it all eventually melded into that wonderful period of time known as my college years, some exciting times. I bring this all up because this very personal (actually, a little too personal, possibly!) account of growing up Jewish in a North New Jersey suburb opened my eyes to the basis of all those differences i experienced with my new college counterparts; actually made me say to myself....Ahhhhh, now i get it! And that new insight probably made me like this book more than i might otherwise have. Its mix of very funny humor, graphic explicit sexuality, pontification on religion and social justice, and a sharply accurate representation of growing up an adolescent male in a family setting is both fun, interesting and slightly off-putting. Roth's character (or are they caricature?) studies of his parents are certainly the best and funniest parts of the book. Again, odd, but worth it.

[oscarwilde87_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"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." Sounds intriguing? Published in 1969, Portnoy's Complaint is probably the breakthrough novel that made its author, Philip Roth, famous. It describes Jewish protagonist Portnoy growing up to sexual maturity and his sexual endeavors through adolescence and adulthood. All this is given in monologue by the protagonist. Both book cover and epigraph suggest that Portnoy relates his exploits lying on a psychologist's couch and receiving therapy. In the end, however, there is a punch line, which Roth actually captioned as such. I will of course not give it away here.This book is filled with stories about sexual encounters and also includes somewhat graphic descriptions of the goings-on in Portnoy's sex life. While this might be a bit shocking to find in a book it is actually not very unusual for a postmodern novel published in the late 1960s. Roth's wit and the humorous way in which sex is depicted in Portnoy's Complaint add to a special and worthwhile reading experience. At several points in the reading process I found myself thinking 'No, he did not just write that.' This is one of the few books that made me laugh out loud while reading.Now, who should read this book? People interested in a description of the hardships of growing up as a Jewish boy in 20th-century America. People who like wit and humor in a novel. People who liked other books by Philip Roth. People who want to read a story that is different from (almost) everything they have read before. People interested in the topics of sexual frustration and sexual desire. People interested in the oddities of growing up as a Jewish boy who discovers he has a penis.On the whole, Portnoy's Complaint is certainly a very enjoyable read with an ending that makes you laugh even more. You certainly will not be bored. 4 stars.

[steller0707 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Offensive, funny, full of angst, Alexander Portnoy delivers some caustic commentary on growing up Jewish.

[martensgirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I picked up this book completely ignorant of its content, When I realised it was a first-person Jewish introspection I was concerned it would be a tedious ramble, reminiscent of Jacobson's The Finkler Question. I was pleasantly surprised; I found this book hilarious. I thought the ending was weak, but enjoyed how Portnoy spent his time complaining about traits in his mother that he himself possessed.

[msstephie · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This has been on my bookshelf for 30 years. I think I would have found it funnier if I'd read it then, Alex just came across as a whinger.

[steadfastreader · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Thank FSM I finished this book. Maybe I'm not smart enough. Maybe I don't do well with this particular style of literature but dear lord! It's the rambling of a madman... more or less. Consumed and obsessed by his own sexuality blaming first his mother and then his 'girlfriend' for the 'mania' that possesses him. I'll admit. The last few lines were pretty funny.