I saw this book reviewed on the First Tuesday Book Club, and was intrigued, as the comments were positively glowing from all the reviewers. 'Fantastic' and 'genius' were thrown around! I have to say I was a little disappointed, but I'm glad I read this 274-page stream-of-consciousness rant. The fictional definition of Portnoy's complaint at the start of the book sums things up quite nicely:A disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature.
The book begins with a sex-obsessed Jewish boy living with his overbearing parents and using every possible opportunity to masturbate. He even pretends he has diarrhea, so as to visit the toilet more often to 'pull his putz', all while his mother stands outside the door screaming that she wants to see his stool! From there the reader follows Portnoy's complaint through a series of terrible relationships and graphic sexual encounters. I can imagine this book was fairly controversial when it was published in 1969.
The writing is impressive, but also quite irritating. It feels like you are being yelled at by a narcissistic arsehole who loves the 'C-word'. Having said that, Roth does a great job of creating Portnoy and building his character.
3 stars.
I just read a Philip Roth recently too - When She was Good. I think we had similar feelings about the books - well written, but a difficult topic. Lucy (the protagonist) is such a terrible person - how could Roth think her up? Or want to?
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