BVBook Verdict
Essential Read

Portnoy's Complaint

by Philip Roth · 1969

Literary Fiction · ranked #206 in category

Alexander Portnoy delivers a monologue to his psychoanalyst about his Jewish Newark childhood, his overbearing mother, his obsessive sexuality and his inability to reconcile his desires with his identity. Roth's breakthrough novel is both a comedy of Jewish American identity and one of the most formally uninhibited novels ever published — and one of the most controversial on its appearance.

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The verdict

Category
Literary Fiction
First published
1969 · 1960s
Author
Philip Roth
Standing
Essential Read

More by Philip Roth

American Pastoral Philip Roth · 1997 Essential Read See details →
The Human Stain Philip Roth · 2000 Essential Read See details →

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