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Book ReviewsUp in the Old Hotel |
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Book: Up in the Old Hotel
Written by: JOSEPH MITCHELL |
Publisher: Vintage
Average Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5
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Excellent writing, curious 20th-century viewpoint
Rating:
4 / 5
Joseph Mitchell was a masterful journalist and storyteller. These essays and stories are highly recommended.
Only one thing strikes me as odd upon re-reading this book: the only people he writes about are low-lifes, basically. Bums, drunks, and the Bowery are quintessential Mitchell topics. One imagines that he inherited this odd tendency from writers such as George Orwell, and that it was part of the unquestioned (and unquestionable) socialism which made the 20th century such an unpleasant time.
That is to say, it is at least arguable that a highly talented journalist and raconteur would seek to use his talent documenting people who have talent, intelligence, drive, and ambition: to describe to others how these people went about contributing to the world, and even changing it. Graham Robb, for example, has spent many years researching and reporting on three Frenchmen of literary genius: Balzac, Rimbaud, and Hugo. Joseph Mitchell would apparently never have dreamed of doing such a thing: his memorable characters inhabit the slums, and the restaurants and taverns in the slums.
As a result, this book may strike future generations as an extended exercise in slumming.
None of this can detract from Mitchell's excellence at his craft! This book is highly recommended!!
Engrossing
Rating:
5 / 5
I was first introduced to this author through his obituary (odd, I know). He appeared in an anthology of obituaries (Last Word - Obituaries from the NY Times) and I was intrigued enough to buy this collection of stories and profiles that appeared mostly in the New Yorker in the 30' and 40's. What a talent! His work is evocative and caring. The most ordinary citizen (or not so ordinary) has a story that he hears and probably no one else listens to. He conveys to his reader a gentle sense of life and
struggle and humor.
A Terrfic Look at NYC Characters in a not so long ago age!!
Rating:
5 / 5
Mr. Mitchell's lazer beam ray into just about every nook and cranny of Manhatten from around 1930 to the early 1960's, will make you wish you were his sidekick. Originally a Southerner,his reporting and stories makes us believe that outsiders, who are curious about everything in their new surroundings, may be the ones who know it best. And his empathy for even those who appear the lowest in the social stratum shows that there is something special in all of us. My personal favorite is hearing the police detective describe some of the shady tricks that some gypsies, ususally recently from Europe, were up to in getting certain naive homemakers to part with their money. Some con game!! But every yarn is true and enjoyable. Don't miss perhaps the most famous, about Joe Gould's Great Literary Work "In Progress."...All in all, a special voyage into the labyrinths of our greatest city!
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