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Up in the Old Hotel

by Joseph Mitchell

4.47 · rating details · 767 ratings · 129 reviews

Saloon-keepers and street preachers, gypsies and steel-walking Mohawks, a bearded lady and a 93-year-old “seafoodetarian” who believes his specialized diet will keep him alive for another two decades. These are among the people that Joseph Mitchell immortalized in his reportage for The New Yorker and in four books—McSorley's Wonderful Saloon, Old Mr. Flood, The Bottom of t...more

Paperback, 736 pages

Published June 1st 1993 by Vintage (first published 1992)

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Community Reviews

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Sep 24, 2008

Tom rated it

Shelves: essays

One of those rare treasures that just gets better with age. A one-man lesson in the cleanest yet most lyrical non-fiction you're likely to find anywhere. Whenever I need to clear my head and cleanse my soul, I pull out this book and reread any one of dozens of favorite passages. A kind of poetry of the streets -- Whitman would've loved Mitchell, I'm convinced of it!
I'd match "Joe Gould's Secret" with any famous novella in American Literature.
So many favorite lines .....more

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Jan 29, 2012

Kathleen rated it

What is it about me and the old guys these days? I can't seem to get enough of them. Mitchell, a prolific staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, chronicled daily life in hidden corners of New York City in the 1930s and 1940s, from McSorley's Saloon, a men's only bar in the Village, to Gypsy neighborhoods on the outskirts of town. When my brain is abuzz from too much screen time and ringing cell phones, I like nothing more than taking a step back into old time New York City with Joseph Mitch...more

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Sep 12, 2011

Mandy Jo rated it

This week’s headline? Old New York

Why this book? Friend's mom's recommendation

Which book format? Shabby trade paperback

Primary reading environment? Shady park bench

Any preconceived notions? Of a time

Identify most with? Joseph Mitchell himself

Three-word quote? “yellow-haired blonde"

Goes well with? mussels, cheese, onions

I spent three months trying to read this, eschewing all other books, and I can't say my time w...more

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Aug 20, 2011

Jack Silbert rated it

I wanted to read this collection since 1992, when it first came out. Finally, last November, my friend Fiona loaned me her well-worn copy. It had been to Alaska and back with her, and who knows where else. At some point early in the new year, I began to read the book, first reinforcing the cover with clear packing tape.

Fiona, you know me too well. The book was a revelation, one of the best I've ever read. Even if I took my sweet time with it. Its 700+ pages hold 37 of Mitchell's New Yo...moreI wanted to read this collection since 1992, when it first came out. Finally, last November, my friend Fiona loaned me her well-worn copy. It had been to Alaska and back with her, and who knows where else. At some point early in the new year, I began to read the book, first reinforcing the cover with clear packing tape.

Fiona, you know me too well. The book was a revelation, one of the best I've ever read. Even if I took my sweet time with it. Its 700+ pages hold 37 of Mitchell's New Yorker essays, including a few short stories, ranging from 1940 to 1964. The first covers McSorley's Wonderful Saloon, and I was immediately hooked. McSorley's survives—I first visited in the summer of 1990—but for the most part the book chronicles a forgotten New York. And it's the rough-and-tumble side, the Bowery, the Seaport, after hours at the police station, the bars, diners, cemeteries, and everywhere in between. And oh the characters he meets, poets and preachers, iron workers and movie-house managers, schemers and dreamers.

Along the way we watch Mitchell grow as a writer. His earliest pieces often end abruptly. He becomes a more nuanced storyteller. He takes some stabs at fiction but I think soon realizes that real life is where the action is. I can see a strong influence on a later New Yorker writer (and another favorite) John McPhee, especially in Mitchell's later work. They both become so enmeshed in their topic that they want to convey every detail, and just when it seems too much, a character is introduced to put a human face on the story. (Interestingly, the two men provide the only two pieces I've ever read about shad.) But Mitchell gets the nod, because he's much more willing to get down and dirty, and at the end of the day, his topics are just more fun.

