EP 52: Book Reviews (2): Philip Roth's "Portnoy's Complaint"

<p>PODCAST TWITTER: https://twitter.com/nuts_writing</p> <p>PODCAST INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/nutsboltswriting.podcast/</p> <p><br></p> <p>Listen to our podcast on Anchor (links to Spotify, Apple Podcasts, etc.): https://anchor.fm/fortunus-games</p> <p><br></p> <p>Read Fortunus Games' "Sam in New York" graphic novel here:&nbsp;</p> <p>https://tapas.io/series/Sam-in-New-York/info</p> <p><br></p> <p>Also on Webtoon: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/sam-in-new-york/list?title_no=501948</p> <p><br></p> <p>Questions for PORTNOY'S COMPLAINT: Intro: Today, we're talking about Portnoy's Complaint, which was first published in 1969 and is written by the award-winning American author, Philip Roth. It was very controversial in its time and got banned from a number of countries for its candid and vulgar treatment of sexuality.&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>1. Let's start with the plot - is there a plot? Or is it just a collection of thoughts?&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>2. Why was the book so controversial? What did Roth seek to accomplish when writing this book? What was he trying to address in society about sexuality? This was written in the 60s, during the Sexual Revolution in the US.</p> <p><br></p> <p>3. What is the role of vulgarity in this work? What does it say about Portnoy as a character? Roth as an author? Attitudes towards women and vulgarity - what is the relationship here? Why was this book accused of being misogynistic?</p> <p><br></p> <p>4. What are the similarities between Portnoy's Complaint and the Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray? Both works feature sexual libertines as protagonists and also attack traditional sexual morality. What are the differences? (talk about tone, perspective, etc.) Talk about Dorian Grey vs. Portnoy - both are libertines, but are so different in some ways.&nbsp;</p> <p><br></p> <p>5. Other themes in Portnoy's - Jewish-American identity (esp in light of Israel, assimilation, esp Portnoy's obsession with "conquering America through fucking"), parent-child relationship (Portn