Back then, it must have been a really big deal to be in your 30s and unmarried.Ĩ. Oy gevalt! Fictional guilt-inducing Jewish mothers seem a lot like guilt-inducing Asian mothers.ħ. So, we wouldn’t want to censor or harshly judge a fictional Jewish character’s scabrous stream of consciousness, right? (Two words, folks: Leopold Bloom.)Ħ. His rant includes recounting his extreme sexual fantasies and fetishes, memories of chronic childhood masturbation habits and how he feels his persistent bachelorhood (he’s in his 30s! and not married! and likes shiksas!) is tied to his ambivalent relationship with his (castrating!) mother. In a brilliant structural device, the book is essentially Alex’s extended monologue to his psychotherapist, with Alex trying to find out why he’s so screwed up. Incidentally, Roth was born the same year (1933) and in the same city (Newark, NJ) as his protagonist. ![]() It’s not really Roth saying these wild things but a fictional character – namely, Alexander Portnoy, a 30-something Jewish civil liberties attorney who’s got one big fat mother complex. okay, maybe I shouldn’t text that… um… where were we? Yes, he was rude and crude, shocking even by today’s standards.Ĥ. We're talking laugh out loud, text-your-best-friends-favourite-lines, nearly pee your pants funny.ģ. I’ve read three or four Philip Roth books, but how have I never read this, which catapulted him to literary fame – or at least notoriety and celebrity – in the late 60s? Everyone's read it! Even Don Draper!Ģ. and what a legacy you leave behind.Ģ1 Random Thoughts After Reading Philip Roth’s Classic Portnoy’s Complaint 46 Years After Its Controversial Publicationġ. Author of some of the defining works of the late 20th century (and even some of the early 21st). I’ve read three or four Philip Roth books, but how have I never read this, which catapulted him to literary fame – or at least notoriety and celebrity – in the Updated May 22, 2018: R.I.P. *** 21 Random Thoughts After Reading Philip Roth’s Classic Portnoy’s Complaint 46 Years After Its Controversial Publication 1. I only discovered this several years later and was amazed at what a close call I'd had.more The judge knew Philip Roth personally, and it would have been a disaster. I was strongly tempted but told him after careful consideration that it was below the belt.Īs it turned out, my instincts were sound. When we got divorced (it wasn't amicable), my lawyer asked how I'd feel about using that fact in court. Portnoy's Complaint was my first husband's favorite book, and he used to quote from it all the time. I only discovered this several years later and was amazed at what a close call I'd had. As it turned out, my instincts were sound. I was strongly tempted but told him after careful consideration that it was below the belt. ![]() 909.) it is believed by Spielvogel that many of the symptoms can be traced to the bonds obtaining in the mother-child relationship.more ![]() 'The Puzzled Penis', Internationale Zeitschrift fur Psychoanalyse, Vol. 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. A disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature. Hilariously funny, boldly intimate, startlingly candid, Portnoy’s Complaint was an immediate bestseller upon its publication in 1969, and is perhaps Roth’s best-known book. ![]() Portnoy's Complaint n The famous confession of Alexander Portnoy, who is thrust through life by his unappeasable sexuality, yet held back at the same time by the iron grip of his unforgettable childhood. The famous confession of Alexander Portnoy, who is thrust through life by his unappeasable sexuality, yet held back at the same time by the iron grip of his unforgettable childhood.
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