And so for months, I carried the book with me wherever I went, bus stations and train stations, snowstorms and heat waves, and yes, even to Alaska and back. I treasured every essay. To first-time readers of Mitchell's work, I suggest skipping the 2008 introduction by David Remnick till you're finished. (There's a bit of a spoiler. Why do introduction writers for old reprinted books assume we've read them before?) The book ends beautifully. Mitchell, who's accompanied us through a quarter century journey, meeting countless friends along the way, finally reveals himself, and it all comes together. This is just about perfection.(less)

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Apr 12, 2011

Diane A Brown rated it

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 ...more

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Jan 10, 2011

Nycdreamin rated it

An amazingly entertaining collection of stories written by Joseph Mitchell, this book should be required reading for any American Literature class in high schools. Mitchell, in his incredibly descriptive writing style, tells tales of some of the people he met in the 1920's - 1950's in and around the vicinity of NYC. Some of the stories contianed in this volume are longer, more complete versions of stories that appeared in an earlier Mitchell collection, "My Ears Are Bent." To read them...moreAn amazingly entertaining collection of stories written by Joseph Mitchell, this book should be required reading for any American Literature class in high schools. Mitchell, in his incredibly descriptive writing style, tells tales of some of the people he met in the 1920's - 1950's in and around the vicinity of NYC. Some of the stories contianed in this volume are longer, more complete versions of stories that appeared in an earlier Mitchell collection, "My Ears Are Bent." To read them again here, in their original, uncut versions, was a delight as the stories were more fully fleshed out, giving the reader a much fuller experience.

In this book are stories about real characters: a lady who worked at a ticket booth at a movie theater near the Bowery who was friend and donor to many a down-and-out man that she met on the streets of the city. Then there's the story about the bearded "Lady Olga" and her life spent performing in circus side-shows. There is an extensive story about the Gypsy population of New York City and the lifestyle they led. Other people to read about in this collection include the "Don't Swear Man," a guy on a one-man mission to eradicate profanity on the city streets; a great story about the Mohawk Indians and how they became some of the most skilled high-steel workers in the nation. There's "Old Mr. Flood," an old city dweller who had spent a good deal of his life on and around the Fulton Fish Market. Mitchell tells other sea tales of boat captains and oysterman. There's a story about the history of the Rat population and problem in the city and the potential disasters they could cause. Many, many more very interesting characters appear in this book - I won't list them all so to save some surprise if you choose to read the book. The final story in this volume is "Joe Gould's Secret," a meandering tale about a man who wandered the streets of NYC, observing an listening, for a few decades during the bohemian era. Most everyone seemed to know, or know of, Joe Gould. Gould claimed to be writing a book he called "An Oral History Of Our Time." Mitchell had decided he would write a piece on Gould and his book for a publication he was working for at the time and through the course of about a year or so, Mitchell spent a good many hours listening to Gould and his seemingly never ending tales. Throughout the course of his sometimes nearly maddening dealings with Gould, Mitchell makes an accidental discovery about the truth of the "Oral History." He shares the discovery with the reader - but I can't tell you about it here - you'll have to read it for yourself.(less)

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Nov 24, 2009

Eric rated it

A disclaimer: I only read about 2/3rd's of this book. It's around 750 pages, but some of the stories were either too antiquated to read or were of a topic too sensitive for me to read (ex. the raising of terrapins for future consumption - couldn't handle that. Although, it did remind me of the magical Terrapin Station!). Otherwise, Mitchell's book is fantastic. He was a reporter for the New Yorker from the 1930's to the 1990's. These stories are all profiles he made of the common man and, s...more

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Mar 06, 2010

Jake rated it

Shelves: history, sociology, short-stories

Easily the best book about New York that I have ever read. I think if Joseph Mitchell had focused on fiction, instead of reporting, he would have been a match for Hemingway- they share a passion for short, declarative sentences, and for stories about noble, damaged people. And like Hemingway, you sense that despite his huge talent, Mitchell was also damaged and sometimes deeply depressed. Maybe that's why he stopped writing after he published "Joe Gould's Secret"– his sadness just g...more

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Dec 16, 2008

Frank rated it

I'm going to give this four stars provisionally since I haven't read the whole thing or even the majority of it. I bought this book in order to read the final piece in it, "Joe Gould's Secret," which Janet Malcolm called Joseph Mitchell's masterpiece.

