The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

Rating:
Summary: Not your usual chick-lit?
Review: Alice Thrift, a surgical intern, is definitely not your typical "chick lit" heroine. She's not gorgeous; she doesn't have a close group of girlfriends to chat about men with, in fact, she's not really actively looking for a man. When Alice meets Ray Russo one day and manages to talk him out of a nose job, she never guesses he will want to start a relationship with her. Can Alice trust Ray? Does she even like him? And why would someone outgoing like Ray like someone who's basically a social misfit like her? While I admit sometimes it was difficult to read about a main character with so little self-esteem, the others around Alice kept the book from being dragged down too much in Alice's depressed moods. Not bad, not great, but different nonetheless.

Rating:
Summary: The Elinor We Know Is Back
Review: Elinor Lipman has not lost her touch. Although I was Deeply Disappointed with her Dearly Departed, her latest book gets us Lipman fans back on track. I enjoyed Alice Thrift tremendously, and unlike some people have said, she doesnt really give away the story at the beginning. Alice's being a resident in surgery at a big city teaching hospital makes for an interesting background and sets the scene for some wild incidents, as well as introducing a large supporting cast that keep things moving. These characters and the setting make up for the fact that Alice may not have quite as much pizzazz as some earlier Lipman heroines. However, Alice is capable of growing and learning, and that is a big part of what the book is about. I think Lipman actually took a step forward with this book, moving to a more serious story that still is laced with her humor. I also found the medical scene from the viewpoint of an overworked intern was interesting enough in itself. I'm sure there are some arrogant doctors like Charles around. I'm looking forward to Lipman's next book. Go for it.


Rating:
Summary: Loved the pursuit!!!
Review: I had no idea it was going to be this good! It took me awhile to get sucked into this book but once I was there, there was no going back! I loved Alice, although she isn't funny, energetic, witty or anything most characters are! She is dry, full of wisdom, and without social knowledge. I loved her trying to bond etc. You will love this book!

Rating:
Summary: Something hard to define but wonderful to read!
Review: I have tried for a while in my mind to define just what it is that is so different about Lipman's characters in this book and her others. It's hard to define, but it's something like this: She writes about the kind of people that exist so often in real life but so rarely in books---people who are not always witty, popular, gorgeous or rich, but people with interesting and meaningful lives nontheless. So many authors seem to write about the kind of people they have probably met in writer's workshops---those who are very used to analysing their feelings and writing about them! Alice Thrift is a socially inept person, very alone in the world and very lonely. We come to understand her attraction to the slimy Ray Russo very well. And to Lipman's great credit, I think we even understand Russo a little, and are able to see him as not all bad. In addition to the wonderful characters, this book is just plain funny! So many scenes are so well done---for example, dinner at Leo's house or the birth of baby Fir. I can't remember enjoying a book more lately!

Rating:
Summary: Delightful and witty
Review: I love the way Elinor Lipman uses the academic setting of Boston in her novels. In this particular novel, we meet Dr. Alice Thrift, a serious and smart intern who needs some help in the social department. She is wooed by a fudge salesman named Ray Russo, who doesn't quite sweet her off of her feet. But...she marries him anyway. Her tale is witty and engaging, and the other characters in the novel all do their best to help Alice become a "normal" woman. Her roommate Leo and neighbor Sylvie make for some clever subplots, as well. This is the best Elinor Lipman book I've read since Isabel's Bed. It's entertaining, interesting, and a delightfully compelling read.

Rating:
Summary: Elinor Lipman at her wittiest best
Review: I've read several of Lipman's other novels (The Inn at Lake Devine, The Dearly Departed), but this was by far the best. The main character is Alice Thrift, M.D., medical resident and social misfit. In the first page of the book, Alice gives away the ending by reporting that her marriage didn't last and that her husband was a liar. Although these facts are disclosed up front, all is not revealed, as Alice's full story slowly unfolds over the course of the book. What really makes this novel shine is the truly clever and positively comical dialogue between Alice and the various people who show up in her life: her mother, her roommate Leo, Leo's family, Leo's girlfriend Meredith, her new-found friend Sylvie, and of course, her acquaintance, boyfriend, fiancé, and eventual husband, Ray. Although I knew what would happen with Alice and Ray in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed journeying with them from the very beginning to that point.

Rating:
Summary: Elinor Lipman at her wittiest best
Review: I've read several of Lipman's other novels (The Inn at Lake Devine, The Dearly Departed), but this was by far the best. The main character is Alice Thrift, M.D., medical resident and social misfit. In the first page of the book, Alice gives away the ending by reporting that her marriage didn't last and that her husband was a liar. Although these facts are disclosed up front, all is not revealed, as Alice's full story slowly unfolds over the course of the book. What really makes this novel shine is the truly clever and positively comical dialogue between Alice and the various people who show up in her life: her mother, her roommate Leo, Leo's family, Leo's girlfriend Meredith, her new-found friend Sylvie, and of course, her acquaintance, boyfriend, fiancé, and eventual husband, Ray. Although I knew what would happen with Alice and Ray in the end, I thoroughly enjoyed journeying with them from the very beginning to that point.

Rating:
Summary: The poor decisions made to alleviate loneliness
Review: If you're over the age of, say, twenty, THE PURSUIT OF ALICE THRIFT probably won't tell you anything you haven't already learned in the demanding School of Relationships.

Alice Thrift, M.D., is a hapless first-year surgical resident at a Boston teaching hospital. Expected to work a zillion-hour week, she doesn't have a life outside her scrubs. She's the epitome of boring. Her only contact with the outside world is her platonic male roomy and friend, Leo, an extremely popular pediatric RN at the same institution. Alice doesn't have a boyfriend, much less a pet goldfish.

One day while rotating through Plastic Surgery, Alice is consulted by a forty-year old widower, Ray Russo, seeking advice about a nose job. After being talked out of it, Ray embarks on his romantic pursuit of Thrift. Russo is a fudge salesman. Or so he says. He's also extraordinarily glib, and, obviously to everyone but Alice, up to something.

The problem with THE PURSUIT OF ALICE THRIFT is threefold. The ending is revealed on page 6 when Thrift tells the reader that Ray is a "LIAR", and that they had a failed marriage. One only reads further in hope of learning the sordid details. Secondly, Alice is numbingly ordinary. Having that goldfish, or even a tabletop ant farm, might have made her more interesting. And her social interactions with more socially developed friends and colleagues are only marginally amusing. Finally, since this is a story about the poor decisions a person makes to escape the throes of loneliness, it shouldn't be revelation to any reasonably contemplative individual beyond adolescence. Indeed, on finishing this novel, the average reader should be able to state, "Yup. Been there; done that; will likely do it again."

THE PURSUIT OF ALICE THRIFT isn't a bad book, just decidedly so-so.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Bag
Review: Started reading this book and thought it was adorable - really light and fun...just when it was getting really good the story seemed to stop. What happened? I loved Inn at Lake Devine and Lipman's writing is delightful, but I was really disappointed that the last 1/3 of the book seemed to miss something.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed Bag
Review: Started reading this book and thought it was adorable - really light and fun...just when it was getting really good the story seemed to stop. What happened? I loved Inn at Lake Devine and Lipman's writing is delightful, but I was really disappointed that the last 1/3 of the book seemed to miss something.