Portnoy's Complaint by Philip Roth
The novel is a first-person narrative, a monologue by a young Jewish man, Alexander Portnoy, who is speaking to his psychoanalyst. He shares his struggles with his identity as a Jewish man in America, his sexual fantasies and frustrations, his complex relationship with his overbearing mother, and his experiences of guilt and shame. The book uses humor and frank language to explore themes of identity, sexuality, and the Jewish experience in America.
The 148th greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 1702
This book was first published in 1969
18 Lists
- score: 150 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 150)
- score: 126 -- Best Foreign Work of Fiction Chosen by Francophone Writers - 2006 (Weight: 126)
- score: 126 -- A Hundred Novels to Change Your Life - 2019 (Weight: 126)
- score: 114 -- The 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century - 1999 (Weight: 114)
- score: 108 -- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century - 1996 (Weight: 108)
- score: 97 -- The Greatest Books of All Time - 2022 (Weight: 96)
- score: 96 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 96)
- score: 93 -- 100 Essential Books - 2009 (Weight: 93)
- score: 91 -- The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels - 1999 (Weight: 90)
- score: 90 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 90)
- score: 90 -- Best Books Ever - 2006 (Weight: 90)
- score: 87 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 87)
- score: 84 -- The Great American Novels - 2024 (Weight: 84)
- score: 82 -- Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 Novels - 2013 (Weight: 81)
- score: 81 -- 100 Best Novels Written in English - 2015 (Weight: 81)
- score: 81 -- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels - 2005 (Weight: 81)
- score: 75 -- Harold Bloom's The Western Canon - 1994 (Weight: 75)
- score: 30 -- 22 of the Funniest Novels Since ‘Catch-22’ - 2024 (Weight: 30)