Reviews

The Pursuit of Alice Thrift by Elinor Lipman

trin's review

2.0

[book: 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 somewhere out there in the world of fiction, she exists.

However: why end the book just when it’s starting to get interesting? We’re told from the beginning that Ray, the man pursuing Alice, is bad news, and every single thing he does says—no, screams in bright, bold, neon letters—RAY IS BAD NEWS, and yet the book ends…with the revelation that Ray is bad news? No! I want more, much more, of how Alice moves on with her life. Lipman gives us wonderful, tantalizing hints of how she’s grown and changed, but I wanted to see them in action, dammit!

willbefunorelse's review against another edition

2.0

And as I was reading it, I was intrigued with the story, but I never laughed out loud at the antics any of the characters got into. So I wouldn’t necessarily call it humor; but then, it also wasn’t a drama either.

It was fine.

For the full review - including a glimpse of Alaina's magnificent cat, Cat Donaghy - follow the link to That's What She Read.


Guster Reading Challenge:
"Doin' It By Myself" / Evermotion
Read a book in which the protagonist is a hermit/antisocial/lonely

babyruth510's review against another edition

3.0

I enjoy all of Elinor Lipman's books but this was not one of my favorites.

kategci's review

3.0

Alice Thrift is a surgical intern in Boston and while she graduated from MIT and the Harvard Med, she lacks some bedside manner and situational awareness. Ray Russo stops into plastic surgery clinic to inquire about a new nose and thus begins the pursuit of Alice Thrift. Ray is an itinerant fudge salesman, trusted by neither of Alice's friends, but Alice continues to make excuses for all of Ray's faults. Elinor Lipman is a delightful author who manages to capture the difficulties of internship year, yet write characters we want to know better.

ptrshr's review against another edition

The fact that I didn't realise I had already read the book before speaks volumes about how forgettable it was. To me, at least.

cook_memorial_public_library's review against another edition

4.0

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/search?formids=target&lang=eng&suite=def&reservedids=lang%2Csuite&submitmode=&submitname=&target=pursuit%20of%20alice%20thrift

dhilderbrand's review against another edition

1.0

OK, I hated this book. 1 - the main character was a lot like the "nerd" type girl on Big Bang Theory. Although she makes me laugh on the show, an entire book about her total inability to relate got old quickly. 2 - the male lead was such a freak. No one ... no one... no one should/could/would fall for him.

One good thing - it did have a pretty great ending

christiek's review against another edition

3.0

The story is entertaining and amusing. The overall voice lacks sparkle and thus it is hard to make a connection to these characters.

anderson65's review against another edition

1.0

Struggled through this ridiculous story of a medical intern and what was intended to be funny but ultimately pitiful tale of her pursuit by an awful, boorish fudge salesman. Terrible read.

greek_book_wanderer's review

funny reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0