The Pursuit of Alice Thrift - Softcover

Elinor Lipman

3.46

2,500 ratings by Goodreads

9780007161201: The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0007161204 ISBN 13: 9780007161201

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers, 2004

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The stunning new novel from a sparkling comic writer who is on the brink of stardom. Poor Alice Thrift: book-smart but people-hopeless. Alice graduated second in her class at medical school, but hospital life is proving quite a challenge. Evaluations describe her performance as 'workmanlike' and her people skills as 'hypothermic'. Luckily, Alice's roommate Leo, the most popular nurse at the hospital, and her feisty neighbour Sylvie, take on the task of guiding Alice through the narrow straits of her own no-rapport zone. When Ray Russo, a social-climbing fudge salesman, dedicates himself to a romantic pursuit, Leo and Sylvie harbour serious doubts. Yet as the chase intensifies, Alice's bedside manner begins to thaw. Can this dubious character be the one to lift Alice out of the depths of her social ineptitude? Written with bite, pace and effortless wit, this seriously funny novel puts romance under the microscope with hilarious consequences.

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From the Back Cover:

“About the best trick any writer can possess is the ability to make everything look easy, even to other writers who know better. Elinor Lipman possesses this gift in spades, and The Pursuit of Alice Thrift treats head, heart, and funny bone with equal respect.”
—Richard Russo, author of Empire Falls

“Elinor Lipman’s latest novel brings together the rare combination of intelligence, wit, and wisdom. The Pursuit of Alice Thrift is a jewel of a book.”
—Carol Shields, author of The Stone Diaries

“The Pursuit of Alice Thrift isn’t just beautifully written and bustling with memorable characters and rich in wisdom about the human heart—it’s also hilarious and full of surprises. Elinor Lipman is a masterful novelist working at the top of her game.”
—Tom Perrotta, author of Election

“Elinor Lipman writes with perfect pitch. I started to underline all the bits of Alice Thrift that either amazed or tickled me, but I finally had to quit: there were simply too many.”
—Anita Shreve, author of The Pilot’s Wife

“In this, the age of bogus Joe Millionaires and Barbie Doll bachelorettes, Elinor Lipman’s The Pursuit of Alice Thrift dares to pose the question Can the frumpy physician find happiness with the unctuous fudgemonger? The answer is, in equal measures, heartfelt and hilarious. Let Joe and Barbie live happily ever after. Lipman writes for the rumpled rest of us. I love this book.”
—Wally Lamb, author of She’s Come Undone

“This is Elinor Lipman’s best novel yet, which I do realize is like saying that Krispy Kreme has finally manufactured an addictive donut.”
—Stacy Schiff, author of V�ra

From the Inside Flap:

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.

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