Cover of Portnoy’s Complaint

Portnoy’s Complaint

Philip Roth, 1969

American novelist, 1933–2018. Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1998 and the National Book Award for Fiction in 1960 and 1995.

Portnoy’s Complaint is a 1969 novel by Philip Roth.

  • Critics' Darling

In comic novels and satire

On 3 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.

The Novel Index earns a small commission if you buy through our links, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our rankings. More about how we earn.

At a glance

Author
Philip Roth
First published
1969
Length
272 pages (UK paperback)
Genre
Comic novels and satire, Psychological

Is Portnoy’s Complaint worth reading?

3 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library) and All-Time 100 Novels.

ListPlaceOriginal
100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library, 1998)No. 52See the list
All-Time 100 Novels (Time, 2005)ListedSee the list
The 100 best novels written in English (The Guardian / Observer, 2015)ListedSee the list

Best edition of Portnoy’s Complaint

The edition we link to is the Vintage paperback (1995), 272 pages.

Publisher
Vintage (paperback, 1995)
Pages
272
ISBN
9780099399018

How critics, prizes and readers rate Portnoy’s Complaint

Critics rate it most highly: it earned 26% of the points available on critics' lists, against 0% on prize lists and 0% on readers' and booksellers' lists.

Critics
26%
Prizes
0%
Readers and booksellers
0%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like Portnoy’s Complaint

If you liked Portnoy’s Complaint, try American Pastoral, Sabbath's Theater or The Plot Against America.

Lists used on this page