Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth

To masturbate or not to masturbate.....

.....that was the question posed by members of the BBC arising from the December reading of Portnoy’s Complaint; the 1969 seminal work of Jewish guilt edged insecurity manifested by the psycholoanalyst couch monologue of Alexander Portnoy, the 33 year old NY Assistant Commissioner of Human Opportunity.

The main theme of the book was encapsulated in the first page of the novel, which contained a clinical definition, as if taken from a textbook on sexual dysfunction:

"Portnoy's Complaint: A disorder in which strongly felt ethical and altruistic impulses are perpetually warring with extreme sexual longings, often of a perverse nature....."

As we turned the pages we became familiar with a man who desperately wishes to rid himself of the yolk of his adolescence, his overbearing mother and insipid father, his inability to develop meaningful relationships and his overwhelming need for sexual gratification which once indulged, gives way to feelings of guilt , shame and the dread of retribution, particularly in the form of castration.

At times, the book was hilariously funny and thoroughly enjoyable; but not enough for anyone to turn the last page. After all, it was December, and the season festivities prevented time required to commit to a good read. Possibly with the passage of time, Portnoy’s complaint is no longer the controversial Jewish homage which evoked such outrage in the ‘60s. The explicit descriptions of masturbation using props including a sister’s bra and a piece of liver (later served as the evening meal) may not be as shocking in the naughties as 40 years previous. And thus, as the reading was incomplete, the BBC was unable to give Portnoy’s Complaint an objective score.

Happy Hanukkah.

The next gathering, book free, is at Kevin's on Wed 16 Feb.

The next book, selected by Kevin, is: Parrot And Olivier in America by Peter Carey, and we will enjoy the fine hosting of Dennis.

Thanks so much to Alena for the blog text!