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List Price: $23.95 | | Publisher: Random House
Salesrank: 866497
Released: June 17, 2003 |
| Our Price: $0.92 |
| Used Price: $0.01 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
Meet poor Alice Thrift, surgical intern in a Boston hospital, high of I.Q. but low in social graces. She doesn’t mean to be acerbic, clinical, or painfully precise, but where was she the day they taught Bedside Manner 101? Into Alice’s workaholic and romantically challenged life comes Ray Russo, a purveyor of fairground fudge, in need of rhinoplasty and well-heeled companionship, not necessarily in that order. Is he a con man or a sincere suitor? Good guy or bad? His well-engineered cruise into carnal waters introduces Alice to a new and baffling concept, chemistry—and not of the organic kind. Is it possible for a woman of science to cure her own loneliness in the unsuitable arms of a parental nightmare? Luckily, Leo Frawley, R.N., who has a high threshold for Alice’s left-footed people skills, and Sylvie Schwartz, M.D., fellow resident and woman of the world, take on the task of guiding Alice through the narrow straits of her own no-rapport zone.
“Almost nobody writes serious entertainment with more panache,” said the Chicago Tribune of Elinor Lipman. Now comes the novel Publishers Weekly is calling “surely her best to date...a triumph...a book you can’t put down.”
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift showcases a rare and generous talent at the top of her witty, irresistible form.
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift Reviews:
I can't believe some people didn't love the heck out of this one! 
2008-09-14 - This was my first Lipman novel and I loved it. As a physician fairly recently finished with residency, I couldn't get enough of Alice's trials within the medical field. And there was not an inaccuracy in the whole thing, which is unusual when non-MD authors try to write about MDs. And the portrayal of Ray was perfect. I listened to the audio version, which was great since it was read by Lipman herself -- the tone was perfect. A really enjoyable story. Spent a lot of time in my car just to hear more.
Drats! to all who thought this wasn't the funniest ever!!
2007-02-28 - This is my favorite Elinor Lipman. My review will not dissect characters, plot or message. It is her most ridiculously funny book ever. I am in the medical profession so perhaps this added to an inside laugh about the ludicrous characters and relationships which are truly unique. I was in the blackest of moods when I read this book including surliness and sleepless nights. Blame the bleakness of winter and SAD. This book made me laugh out loud. I ordered this book to add to a very small collection of favorite books which number <5!
Good but could have been better 
2006-12-27 - I would have liked some more character development and a little more about how Alice felt about Ray and their relationship after the fact. It seems Alice gets over her social challenges rather quickly and this seems a bit unrealistic. The author could have gone a bit deeper and a bit longer and this would have made for a more well rounded reading experience. Otherwise, it is a fun, funny, at times clever and quick paced book that I read in a day and enjoyed very much.
Mistitled: Dr. Sara N. Wrap 
2006-07-06 - Lipman's writing style is boilerplate and so transparent as to be virtually a waste of time for readers other than those of us tortured by the vicious cycle of doubt, self-reflection, and that unrelenting voice of self-criticism; aka, analytical minds, sometimes lacking in "emotional quotients" (characteristics found in people with Asperger's Syndrome).
Lipman half-sketches one relevant observation without skill or subtlety - does the protagonist suffer from Asperger's Syndrome - which Lipman then abandons without a second thought because it's time to jump into and back-fill the next section of boilerplate.
If you genuinely react to new, social encounters and interactions with an extroverted sense of zest and joie de vivre, this book is really not for you. If you are more of an extrovert, by page 2 of the book, you would be correct to feel baffled by the irreconcilability and incredulity of an author presenting a protagonist who graduated valedictorian of her harvard medical school class yet is utterly dumb (mute) when handling herself in the simplest of situations, without the most basic of social graces (which we later learn are other symptoms of Asperger's).
I rate this book with 2 stars primarily because it introduces then coldly abandons search for thought and insight into the root cause of the protagonist's (and reader's) quandries about personality type and some of the functional solutions to improving social graces by doing small talk by those of us who find ourselves in over-educated, highly competitive, yet somehow mentally lazy, social situations. (How long can you discuss makeup? or hair color? or the virtues of french manicure v. fake nails?)
Like Dan Brown, Lipman's character-development is absent until it appears like an unexpected splotch in the wrong place and size, unidimensional, flat. Lipman's storytelling makes Dan Brown's DaVinci Code seem genuinely novel and imaginative.
Laugh out loud funny
2006-07-06 - When I first started reading this book, I didn't think I was going to like it, but the more I read, the more hooked I became. Elinor Lipman is a marvelous writer--skillful, clever, and witty. Moreover, she writes with sophistication and honesty. Her characters, no matter how odd, always seem real. They are three-dimensional, complex, and interesting. Alice is one of her best characters yet. Even when you wanted to shake her, you understood exactly why she was acting the way she was acting. I won't synopsize the story; others have already done that. What I will say is this -- buy this book. You won't be sorry. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
