BOOK: Portnoy's Complaint - Philip Roth

Title: Portnoy's Complaint
Author: Philip Roth
Genre: Novel
Publisher: Vintage
Pages: Paperback 274
Language: English
Rating: 8/10

Summary: -"A couch side confessional by 33-year-old Jewish-American Alexander Portnoy to his psychiatrist. It's a sexually explicit exploration of Jewish identity that caused a storm of controversy when it was published in 1969."- Well, that's what I stole from a review I found on the internet. I wouldn't call it specifically Jewish, I would label it 'male' identity... Portnoy talks about his parents and how he feels they are to blame for how he deals with life. Specifically for how he can't handle relationships and for his everlasting obsession with sex.

Spoilerfree review
As with most books that are deemed 'classics' now, I had a bit of trouble understanding what the fuss was about. (I had the same with 'Catcher In The Rye' and 'Breakfast At Tiffany's'). That's doesn't mean the book was dissapointing, on the contrary: this was a very amusing read. Alexander Portnoy makes such a big deal over nothing, I had fun mocking him while he was pouring his heart out. The way he talks about his parents, with a mixture of love and disgust is something I think everybody can recognize. But a lot of his complaints come across as unnecessary whining by a grown up man, who is too dissapointed with his life to handle the boring truth.
Or it is possible that I'm such a sexual deviant that I fail to see what's wrong with him. Read it and let me know.