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66th out of 92 books
—
18 voters
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift
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 compani...more
Paperback
Published
by Harper Perennial
(first published June 17th 2003)
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I absolutely adored this book: it's witty, funny (my roommate found it funny the number of times I laughed while reading it), and an all-around feel good tale of Alice Thrift's growing pains as a newly minted surgical resident without much in the way of a social life. As is to be expected, it was rather predictable, but the predictability didn't detract from my good-natured amusement one bit.
I had low expectations for this book, since I had read another Elinor Lipman novel years ago and found it mediocre. Perhaps because of my low expectations, I found this one delightful, entertaining, and funny. I thought Alice was intensely endearing, and I loved her voice. I thought Leo and Sylvie were somewhat "stock" characters -- but at least the author made attempts to represent them as flawed. One thing that made no sense was that Alice supposedly had a sister with whom she had a friendship...more
What a perfect beach read! I guess you could call this chick lit, but better written. I loved the main character, Alice Thrift--every inch of her nerdy, cynical, unsociable self. I especially got a kick out of her honest evaluations of herself. She knows she's a workaholic who is at the hospital even when she doesn't need to be. She knows she has terrible people skills with patients, friends, acquaintances, and family. She's always saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. She knows all this but...more
Who would pursue Alice Thrift? Not me, that's for sure.
Here is why this book should have succeeded (and perhaps did, for others):
It takes on a wonderful premise of a freshly minted doctor who discovers while interning as a surgeon that her success at tests and reading comprehension pales to the real thing. I very much appreciated the tension of a cerebral doctor struggling with the personal side of the profession. Also, the protagonist, Alice, is an Aspergers-esque woman which is an unusual ch...more
Here is why this book should have succeeded (and perhaps did, for others):
It takes on a wonderful premise of a freshly minted doctor who discovers while interning as a surgeon that her success at tests and reading comprehension pales to the real thing. I very much appreciated the tension of a cerebral doctor struggling with the personal side of the profession. Also, the protagonist, Alice, is an Aspergers-esque woman which is an unusual ch...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
No-nonsense Alice Thrift is a workaholic surgical intern, whose social ineptness places her in vulnerable positions: at work and personally.
But her platonic roommate Leo Frawley has taken her under his wing, and she is beginning to develop a few skills. They have settled into a comfortable routine when, after a consultation with a would-be patient, Alice realizes that the man, Ray Russo, is apparently pursuing her. At first, she seems to resist his attentions, but maybe for someone like Alice, a...more
But her platonic roommate Leo Frawley has taken her under his wing, and she is beginning to develop a few skills. They have settled into a comfortable routine when, after a consultation with a would-be patient, Alice realizes that the man, Ray Russo, is apparently pursuing her. At first, she seems to resist his attentions, but maybe for someone like Alice, a...more
Alice Thrift is the female equivalent to Sheldon Cooper, however Elinor Lipman has made her more human and less humorous. Not to say that this book isn’t full of humor, only that it’s subtle and not everyone will see it. In fact, it is quite funny and I recommend listening to it in the author’s careful, east coast accent to get the full effect. Once you get used to her (seemingly) monotone way of speaking you realize that it is actually quite perfect for the tone of the book and understand that...more
Elinor Lipman is an excellent novelist. Her characters are engaging and sympathetic, or on occasion, fabulously annoying. She's got a great sense of humor and the ability to tell a decent story. But this book is missing something...a satisfying conclusion.
The beginning is a little difficult to read because Alice is so flat and unfeeling, almost robotic, but I'm sure that was Lipman's intention. Alice Thrift is a socially impaired surgeon, and the novel is about her growth as a human being. After...more
The beginning is a little difficult to read because Alice is so flat and unfeeling, almost robotic, but I'm sure that was Lipman's intention. Alice Thrift is a socially impaired surgeon, and the novel is about her growth as a human being. After...more
I can't believe it took me so long to discover Elinor Lipman. This is only the second book of hers I've read, and like the first, it was so funny...funny in the way that you find yourself chuckling out loud at a cafe when you're by yourself and people start looking at you strangely.
Alice Thrift is the most socially-dysfunctional intern you're ever likely to meet. Though she graduated second in her class from Harvard Med School, she didn't realize that surgeons needed a bedside manner. As she fa...more
Alice Thrift is the most socially-dysfunctional intern you're ever likely to meet. Though she graduated second in her class from Harvard Med School, she didn't realize that surgeons needed a bedside manner. As she fa...more
Jul 25, 2011
Tori
added it
2004- 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 soci...more
Jan 17, 2010
Rosina Lippi
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
reviewed-here
Elinor Lipman's novels either delight me or leave me cold. This one was a little different -- it almost delighted me, but I needed a sweater while I read it.
