Philip Roth (born March 19 , 1933 ) is a Jewish-American novelist who is best known for his sexually explicit comedic novel Portnoy's Complaint (1969). Roth grew up in Newark, New Jersey , the oldest child of first generation Jewish-American parents of Galician descent. After graduating from high school at the age of 16, Roth went on to attend Bucknell University , earning a degree in English. centipedia