Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

Rate this book
In her newest well-tuned, witty, and altogether wonderful novel, bestselling author Elinor Lipman dares to Can an upper-middle-class doctor find love with a shady, fast-talking salesman?

Meet 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 blunt, but where was she the day they taught Bedside Manner 101? Into Alice’s workaholic and wallflower life comes Ray Russo, a slick traveling fudge salesman in search of a nose job and well-heeled companionship, but not necessarily in that order. Is he a conman or a sincere suitor? Good guy or bad? Alice’s parents, roommate, and best friend Sylvie are appalled at her choice of mate. Despite her doubts, Alice finds herself walking down the aisle, not so much won over as worn down. Will their marriage last the honeymoon? Only if Alice’s best instincts can triumph over Ray’s unsavory ways.

305 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

103 people are currently reading
1039 people want to read

About the author

Elinor Lipman

27 books1,345 followers
I love talking with readers - for 1:1s and Book Club visits, find me on Skolay: www.skolay.com/writers/elinor-lipman

Elinor Lipman is the author of 14 humorous novels about contemporary American society; essay and short story collections. Born and raised in Lowell, MA, she divides her time between Manhattan and the Hudson Valley of New York. She received the New England Book award for fiction in 2001. Her first novel, "Then She Found Me," was adapted for the screen, starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth and Matthew Broderick. Her fourth novel, "The Inn at Lake Devine" was adapted for the off-off Broadway stage by Tongue in Cheek Theater. In 2011-2012, she held the Elizabeth Drew chair in creative writing at Smith College. Her novel, “Ms. Demeanor," was a finalist for the 2023 Thurber Prize for American Humor. In 2021, her hometown Library, Pollard Memorial Library in Lowell, established The Elinor Lipman Prize, awarded annually to Lowell residents and students at Lowell universities.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
392 (14%)
4 stars
906 (34%)
3 stars
949 (36%)
2 stars
294 (11%)
1 star
80 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 313 reviews
Profile Image for Melanie.
309 reviews4 followers
June 21, 2008
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.
Profile Image for ~☆~Autumn .
1,199 reviews173 followers
November 11, 2016
I hope to read some more books by Elinor Lipman as this one was so different and interesting.
Profile Image for Jennifer Locke.
85 reviews26 followers
June 27, 2014
Do y'all read Elinor Lipman? You totally should! I'll read anyone that people frequently compare to Jane Austen, which is why I initially checked out an EL book from the library. After "The Pursuit of Alice Thrift," I'm still a fan. This book is funny, funny, funny. Lipman is a master of dialogue. I probably should have stopped more to appreciate all the high-level humor on each page, but then I just wanted to keep reading. In Raymond Russo, the fast-talking hanger-on who is pursuing Alice, Lipman has created a truly appalling slimeball of a man to be viewed with sick fascination. He's so bad, he's good--and always fun to watch. TPOAT is a good time all around.
865 reviews173 followers
July 14, 2010
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 character to choose and makes for an all the more interesting read.
Except it doesn't. Rich conflict aside, the bottom line is that someone who talks like that guy in Beautiful Mind just doesn't interest a reader or appeal at all. Alice talks like a textbook and basically is a textbook, and while the pursuit of Alice is not only the plot device of a guy who is after her, but also about her own pursuit of herself, I just found her to be such a freaking drag.
As to the plot, so here the book reminded me strongly of Washington Square - man comes to court rather unappealing girl and all anyone (father included) can think is, he must be after her money. In this case it's true (also in Washington Square, I think, though I don't remember if that was ever actually resolved - anyway) and frankly, I don't know how Smarty Doctor Pants fell for this extremely awful smarmy con artist who made it rather clear that he was only after her future earnings.
This book did little to please the reader - boring protagonist who was hard to relate to or like, caricature parents, absentee lesbian sister whose very existence did nothing for the book but make you ask why she was there at all, yucky slimeball con man, incredibly dumb choices on the part of all considered and then total Disney ending. Add to that Lipman's annoying penchant for ADD dialog where no one responds to each other and you have Alice Thrift.
Profile Image for Nancy.
213 reviews1 follower
July 15, 2016
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 conveying a deliciously subtle brand of humor. A romantic nightmare becomes entertaining and even touching. Well worth the quick read!
Profile Image for John.
Author 537 books183 followers
March 27, 2019
Alice Thrift, intern at a major Boston hospital, is almost totally lacking in social skills -- which means her bedside manner is appalling and she earns enemies easily. Her inability to read other people has the further consequence that she's completely vulnerable to the smart-talking attentions of much older candy-salesman Ray Russo, whom everyone but Alice realizes is a creep on the make -- after all, when Alice finishes her internship she'll be earning the big bucks, won't she?