Alice is a hard kind of character to write. She's incapable of accessing her own feelings or reaching out to others, something that Lipman conveys so successfully that the reader feels just as alienated from the main character as she does from her life.
All in all this novel glides along on the surface, and it never really digs down to wher...more
Alice is a hard kind of character to write. She's incapable of accessing her own feelings or reaching out to others, something that Lipman conveys so successfully that the reader feels just as alienated from the main character as she does from her life.
All in all this novel glides along on the surface, and it never really digs down to wher...more
Alice Thrift, a first year surgical resident, is being pursued by Ray Russo, a shifty purveyor of fudge. Though Alice is book smart, she is decidedly lacking in people skills causing her mother to worry that maybe she is slightly autistic, much to Alice's chagrin. Alice doesn't have Aspergers; no, she's merely lonely. Very lonely.
I thought this book was entertaining and a quick read, though I am not sure I would recommend it to anyone. My main fault with this book is that I didn't like any of th...more
I thought this book was entertaining and a quick read, though I am not sure I would recommend it to anyone. My main fault with this book is that I didn't like any of th...more
I really enjoyed this book. I didn't find any of the characters all that likeable. But I enjoyed the story line. Alice was just such a pathetic character that it was impossible to become emotionally connected. At times I was so frustrated with her that I just put the book down. Now that I am writing this, i don't know if I did like this all that much. I know I did, but I can't think of what about this book was so good....I can easily point out all that I didn't like.....It was an interesting sto...more
Girl - Alice Thrift, Intern working in plastic surgery dept, meets Boy - Ray Russo - Fudge salesman.
The meeting sparks Ray to pursue Alice in a fairly old fashioned courtship. He is very attentive and always seems to be there at the right time.
Alice is known for her less than perfect bedside manner which spills over into her social life too.
Will Ray get his girl and will they live happily every after?
I loved the characters Alice, her flatmate Leo, Sylvie and Ray.
A very funny incident in the hos...more
The meeting sparks Ray to pursue Alice in a fairly old fashioned courtship. He is very attentive and always seems to be there at the right time.
Alice is known for her less than perfect bedside manner which spills over into her social life too.
Will Ray get his girl and will they live happily every after?
I loved the characters Alice, her flatmate Leo, Sylvie and Ray.
A very funny incident in the hos...more
"Meet Alice Thrift, surgical intern at a Boston hospital, high of IQ but low in social graces. She doesn't mean to be acerbic, clinical, or blunt, but where was she the day they taught Bedsude Nanner 101? Into Alice's workaholic and wallflower life comes Ray Russo, a slice traveling fudge salesman in search of a nose job and well-heeled companionship, but not necessarily in that order. Is he a con man or a sincere suitor? Good guy or bad? Alice's parent, roommate, and best friend Sylvie are appa...more
You pretty much know at the beginning how the story will end. The book is more about how the characters got there.
Alice is technically smart, but she's also naive and tends to take an anthropological approach to people. She's capable of developing a few social skills, but she never really had an incentive to try to before her career was threatened. She's not that much different at the end of the book, but the small gain in social skills and her attempts to reach out eventually move her from comp...more
Alice is technically smart, but she's also naive and tends to take an anthropological approach to people. She's capable of developing a few social skills, but she never really had an incentive to try to before her career was threatened. She's not that much different at the end of the book, but the small gain in social skills and her attempts to reach out eventually move her from comp...more
Fiction. Elinor Lipman writes a good novel. Her characters are engaging and sympathetic (or fabulously annoying). She's got a great sense of humor and the ability to tell a decent story. But this book is missing something; namely, a satisfying conclusion.
The beginning is a little difficult to read because Alice is so flat and unfeeling, almost robotic, but I'm sure that was Lipman's intention. Alice Thrift is a socially impaired surgeon, and the novel is about her growth as a human being. After...more
The beginning is a little difficult to read because Alice is so flat and unfeeling, almost robotic, but I'm sure that was Lipman's intention. Alice Thrift is a socially impaired surgeon, and the novel is about her growth as a human being. After...more
The Inn at Lake Devine remains one of my favorite books, and Pursuit illustrates why: Lipman can really write female characters, and female characters I can relate to, which is incredibly, incredibly rare. She’s got a great protagonist in Alice—smart, poor social skills, makes dumb, self-destructive mistakes of the exact kind I can (and do) see myself making. In fact, parts of this book were kind of hard to read, they hit so close to home. But in the end, I loved Alice, and I love that somewher...more
This was a funny book about a woman who is a brilliant MD in her 1st year as a surgical resident. Unfortunately, she has absolutely no social skills and no social life. She meets a uneducated fudge salesman who is smitten with her after she tells him not to get a nose job, that he is fine the way he is. The story follows their awkward and unusual relationship, her friends who try to help her discover her social side and the end is clever and funny.
