Up in the Old Hotel

You don't have to be of a certain age or from a certain time or place to appreciate Joseph Mitchell. He transports you. He sees things the rest of us miss, or if we notice them at all, he sees in them things we don't. He takes us places unknown, and disappearing, as Charles Kuralt did in "On the Road." What he writes is literature. You can recognize that, even if what he writes or how he writes it doesn't particularly appeal to you. It DOES appeal to me! He could make a grocery list a rewarding read. If I had to be marooned on a desert island with one book, this would be the one. I write this on the occasion of buying yet another copy to give as a gift (to the surgeon who commented knowledgeably when he found me reading the Memoirs of U.S. Grant). If there were room to store them I'd buy a googolplex, not to run out if it goes out of print again.

If an ordinary writer had tackled some of the stories in this volume, they might have bored readers to tears. But Mitchell is a master and his command of language is entrancing. Many of his characters are unforgettable and this book makes you thankful that someone saw the value and the human interest in these characters who most might cast aside as eccentric messes. Mitchell likes people, he finds them endlessly fascinating, and that oozes from every page. Up in the Old Hotel is one book I keep in my bookcase and will go back to again and relish.

The nonfictional pieces in this collection are classics (the fiction is less impressive). What makes these pieces stand out from all the other New Yorker/Sunday Times pieces that I've read is the dignity with which Mitchell depicted the people he portrayed. It's very moving.

Mitchell, a well known reporter has filled a role in history that will always be remembered and loved by those who lived the life he wrote about.

The people in his stories are unique and have qualities some would find interesting. His writing is very descriptive and he captures countless details not understood or seen by the casual passer-buyer. You can easily place yourself as a fly on the wall soaking in your surroundings.

If you read "Up in the Old Hotel" with literary merit in mind then you will be in for a good dose of excellent writing by a standard of yesteryear. If you are looking for people who fit outside the box, you will surly find them. If you are looking for a glimpse of the past them be prepared to journey back with a fine guide who didn't miss a thing.

There will be many of the older generation that will remember, with clarity, when Mitchell's writings first appeared and the impact they made. It is to this group that I recommend "Up in the Old Hotel".

Though a brilliant writer, I was not drawn to his stories. For me they lacked the "snap, crackle, and pop" of today's aggressive writing style. If New York had been my home over the years, then I would have found a deeper appreciation and understanding for those who made up Mitchell's fine work.

I read this book about eighteen months ago, and I revisit it every so often. Sheer greatness.