But yet another consequence of Alice's inability to read people is that she fails to realize there are some around her who're very fond of her -- who value her intelligence and integrity and find those qualities far outweigh her gaucheries. As she learns to trust others, so she learns to trust herself -- giving a double meaning to the novel's title.

I fell in love with this beautifully written novel, and indeed head-over-heels in love with Alice herself, who managed to make me grin on virtually every page. Some of the other characterizations I found very striking too, such as those of Alice's new BF Sylvie, her roomie Leo and the elderly prof who takes her under his wing, Henry. As for Ray, he's interestingly complex: for much of the book I couldn't decide if he was really the slimeball everyone assumed or just, in his way, as socially inept as Alice.

The narrative sort of wilts in the very final pages, as if Lipman couldn't decide whether to go for a predictable ending or something wilder, and ended up taking the safer option, but I could easily forgive that for all the joy The Pursuit of Alice Thrift had given me beforehand. Poignant and hilarious by turns, The Pursuit of Alice Thrift was one of those novels I gladly permitted to take over my life for a few days.
Profile Image for Kate.
2,318 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2016
"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 Bedside Manner 101? Into Alice's workaholic and wallflower life comes Ray Russo, a 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 appalled at her choice of mate. Despite her doubts, Alice finds herself walking down the aisle, not so much won over as worn down. Will their marriage last the honeymoon? Only if Alice's best instincts can triumph over Ray's unsavory ways."
~~back cover

Alice is a train wreck of a girl -- completely clueless and paranoid about herself to boot. She has unfailing instincts -- for not seeing the forest for the trees, and mislabeling the trees as well.

It's a train wreck of a plot -- I kept wanting to scream at her, & throw the book across the room. How could anybody be that daft, that dense?

I suppose this is some arcane form of chick lit. It was well written and the characterization was excellent. Everyone seemed so real -- Ray obviously a silver-tongued devil, Alice totally oblivious. But it was just too frustrating for me.

There was an interesting debate about why Alice was like she was. I won't go into it here so as not to spoil it for the next reader. I'd be interested to know what you think, if you read the book.
Profile Image for Colleen.
377 reviews20 followers
June 6, 2009
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 she's not quite sure how to fix herself. Along comes Ray--big-nosed, a bad dresser, and a total suck-up--who begins to woo Alice. He screams scam artist--or does he? He does seem to understand Alice and knows the right things to say to her. But he doesn't relentlessly pursue her. At one point he backs off and doesn't talk to her for months. Alice is the one who draws him back into her life. And he does some good for Alice in bringing her out of her shell. So, despite my suspicion that he may be a scam artist, I wasn't 100% sure. I liked that uncertainty. Then, of course, there's her roommate, and ultimately, good friend, Lou. The two of them cannot see how good they are for each other. Their "romance" is so cute, and possibly sets things up for a sequel. You'll enjoy what happens at the end. Alice isn't as clueless as everyone thinks she is!
Profile Image for Sheryl Sorrentino.
Author 7 books89 followers
November 9, 2014
I enjoyed this book immensely. It was laugh-out-loud funny—until the end.



P.S. I read an earlier edition with the original cover , which I prefer. What is the significance of the candies? Is that supposed to be fudge, or did something change in the story with a later version?

5 reviews1 follower
August 18, 2011
Really quite disappointing - was billed as being hilarious but was actually rather depressing. Humour was forced. Would not re-read at all.
Profile Image for Watchdogg.
208 reviews2 followers
March 27, 2024
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift by Elinor Lipman
First published in 2003 by Random House. I read the 2004 trade pb by Vintage.

Blurb -
Can an upper-middle-class doctor find love with a shady, fast-talking salesman?
Meet 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 blunt, but where was she the day they taught Bedside Manner 101? Into Alice’s workaholic and wallflower life comes Ray Russo, a slick traveling fudge salesman in search of a nose job and well-heeled companionship, but not necessarily in that order. Is he a conman or a sincere suitor? Good guy or bad? Alice’s parents, roommate, and best friend Sylvie are appalled at her choice of mate. Despite her doubts, Alice finds herself walking down the aisle, not so much won over as worn down. Will their marriage last the honeymoon? Only if Alice’s best instincts can triumph over Ray’s unsavory ways.