I can see why Malcolm, author of The Journalist and the Murderer, a classic study of the ethical quandaries of the relationship between writer and subject, would be drawn to this piece. It's a fascinating and entertaining accou...more

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Dec 24, 2011

Charles rated it

True New York stories circa 1930 to 1950 or thereabouts. Truly amazing writing that brings the nooks and crannies of the city to life. The author tends to leave himself almost entirely out of these essays and lets the characters (and these are some SERIOUSLY INTERESTING characters) speak and act for themselves. Drunks. Geniuses. Bartenders. Fishermen. Religous zealots. Gypsies. Best of all, these essays are excellent sources of history, as they capture a time and place that is gone forever. Each...more

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Dec 09, 2011

Dianne rated it

There's a lot of reading in this book and very good reading it is. Joseph Mitchell was a reporter in New York city during the 1930's and 40's so he knows how to tell a story; "Up In The Old Hotel" contains 37 of them. It takes a while to get through this book but it's pleasant reading and interesting stories so I don't think you'll mind the time.

The people in these stories are (for the most) real. They are the everyday people he got to know on the streets and in the diners ...moreThere's a lot of reading in this book and very good reading it is. Joseph Mitchell was a reporter in New York city during the 1930's and 40's so he knows how to tell a story; "Up In The Old Hotel" contains 37 of them. It takes a while to get through this book but it's pleasant reading and interesting stories so I don't think you'll mind the time.

The people in these stories are (for the most) real. They are the everyday people he got to know on the streets and in the diners and taverns of the city. There are many of them, so I'll just highlight some that stood out to me.

First, meet the Rev. Mr. James Jefferson Davis Hall, a street preacher who doesn't approve of soda fountains, dry-cleaners or modern women. "They've gone hog-proud and hog-wild. Wearing britches, wearing uniforms, straining their joints for generations to come with high-heeled shoes...their mouths smeared and smiddled and smoodled with paint, and their cheeks and their fingernails." The Reverend spends his days answering calls - he gives out his phone number and invites people in trouble to call him - and his nights walking Broadway, standing in the doorways of bars and preaching the consequences of drinking.

Then there's Jane Barnell, the bearded lady who began her career at the age of four, when she was given away to a traveling circus. She's had four husbands and in public wears a veil and a scarf around her neck to hide the beard.

Mazie P. Gordon is the "bossy yellow-haired blonde" who works the sidewalk ticket booth at a movie theater seven days a week from 9 am to 11 pm. She knows everybody and hears all the neighbourhood gossip. After work at night she walks the bowry handing out cakes of soap and change to people who need them.

And there's Phillipa, a 9 year old girl with an IQ of 185 who has been writing music since she was three years old, and John Smith, who writes big cheques and gives them out to people who are nice to him, untroubled by the fact that he has no money at all.

One of my favourites is Arthur Samuel Colbourn, head of the Anti-Profanity League. Arthur, know as the "No-Swear Man" has handed out over six million cards asking "Please do not swear, nor use obscene or profane language. These cards are for distribution. Send for some - they are free. "His address is included on the card.

One story, called "A Mess Of Clams" is about the day he went out with a "buy-boat" off Long Island that came back carrying 145 bushels of clams destined for various markets and restaurants in the city. Another story is about the KKK, and another about the rodents that live in and around the city.

One story was very different. It was a sad account of a lonely man living in a furnished room. Short, and unique in that the authour wasn't involved in the story in any way, it had a completely different feel, like fiction. Mitchell does say in the introduction that though most of the book is true, some is fictional. I don't think it will matter to you when you're reading, because in the end it's all just good.

