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Book Cover for: The Pursuit of Alice Thrift, Elinor Lipman

The Pursuit of Alice Thrift

Elinor Lipman

In this well-tuned, witty, and altogether wonderful novel, the beloved author of Ms. Demeanor and Every Tom, Dick & Harry dares to ask: 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.

Book Details

  • Publisher: Vintage
  • Publish Date: Apr 13rd, 2004
  • Pages: 304
  • Language: English
  • Edition: undefined - undefined
  • Dimensions: 8.06in - 5.22in - 0.65in - 0.49lb
  • EAN: 9780375724596
  • Categories: Romance - Romantic ComedyLiteraryWomen

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About the Author

ELINOR LIPMAN is the author of many books, including 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, Ms. Demeanor, and Every Tom, Dick & Harry, as well as 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.

More books by Elinor Lipman

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Book Cover for: The View from Penthouse B, Elinor Lipman
Book Cover for: Then She Found Me (Original), Elinor Lipman
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Book Cover for: Family Man, Elinor Lipman
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Book Cover for: Rachel to the Rescue, Elinor Lipman
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Book Cover for: The Dearly Departed, Elinor Lipman
Book Cover for: The Inn at Lake Devine, Elinor Lipman
Book Cover for: Tweet Land of Liberty: Irreverent Rhymes from the Political Circus, Elinor Lipman

Praise for this book

"Simply, wonderfully, memorably human and therefore complicated and compelling. . . . A total treat." --USA Today

"A witty, satirical novel rich in wry, observant narrative reminiscent of Jane Austen's deceptively benign satiric genius." --San Francisco Chronicle

"The most perfect piece of prose writing to come along in quite a while." --Philadelphia Weekly

"The literary equivalent of lemon soufflé, light, tart and delicious." --Detroit Free Press