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Summary: Philip Roth: Misogynist and Self-Loathing Jew
Review: As a Jewish female, I could feel the bitterness crackle every time I turned the page. Roth obviously loathes his religion and loathes women as well. I'm not surprised at all that he had such a messy divorce from Claire Bloom, an attitude like his would leave me running for cover. As for the book, it was not at all funny. It is the ranting of a small, petty man. Apparently, I am in a minority with this opinion. Well, it's time people saw Philip Roth as he really is.
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Summary: Paints the picture...
Review: I'm not Jewish but I think this book is still quite a good portrait of the young male coming of age and struggling to come to terms with himself. Portnoy winds up needing help to do this. But the things that are described apply to many of us, even if they didn't specifically happen to us.I liked the way Portnoy wound up checking up on some of his schoolmates and his surprise that so many of them had turned out at least as well as he had, guilt or no. I think that this book is comparable to Dan Wakefield's Going All the Way.
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Summary: A poignant response to growing up Jewish.
Review: A novel that resonates thirty years later that is briliant for being so urbanely hilarous, and yet touchingly sad. Portnoy at his wittiest comes off like a modern day Howard Stern when discussing sex and his motives for it. As well, his description of his mother and father will have anybody who is Jewish rolling in the proverbial ailes. "Did you make a nice sis", "Stop eating french fries" are phrases that probably resonate in 99% of all guys growing up with overbearing mothers and fathers. Yet at the same time, it is obvious how much Portnoy loves his parents. There are enough mixed messages between Portnoy and his parents to drive him to a therapist. Which I guess is the point entirely.
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Summary: The First Book I Could Relate to
Review: My mother often tells me that if I marry a non-Jewish girl, during our first fight she'll call me a "dirty Jew." So it struck me on a personal level when Portnoy's mother, in Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint," gives him the same advice. Never before have I read a book where the family is so similar to my family. Going through high school, I always had to read about the Holden Caufields of the world, and never the Holden Rosenfelds. I could only relate so much. It never occurred to me how religiously narrow our Educational system is---I don't think I've ever been assigned a Jewish book for any class I've taken. Okay, maybe Anne Frank's diary, but that wasn't something I could really relate to. A teacher's idea of expanding the classes minority awareness was to make them read some terribly boring piece of Native American literature--with spirits and totem poles and teepees. What about menorahs and dreidels and yamulkes? I wish "Portnoy's Complaint" wasn't so perverse. Because it just happens to be one of the most perverse books I've ever read. Ever. If you read this book without knowing when it was written, you would never guess, in a million years, that it was written in 1967. On the cover, Newsweek calls Philip Roth, "The bravest writer in the United States." I agree. For him to have written the things he wrote when he wrote it, he had to be brave. And the book is so unabashed in discussing sex in all its lewdness and crudeness, that it serves as a source of comfort, granting you the ability to say, "Wow, I thought I was sick, but I guess I'm tame compared to that guy." Particularly notable is the section on masturbation called "Whacking Off." I've never read a novel where the issue of masturbation is discussed so prominently and so openly. Had I read this a few years ago, I would have felt a lot better about myself. At this point, the damage is done. Not that I damaged myself, but you get what I'm saying. This book is not a perfect book. I have some issues with it regarding the concept of "form follows function." But I won't go there unless you want to discuss it with me after you read it. But basically, it's a good read. It's like a perverse Jewish version of "Catcher in the Rye" that spans a larger period of time and is much funnier. And there are no Indians to be found, either.
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Summary: The Best Book I Ever Read!
Review: This book is my family bible; it is THE right of passage in my family to read this book. As a Jewish adolescent boy I completely related to the experiences of Alex Portnoy. The book is laugh-out-loud hilarious. A must read for everyone, especially Jews.
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Summary: One of the great books of contemporary American literature
Review: A book that deserves multiple readings - it's hilarious and absolutely unique. You don't need to like Portnoy to love the book - he's a pretty sad character in many ways, but his view of his life, his family and the world (expressed from a psychiatrist's couch) never palls
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Summary: A Great Summer Reading Book, Not at All anti-Semitic
Review: I picked Philip Roth for my AP English Research Report. In the end, I was glad I did. Portnoy's Complaint and his other novels and short stories were hilarious. Although at times raunchy, Roth takes you into the mind of a Jewish male growing up under the confines of his mother and other characters representing the Jewish culture. The beauty of Roth is that he can achieve this voice. All AP English students, especially those at LMHS should read this.
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Summary: amusing
Review: This is one long Richard Lewis stand-up routine--amusing, but not nearly as funny as "The Great American Novel". Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by JEFF BURNS.
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Summary: The funniest dirty book you'll ever read
Review: For everyone who thinks the epitome of gross-out humor is "There's Something About Mary", Philip Roth went farther almost thirty years earlier. What's more outrageous? The hair gel, or the piece of meat in "Portnoy's Complaint"? Besides crossing the line of decency for hilarious results, "Portnoy's Complaint" is a fascinating stream-of-consciousness novel that reveals the true thoughts, fears, and neuroses of a young man. The book is so audacious, it has inevitably identified Philip Roth in the eyes of many readers. This effect has led Roth to examine the results of fame on a writer in many of his following books, under the guise of Nathan Zuckerman. Read this first, and then read the rest. Just one thing: DON'T SKIP TO THE LAST PAGE! Trust me, you won't want to ruin the effect the last paragraph will have on everything else in the book (it's the only novel i can think of with a punchline). That said, read the book!
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Summary: A must read for any young Jewish male, hysterical
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. As a twentysomething jewish male I have never read anything that I could relate to more. I laughed out loud and I laughed days later. Philip Roth rarely disappoints and this book demonstrates his literary genius like very few have. If there was ever a classic book this is it.
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