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A review by geller
Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Oy vey
Roth's depiction of mid-century Diaspora Jewish life is filled with contradiction, suffering, longing, joy, alienation, resentment, and insecurity. Alex Portnoy is at times lovable, more often disgusting, and occasionally despicable. It is never clear where Alex's neurosis is coming from: society, God, his family, or himself? He spends his work hours fighting for justice for the oppressed, but at all other times he is consumed by guilt and insatiable lust (most often lust for gentiles, whom he simultaneously cannot stand and develops an envy-obsession).
Roth has a talent for digging through the most shameful, filthy crevices of the human condition and bringing us back to those formative moments that are usually shrouded in taboo.
The last 10-20 pages are some of the most mind-bending I have ever read.
Roth's depiction of mid-century Diaspora Jewish life is filled with contradiction, suffering, longing, joy, alienation, resentment, and insecurity. Alex Portnoy is at times lovable, more often disgusting, and occasionally despicable. It is never clear where Alex's neurosis is coming from: society, God, his family, or himself? He spends his work hours fighting for justice for the oppressed, but at all other times he is consumed by guilt and insatiable lust (most often lust for gentiles, whom he simultaneously cannot stand and develops an envy-obsession).
Roth has a talent for digging through the most shameful, filthy crevices of the human condition and bringing us back to those formative moments that are usually shrouded in taboo.
The last 10-20 pages are some of the most mind-bending I have ever read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Antisemitism