Up in the Old Hotel

Rating:
Summary: What about section III?
Review: All of these reviews seem to focus on the East Village stories. I have to admit that the reason I read this book was because I went and had a few beers at McSorley's and had an amazing afternoon with a british playwright who thought that the servers didn't like him. I was given a copy by a friend when I told him about my experience and I spent many wonderful nights reliving my NY stay. But the Black Ankle stories are where it's at if you ask me. Food and characters and places you only dreamed of visiting. Uncle Dockery and the Independant Bull might be one of the best stories I've read in the last ten years. Joseph Mitchell's stories are American treasures. I have never said this about any author before, but I swear to God, he's another Mark Twain and I can't believe that nobody knows this.

Rating:
Summary: Enthralling, eternal
Review: From the first moment I opened this book, I was riveted. It is very difficult to describe the wonder of it. It is more than characters, place, time. It is beyond all that. You enter a different universe, where you walk the city streets and country roads of a great city, yet are intimately connected with private lives. My personal favorite section is "Mr.Hunter's Grave". I picture myself wandering thru those old country cemeteries, smelling the wildflowers and seeing the tombstones of those long past, the cries of the sea birds and red-winged blackbirds in my ears. If you haven't read this book, DO SO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. I predict you will return to it again and again, especially in those small hours of the morning, when all is quiet, and you need a good friend to tell you a great story.

Rating:
Summary: Up in the Old Hotel - A great read
Review: I found this book in the library when I was deployed to Saudi Arabia last Christmas. Rarely have I found a book that captured my attention so much. Joseph Mitchell's descriptions of the life and people of New York were so vivid that I felt transported from the hot dry desert of Saudi Arabia to the bustle of New York City. I finished the book in two days, hungry for more.

Rating:
Summary: Longing for home
Review: I think that any book that can make you truly long to be back in a place that you miss with all your heart is the mark of a true classic. "Up in the Old Hotel" does just that. Included here are stories of bearded ladies, clammers, eccentrics, American Indians and many of the other people residing in the most wonderful city in the whole country. That of New York City. Their lives are brought out and put into writing by Joeseph Mitchell, formerly a reporter for the New Yorker magazine. He gives these people such dignity and grace, that they almost transcend their oftentimes sparse existence. Every story is a masterpiece. There are about 25 non-fiction accounts, and 6 fiction, but the characters of the non-fiction tales are just that. Characters. The line between fictiona and non blurs due to the incredible detail and persona of these wild and charming residents of the metropolis they call home. I don't anymore, but I used to live in New York myself. This book was more than enough for me to realize that I have to move back there as soon as I can. I would feel very proud to have the people Joeseph Mitchell displays as my neighbors. I feel like I already know them.

Rating:
Summary: Longing for home
Review: I think that any book that can make you truly long to be back in a place that you miss with all your heart is the mark of a true classic. "Up in the Old Hotel" does just that. Included here are stories of bearded ladies, clammers, eccentrics, American Indians and many of the other people residing in the most wonderful city in the whole country. That of New York City. Their lives are brought out and put into writing by Joeseph Mitchell, formerly a reporter for the New Yorker magazine. He gives these people such dignity and grace, that they almost transcend their oftentimes sparse existence. Every story is a masterpiece. There are about 25 non-fiction accounts, and 6 fiction, but the characters of the non-fiction tales are just that. Characters. The line between fictiona and non blurs due to the incredible detail and persona of these wild and charming residents of the metropolis they call home. I don't anymore, but I used to live in New York myself. This book was more than enough for me to realize that I have to move back there as soon as I can. I would feel very proud to have the people Joeseph Mitchell displays as my neighbors. I feel like I already know them.

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Truly enlightening and entrancing
Review: I was so engrossed in this book that everything else stopped for me for about a week. Joseph Mitchell's language is easy and clever, always informational and so entertaining that you read every word instead of skipping. The sentences themselves are so beautifully crafted that you find yourself anticipating their rhythms in your head as if following along with a beautiful melody. Not only does he tell you more than you'll ever want to know on any subject he writes about, but he does it in such a respectful, compassionate way to the subject of his attention that you can't help but love him. My favorite story was "Up in the Old Hotel." Throughout this entire tale, I was entirely riveted waiting for the disclosure, excited in a way that only the very best movies elicit. When I'd read it, I laid the book down and thought about it for a long time. It was such a cliffhanger, and deeply interesting. Joseph Mitchell has definitely had his influence on other writers -- for instance, I seem to sense that Susan Orlean ("The Orchid Thief" -- another excellent book crammed full of interesting information and human insights) who also works for "The New Yorker" is a disciple of his. I will definitely be revisiting this book to experience his magical world, and I have it in my library of "don't lends".

Rating:
Summary: Truly enlightening and entrancing
Review: I was so engrossed in this book that everything else stopped for me for about a week. Joseph Mitchell's language is easy and clever, always informational and so entertaining that you read every word instead of skipping. The sentences themselves are so beautifully crafted that you find yourself anticipating their rhythms in your head as if following along with a beautiful melody. Not only does he tell you more than you'll ever want to know on any subject he writes about, but he does it in such a respectful, compassionate way to the subject of his attention that you can't help but love him. My favorite story was "Up in the Old Hotel." Throughout this entire tale, I was entirely riveted waiting for the disclosure, excited in a way that only the very best movies elicit. When I'd read it, I laid the book down and thought about it for a long time. It was such a cliffhanger, and deeply interesting. Joseph Mitchell has definitely had his influence on other writers -- for instance, I seem to sense that Susan Orlean ("The Orchid Thief" -- another excellent book crammed full of interesting information and human insights) who also works for "The New Yorker" is a disciple of his. I will definitely be revisiting this book to experience his magical world, and I have it in my library of "don't lends".

Rating:
Summary: A collection worthy of reading over and over
Review: Joe Mitchell was a New Yorker Magazine original, and in this collection representing three decades of authorship, you will find him at his very best. You wil also rediscover how very good journalism can be when someone works at it with genuine care for his craft and sincere love for his subject. One of those rare books that always seems to be cross-referenced in every bookstore under history, journalism, fiction, literature. And when you arrive at any of these sections, you;ll never find enough copies of Mitchell. C.E. Lincoln [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Storied Nonfiction
Review: Joseph Mitchell is perhaps the best argument for never bothering to write again. He has said it. Why bother?

This book is a collection of four books, including the classic Joe Gould's Secret (the last piece he ever wrote). He shows us what writing is meant to be: lyrical, poetic, filled with detail and observation, full of life about life full of meaning.

The Rivermen, which details the life and times of Edgewater, New Jersey, is my favorite piece. It dodges and meanders, building a backdrop and developing some characters, and then WHAM, the meaning of life. I remember my wife asking me what the piece had been about, and I think my only clear response was: everything.

He has style, and he also has meaning. His prose drives the reader toward his final sentence, and like Joyce he manages to leave the reader awed at his conclusions. And wiser.

Of course, the most astonishing aspect of all is that it was all true. I suppose that shows how much meaning we miss in the living of life.