The Pursuit Of Alice Thrift (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
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 the third chapter or so, Alice starts to develop signs of a personality, and I started to like her. She's emotionally stunted, but trying to do better. She makes friends, she makes some jokes...and then she makes some really bad decisions.The main conflict hinges on a con man and your basic, totally regrettable, wedding hijinks, and that is exactly the kind of thing I don't want to read about in what is otherwise a fairly light-hearted book. I love a good heist story, but this is a cheap con and a see-through one at that. It doesn't help that the reader knows how the story ends from the first chapter: Alice tells us that Ray is a liar, and then we have to watch her go ahead marry him anyway. There's no mystery, no tension, no chance for the reader to come up with their own interpretation of things. Instead it's frustrating and uncomfortable, and even made me dislike Alice for being so stupid. To top it all off, I didn't get my big emotional payoff at the end when the right guy for Alice is finally available. Damn you, Lipman!In some ways, I do admire Lipman's decision not to take the easy way out and set Alice up with the man she should have been with all along. Still, Lipman's conclusion didn't have the kind of resonance I would have liked. Alice Thrift married a man that only wanted her for her money, and I didn't get to see the impact that made on her developing personality. Two stars. I like Lipman's work, but this didn't do justice to its main character. Alice deserved a better ending.
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.
What do You think about The Pursuit Of Alice Thrift (2003)?
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, any kind of attention seems wonderful.At any rate, this widowed chocolate fudge salesman, who seemingly has lots of time on his hands, shows up with just the right kind of attention: little gifts, food, and lots of charming words.A woman more practiced in social skills might see red flags everywhere, but not Alice. Then, suddenly, after a social event with her friend Leo and a neighbor Sylvie, Alice feels vulnerable and more lonely than usual. And agrees to marry Ray.What happens over the next few weeks will tell the tale. What do we discover next? And what will those in Alice’s immediate circle conclude when a big post-wedding celebration is underway? Will Alice finally discover what she needs and wants?Great characterizations and humorous situations set this novel apart from the average “chick lit” tale. "The Pursuit of Alice Thrift" carries the reader along in a journey toward a greater understanding of the inner strength of a character who seems fragile. Discovering her own strength is Alice’s most notable achievement.Five stars.
—Laurel-Rain
Full disclosure: I'm not a huge Elinor Lipman fan, so it's not surprising this didn't win huge accolades from me. I tried it just cuz, and the gamble didn't really pay off. The first half was really slow for me -- maybe because Lipman intentionally chose a more emotionally distant character? (But I'm not sure about that because I also liked that character and her quirks, even if I thought she was perhaps a little too stereotyped.) The second half actually went by pretty quickly and pulled me in more than I had expected. Even so, I didn't feel like the character's emotional/personal journey always fit the external circumstances -- and it sort of felt like there were two journeys that never totally connected.
—Abigail
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 and not real life, I enjoyed one of the male supporting characters. I would love to have him as a friend. I also liked the woman across the hall. I thought she was a very real character. Once she was introduced in the story, the book took on a different feeling. She helped carry the story or move it along, but the story was rather flat without her
—JayeL