My thoughts -
On the back cover of the trade paperback, I read there is a quote from the Detroit Free Press - "The literary equivalent of lemon souffle', light, tart, and delicious."

That's exactly how I felt about this story upon completion. According to GR, the genres listed for this novel include Chick Lit, Romance, Humor, Contemporary, Adult, and Womens Fiction. None of these are my go-to genre, but I discovered this book on my shelves and in a departure from the norm, decided to give it a try. I'm so glad that I did. The perfect mix of all those categories resulted in an enjoyable read, from start to finish, with a surprise or two thrown in to keep a smile on my face and an occasional nod representing approval - in the manner of yup, that seems about right at the moment.

Not sure how long it will be before I turn to another by this author, but as sometimes happens, I'm not ruling it out. Solid 4 stars and in my rating system that means Very Good - better than most.
Profile Image for Carol W.
215 reviews126 followers
February 2, 2011
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 hospital accomodation and some strange events that lead to a surprising conclusion for Alice, all make for a great read.

4/5 for me!
Profile Image for Laurie.
292 reviews
August 14, 2015
Alice Thrift is a very unlikeable character.It isn't that she was boring but that she seemed to go out of her way to be unsociable even to her own mother.And she put herself into a relationship with a man she disliked and looked down on.And then married him.Not only did I not sympathize with her but I felt like she got what she deserved.Lippman's attempt at the end to show some sort of personality growth was weak.This was a downer of a story filled with all sorts of ugly prejudices.I'm completely confused as to what other reviewers found so humorous.I'm still a little mad that I wasted my time reading this book.
Profile Image for Janice.
17 reviews
September 15, 2010
One of my favorite Elinor Lipman books! If you haven't read any of her books, you really should. The dialog is so interesting and humorous at times. I have heard her compared to a modern day Jane Austin as well as Larry David from Curb Your Enthusiasm without the whine. Really funny situations this character gets herself into.
Profile Image for Peggy Parsons.
588 reviews6 followers
April 14, 2014
Alice Thrift is all brains and no social skills. As a surgical intern now facing patients and fellow doctors rather than textbooks her social ineptitude springs humorous at every turn. You'll laugh your way through the book, and at one point you'll have to stop and lay the book down you'll be laughing so hard. Read it. Always a tad quirky, Lipman does it again.
Profile Image for Pooch.
726 reviews4 followers
April 24, 2008
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.
Profile Image for Priscilla.
441 reviews10 followers
September 28, 2015
The Pursuit of Alice Thrift is a piece of crap start to finish. Ridiculously shallow characters, implausible storyline, and annoyingly told. Totally juvenile and not worth one second of my time.
Profile Image for reading is my hustle.
1,673 reviews348 followers
July 10, 2018
this is one of those that i never got around to reading & so when i spotted it i decided to give it a read. i'm glad i did! it was written back in the early aughts & i've since realized that Elinor Lipman wrote the ''asperger/autism quirky character" first; not Graeme Simsion or (more recently) Helen Hoang. in this case, the hugely likeable & oddball character is alice thrift; she's a surgeon on the autism spectrum who is struggling to fit in to the concern of those around her. she is awkward, forthright, & quite solitary; while she is aware of her social oddities she has no idea what to do about it. she's also flailing a bit in her residency program & finds herself on probation. enter a new BF, new roommate, & an extroverted neighbor who all take an interest in alice. is it a bit predictable? yes! but it also charming & funny? yes!
Profile Image for HrpaKnjiga.
54 reviews6 followers
August 23, 2017
3.25
Neobičan chick-lit roman s liječnicom kao protagonisticom koja pati od nedostatka socijalnih vještina. :D
70 reviews
June 4, 2021
has its funny relatable moments but the main love interest never won me over :(
659 reviews
April 18, 2018
When an antisocial doctor meets an older, streetwise, fudge salesman what happens is chaos. I loved this book, it made me laugh out loud so many times. Everyone arounds her thinks he is a fraud and no good for her but Alice can't see beyond his devotion and abilities in bed. Throw in problems at work, an inability to read people, a belief in complete honesty (no where lies allowed), no social life, pushy parents and you have a thought provoking and funny novel which is perfect for light relief. I look forward to finding her other books to read.
Profile Image for Robin.
1,194 reviews
September 12, 2020
Entertaining read - perfect to take one's mind off the craziness of 2020!
7 reviews
December 22, 2020
