Can being conned be
good for you?
Before Ray Russo came into her life, Alice Thrift was a surgical intern
in Boston with a brusque bedside manner, low self-esteem, and almost no
friends. After Russo — a fudge salesman eager for the income
and prestige of a wife with an M.D. — has wooed, wedded, and
left Alice, she has not only grown in empathy and self-understanding
but also in friends and medical skills.
Author Elinor Lipman tells us almost immediately that Ray was a con man
and the marriage didn't last, so there is no surprise except trying to
figure out how Alice fell for a loudmouth whom everyone else could see
through. As Lipman unfolds the tale of Alice's loneliness and the
stress of an intern's unforgiving, brutal existence, Alice's reckless
actions seem somewhat sensical. That's also partly because Ray isn't
all bad. Whether or not his words are sincere, Alice improves as Ray
says just what she needs to hear.
Of course, eventually Ray's true motives are exposed, but Alice emerges
hardly the worse for wear.
This is the eighth book from a woman who writes with both wit and
wisdom. It is populated with wonderful characters, including the
charming male nurse roommate Alice found through an ad; a spike-haired
chief resident; and Alice's mother, who wants her daughter to be her
soulmate. There are also very funny scenes; in one of the best, the
nasty, arrogant physician who tried to have Alice canned ruptures a
disc in the bed of Alice's neighbor, a medical resident.
Lipman has been called a modern-day Jane Austen. Whether she (or
anyone) merits that comparison, Lipman does possess an easy style and
the ability to communicate insight with humor. She has been turning out
a new novel every few years and may be one of the best author finds for
those looking for upbeat novels.
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