The Pursuit of Alice Thrift - Hardcover

Lipman, Elinor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679463135 ISBN 13: 9780679463139

Publisher: Random House, 2003

Synopsis

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.

About this title

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 Véra

About the Author

Elinor Lipman is the author of seven books: the novels The Pursuit of Alice Thrift, The Dearly Departed, The Ladies' Man, The Inn at Lake Devine, Isabel's Bed, The Way Men Act, Then She Found Me, and a collection of stories, Into Love and Out Again. She has been called "the diva of dialogue" (People) and  "the last urbane romantic" (Chicago Tribune). Book Magazine said of The Pursuit of Alice Thrift,  "Like Jane Austen,  the past master of the genre, Lipman isn't only out for laughs. She serves up social satire, too, that's all the more  trenchant for being deftly drawn."
 
Her essays have appeared in the Boston Globe Magazine, Gourmet, Chicago Tribune, and The New York Times’ Writers on Writing series.  She received the New England Booksellers' 2001 fiction award for a body of work.

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0679463135
• ISBN 13: 9780679463139
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288