I recommend this one to anyone who's looking for something interesting to read; it's not a page-turner so if that's what you like it may not be for you.

Favourite quote:
"...it takes almost a lifetime to learn how to do a thing simply." (less)

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Aug 21, 2011

Mario rated it

· review of another edition

This is a collection of writings by Joseph Mitchell, who began writing for New Yorker in 1938, and actually comprises four previously published titles: McSorley's Wonderful Saloon, Old Mr. Flood, The Bottom of the Harbor, and Joe Gould's Secret. The bulk of these pieces are non-fiction. I've read all of the non-fiction pieces but for Joe Gould's Secret, which is considered Mitchell's masterpiece. I'm skipping the few fiction pieces for now and saving his masterpiece for another time, because I f...more

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Apr 01, 2008

Dennis rated it

Recommends it for: Everyone who loves New York, Everyone who loves the New Yorker

I re-read this book every couple of years. It's both a way to time travel to the New York of the earlier twentieth city and an immersion in that compelling yet somehow effortless prose that drives me to pick up the New Yorker every time I see it. I want to visit the New York Mitchell describes, and I feel deeply cheated that it's gone.
This isn't just New York, the center of the civilized world, it's New York as a place that grew up out of a Dutch settlement surrounded by long grass at the...more

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Jul 26, 2010

Teri rated it

Recommended to Teri by: Bill Holcomb

Shelves: bookclub-2010, 2010, fiction, non-fiction, new-york

Have wanted to read this book for years. Chose for our June 2010 book club so I will finally read it. I really want to!!

Four books published as one. All of the articles were published in the New Yorker. Superb writing by Joseph Mitchell. Many stories I look forward to reading again. Favorites: the two articles about the gypsies, "Dragger Captain" about Captain Ellery Thompson.(Loved Ellery!!). "The Mohawks in High Steel" about Indian riveting crews, "Up in th...more

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Jan 25, 2012

Hayden rated it

This is truly one of my all-time favorite books ever. The compilations of stories.. Or should I say portraits, puts me right there in time and space. Joseph Mitchell's style and prose is truly amazing. Although written in a journalist's hand, Mitchell is so thoughtful and appreciative of the subtleties of his subjects. While painting in bold and vibrant strokes, his perception and astute nature allow the reader insight into the personalities of the people and places that he writes about to an ex...more

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Nov 03, 2009

Katie Knight rated it

I'm re-reading this now. Each essay reveals something new and surprising about early 20th century New York City. My favorites are the Old Mr. Flood essays, where you learn a lot about Fulton Fish Market and the characters that wander there. I never expected to be so engrossed in a essays about fishmongering (I'm vegan), but everything is so lively and quotable and delightful, it really doesn't matter how you feel about fish.

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Dec 01, 2010

Melissa rated it

I confess that I didn't read every page--the fishing descriptions got a little old. And it's such a big book that I did get overwhelmed at times.
But the writing is the kind that you can wrap yourself up in. Mitchell's character studies can't be beat, and it's a wonderful slice of New York and American history.
I only wish I had discovered him in smaller pieces!

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Jul 07, 2009

Ian Vasquez added it

An unassuming, interesting collection of nonfiction pieces. Mitchell, a journalist and former staffer at the New Yorker who died in 1996, has been called a writer's writer; he wrote in simple, declarative style and with deep empathy for his subjects. Many of his stories were written in the '20s and 30s but sound as fresh as any journalism being written today.

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Jul 28, 2011

Marissa rated it

I liked this book for about the first half of it, but as the stories went on and on, and none of them contained any real plot, I became worn out. By the time I reached Joe Gould's Secret I gave up. After 500 pages, I wasn't interested in revisiting a character I had already read about earlier.