Recommend.
Recommend.
Hooray! The first book in a long time that warrants four stars! (To Kill a Mockingbird doesn't count, b/c I knew going in that it would be good.) This book has really fun, well-developed characters, a compelling story, and was a total page turner. Is this really so much to ask? The main character is a socially awkward female medical student who gets involved with "the wrong guy." It's a light, funny read, but there's still enough introspection involved to give me something to chew on.
I wasn't a big fan of this book. It starts off with the ending, so you know how the book is going to turn out in the first few pages. Which means that most of the story is character development. However, the characters are predictable in their development. Alice, the main character has times where she is likable, but only because you feel sorry for her and the things that come out of her mouth. This is the first Elinor Lipman book I have read and I am not sure I will try others.
This could be one of my favorite Lipman books because of her masterful handling of very human characters whose kindness and wryness help them deal with their perceived flaws and live a good life. Typical of her novels, the plot lines are often unexpected and filled with humor. The dialogue sometimes reads more like a screenplay as it often does in Lipman's writing, but I don't find it an obstacle. I still have several books to go on my Lipman Fall Tour...lucky me.
Lippman writes novels about the human need for connection, love, and friendship. I have a few issues with her writing style. I often have a hard time reading the emotions behind her dialogue which means I sometimes misunderstand the relationship, emotions and motivation of the main characters. This is especially a problem with Alice Thrift because she can't or understand emotions and she is totally unaware of her own feelings. My other problem is there is always 2 men who the heroine is trying t...more
Started off slowly, but got a lot easier to read about 50 pages in. Alice, the main character annoyed me ridiculously in the beginning, but you begin to fall in love with her and the other characters as the story progresses. I really did start to empathise with Alice and her troubles.
This book was well written, and full of intelligent humour - I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions.
I probably will check out some of the author's other books.
This book was well written, and full of intelligent humour - I found myself laughing out loud on many occasions.
I probably will check out some of the author's other books.
Oct 01, 2009
Amy
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary-fiction,
read-in-2009
Kind of a fun book about a surgical intern named Alice Thrift who doesn't have great social skills and gets involved with the wrong kind of guy. Took me a little while to get into it (since the character is so bad socially that she's kind of wooden and hard to relate to). But after awhile the quirky characters started to grow on me. And it had some pretty funny sections (like the interactions with her mother, who thinks Alice must have Asperger's or something because she's so bad at social inter...more
This was a quick and fun read, although the whole thing was rather transparent. The theme is lies. Alice Thrift reminds me of Carrie Pilby. I think if they met each other they’d get along fabulously.
Not much else to write about this book though. Not much of a plot. Not much romance. Not much feeling or emotion felt while reading it. Still, it’s a fun book if you want to get away from it all for a few hours.
Not much else to write about this book though. Not much of a plot. Not much romance. Not much feeling or emotion felt while reading it. Still, it’s a fun book if you want to get away from it all for a few hours.
I loved Alice, a brainy surgical intern who is lacking social graces. She dates a traveling fudge salesman. Lipman always entertains with clever plots and dialog. This is a fun read.
Recommended by Connie
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/...
Recommended by Connie
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/...
I was about 3/4 through the book trying to figure out what to say about here. I was annoyed with the complacency of the main character, Alice and that someone actually wrote this way. Then I got home finished the book and went, whoa, did not see that coning. Like at the end of Gone Girl but not a thriller. I just reserved Elinor's latest book to see how it compares.
Acquired it from a Free Little Library and toted it along as an airplane read. Happily, this book exceeded my expectations. It's more light-hearted than my usual selections, and the change was refreshing. The narrator's voice works well for cpnveying a deliciously subtle brand of humor. A romantic nightmare becomes entertaining and even touching. Well worth the quick read!
This author was highly recommended to me. I bought the book and it took me a long time to get through it. It wasn't the kind of book that I couldn't put down, even though I liked the ending and thought it was well written. I had either no understanding of or no appreciation of what the main character was going through. In her position, I may have made the same decisions that she made, but being me I thought some of the decisions that she made were strange. Reminding myself that this is a book an...more
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Elinor Lipman is the author of eight novels about contemporary American society and a collection of short stories. Born and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts, Lipman graduated from Simmons College where she studied journalism. She lives in Western Massachusetts and Manhattan, and received the New England Book award for fiction in 2001. Her novels Then She Found Me, The Ladies' Man, and The Pursuit o...more
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