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Portnoy's Complaint

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Portnoy's Complaint

By: Philip Roth
Narrated by: Ron Silver
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'The most outrageously funny book about sex written' Guardian

Portnoy's Complaint n. [after Alexander Portnoy (1933-)]:A disorder in which strongly-felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature.

Portnoy's Complaint tells the tale of young Jewish lawyer Alexander Portnoy and his scandalous sexual confessions to his psychiatrist.

As narrated by Portnoy, he takes the reader on a journey through his childhood to adolescence to present day while articulating his sexual desire, frustration and neurosis in shockingly candid ways.

Hysterically funny and daringly intimate, Portnoy's Complaint was an immediate bestseller upon its publication and elevated Roth to an international literary celebrity.

©1967, 1968, 1969 Philip Roth (P)2024 Penguin Audio

 Coming of Age Genre Fiction Jewish Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Psychological World Literature Fiction
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Critic reviews

The most scandalous book of the year and probably the decade. (John Sutherland)
The most outrageously funny book about sex yet written
A hysterically funny monologue which has already added a new prototype to American literature... Anyone who can recall anything of the awesome mystery and humiliating farce of growing up will find this book compulsive reading. And it is blessedly, extremely funny
Philip Roth's gift for fantasy, his superb dialogue, his ability to evoke places and atmospheres, make Portnoy's Complaint at once hilariously, scabrously funny and deeply moving
Alexander Portnoy is a great comic character. He is going to be for many readers what his mother was for him: The Most Unforgettable Character I've Met
All stars
Most relevant
As the title says really; haven't got much else to say. k j k j j j

Hilarious and Unsettling

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Brilliantly written. Brilliantly performed. The funniest audiobook I’ve listened to. Recommended without reservation. Of course, provided the language doesn’t offend.

An out and out masterpiece

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A novel of its time and place - funny, Jewishly suffocating, sad and existentially spirit shaking.

Superbly read

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So glad this book is now on Audible! A very funny and poignant look into what was a quite typical Jewish upbringing, and its effects on a growing boy. As long as the sexual details and language don't offend. Highly recommend

Brilliantly read. A great insight into Jewish identity and boyhood

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