Mitchell is a gifted writer, but I think I should have tackled each of his works individually. Trying to read them all back to back was exhausting. It also didn't help that I had two books I was a...more

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Dec 08, 2008

Aaron rated it

Recommends it for: everyone, history buffs, people who enjoy dark humor

Recommended to Aaron by: npr

This book is great. Joseph Mitchell writes a number of profiles of street people (true stories) that lived in New York in the late 30's and 40's. What a great slice of American history from a unique perspective. I originally borrowed this book but had to buy it because I knew I would return to it time and again.

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Dec 14, 2009

Robert Clancy rated it

Fabulous collection of short stories -- essays really -- about New York from the quintessential New Yorker writer -- Joe Mitchell. My favorite has to be Joe Gould, a true story about Harvard educated, Boston Braham and NYC homeless writer Joseph Gould who spent a lifetime writing "The Oral History of America."

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Jul 04, 2009

Etanouye rated it

I have been reading this book for about 16 years since I bought it at Lakeforest mall from the B. Dalton bookstore in paperback. I am now one story ("The Rivermen") away from finishing it. I read it in order mostly, but at one point I skipped ahead to read Joe Gould's Secret. I think this is the longest it has ever taken me to read a book.

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Jan 14, 2009

Andrew rated it

Perhaps the best collection of short stories/nonfiction profiles I've ever read. A former journalist who wrote for the New Yorker, Mitchell is an exceptional writer whose portraits of New York City capture the diversity and spirit of humanity...

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Mar 16, 2009

Vesna rated it

One of the best books ever written. I'm not kidding. People who like good writing should just drop everything and go read this, if they haven't already. Mitchell was cool before cool was invented.

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Mar 27, 2008

Nick rated it

Recommended to Nick by: Aimee Hess

I have not quite finished this book but I took a break, came back, and now have read enough of it to feel I can write a review (it's four books in one, it's a collection of profiles, I'm allowed).

This book is a brilliant collection of investigations into the lives of fascinating, and oftentimes eccentric, New Yorkers, mainly from the first part of the 20th century. Gypsies, bohemians, deaf people, Native Americans, turtle famers.

There are also short stories that Mitchell ...more

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Mar 10, 2011

Audacia Ray rated it

Shelves: nyc, read-in-2011

While I was in college and for a few years after, I was deeply obsessed with reading books about NYC's social and cultural history. I'm not sure how I missed this one. I'm glad I finally read it. Mitchell's writing is super descriptive and he develops character studies well enough that many of them feel timeless - well, timeless if you know NYC and its characters. But there is also fascinating stuff about a New York that is truly lost. I was especially taken with the writing about food - not res...more

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Apr 04, 2010

Alvin rated it

Mitchell peeks into the weird and wonderful corners of mid-century America and describes them with a restraint and affection that is just... Perfect. There's no other way to say it. Perfect.

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Apr 05, 2010

Dvora rated it

I read this several years ago and don't remember many (or any) details except the fact that I liked the book a great deal. I think I will reread it one of these days to remind myself why.

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Dec 20, 2008

LizM rated it

I'm in the middle of this... missing New York. The writing is amazing. Anyone who is in the middle of a torrid affair with New York, or remembering one...read this.

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Dec 03, 2007

Brandon rated it

I remember where I heard of this book; it was in an issue of the New Yorker with an article remembering Joseph Mitchell's mysterious drop-off in production at the magazine. Apparently, after twenty or thirty years of excellent work, he simply stopped writing. He came to work at the magazine every day and appeared to be working in his office for the next ten or fifteen years, but he never produced anything...at least, nothing that was published in any form. This was an excellent collection. I...more

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About Joseph Mitchell

Joseph Mitchell was an American writer who wrote for The New Yorker. He is known for his carefully written portraits of eccentrics and people on the fringes of society, especially in and around New York City.
-Wikipedia

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The Bottom Of The Harbor (Vintage Classics)

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Quotes from Up in the Old Hotel

“Also, I had not yet found out about time; I was still under the illusion that I had plenty of time - time for this, time for that, time for everything, time to waste.” — 2 people liked it

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