Lipman's books look as if they must be 'guilty pleasure' books, but I swear they're good--Lipman has a singular voice and dry sense of humor. They're in a class of books that is hard to come by--maybe not 'literary fiction' but fun: well-written keen studies of people. Though I and others might argue that they are 'literary fiction'! If only the covers didn't scream 'chick lit'... ( )

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

Of the four Lipman books I've read, this was my least favorite. The characters were less likable - which I think was intentional, and worked - and the characters I DID like didn't have enough page time. Still, it's a fun read, and recommendable like her other books. I would just recommend her other books before this one. ;) ( )

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 ( )

Dr. Alice Thrift doesn't excel at interpersonal communication. Actually, that's putting it lightly. She's an intern who wants to become a surgeon, works long hours, and takes everything seriously. When Ray Russo, a former near-patient for a nose job, starts calling her and asking her out, she's rather flattered and can't quite see how this could go wrong, despite the advice of everyone around her.

I was in the mood for something light and knew an Elinor Lipman book would fit the bill. Despite, or perhaps because of, her serious nature, Alice was a really fun heroine. I'm not so great at reading people either, but even I was a step ahead of Alice and sometimes laughing at her naivete. She tells you on the very first page that her relationship with Ray doesn't work out, so reading this felt kind of like watching a car wreck - you just can't look away. ( )