I've read and enjoyed several books by Elinor Lipman, but this one dragged a bit for me. Alice Thrift is a super smart surgical intern with no social skills. She is legitimately confused as to how other people intuitively know how to interact with each other (About halfway through the book it is mentioned that Alice's Mother suspects she has Asperger's). Alice is quiet, reserved, contemplative, and clinical. Ray Russo is the opposite: loud, outgoing, impulsive, unpredictable. Ray meets Alice while she is working at the hospital, and immediately begins pursuing her. He claims to be smitten with her from the start, but it is obvious that he is shifty and isn't being 100% honest with her. Alice is equal parts irritated with his constant attention and puzzled by it: why would anybody want to spend time with her? Fortunately, Alice has people in her life who uplift her and try to boost her confidence while also steering her away from Ray Russo, who is not to be trusted. I liked Alice and her new friends Leo and Sylvie, couldn't stand Ray (which seemed to be the author's intent), but overall felt like the pacing was a bit slow and drawn out. The ending seemed sudden and everything tied up just a little too neatly, as if even the author had grown tired of the whole thing and wanted to be done with it. I will still read more of Lipman's books though, because she is very skilled at creating interesting characters that you easily become invested in.
Profile Image for Trisha.
804 reviews69 followers
November 16, 2009
Every once in a while it's fun to read a book like this -- a book that's clever and entertaining and doesn't take much concentration. I've never read anything buy Elinor Lipman before but I'll keep her on my "authors to read" list because I have a feeling her other books will be clever and entertaining as well. The characters in this somewhat fluffy little novel (should I dare to call it "chick lit") are engaging and quirky -- even poor Alice Thrift herself who could be a poster child for a brainy female nerd, completely clue-less about just about everything that has to do with getting along with people. The plot itself seemed just a tad improbably to me - but who cares with this kind of a book? It was interesting enough to keep me reading, especially since it didn't take that long to get to the end. All along I had my suspicions about that sleezy character, Ray. And so I wasn't surprised when he ended up being such a jerk!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Sandra Hutchison.
Author 11 books84 followers
September 7, 2020
I feel as if Lipman was experimenting here, for her narrator, a medical resident, is a character so socially clueless that her own mother suggests maybe she has Asperger's Syndrome. I found it hard to believe in places, but it was entertaining. Two sympathetic characters get taken for a ride by two other determined characters, but as always in Lipman's novels, it's likely to all work out in the end, maybe even better than it would have otherwise. There's also a wonderful comic set piece where a total jerk of a surgeon gets caught in a most delicate situation.
Profile Image for Carla.
Author 20 books50 followers
Read
February 23, 2017
A mildly entertaining comedy. The writing is good, and the storytelling as smooth as a TV sitcom, and it hums along nicely. I suppose some readers will take to the Aspergish heroine, Alice, who has the cluelessness necessary to make the romantic plot/deception convincing-- since the reader, at least this reader, can tell feom the get-go that all is not what it seems to be. It is a predictable plot, though, and there is no last-minute surprise or spark.
Profile Image for Heike.
662 reviews55 followers
June 12, 2016
I almost did not finish this book, but I loved the idea (I loved "The Rosie Project" with a similar protagonist - supposedly). But ... the woman protagonist's actions were very illogical for an intelligent MD, no matter what kind of mental problems she maybe had. And I could not find the humor in the story line. Sorry, not for me.
Profile Image for Dana Jennings.
490 reviews15 followers
June 20, 2017
Thank you, Paula, for turning me on to Elinor Lipman. Blurbs by Richard Russo, Carol Shields, and Anita Shreve led me to believe it would be well written. I was not disappointed. The characters came from across vividly and their shenanigans never overshadowed the heart and soul of the book. Thoroughly enjoyed it! Now, I, too, will read everything Lipman has written/will write.
257 reviews
August 22, 2017
One of the most entertaining books I've read in a long time. Alice Thrift is quirky enough and grows just enough to make her interesting to watch. The whole time she is "pursued" by Ray Russo had me thinking about her. The reader gets into her head just enough to find her intriguing. How clever Elinor Lipman is. I want to read more of her books.
Profile Image for Slone.
749 reviews
February 12, 2009
The protagonist in THIS is NOT likeable (see "As Cool As I Am," Pete Fromm). Thus, it was hard to get into and finish this. When you can root for a person, it's much easier and fun to want to read more about them. This felt like really hard calculus homework.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 313 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.