Author: Joseph Mitchell
Genre: Fiction,
Short Story
About the book…
This book is comprised of three installments
written by Joseph Mitchell for The New
Yorker in the 1940’s about Hugh Flood, a man in his 90’s, who knows
everything about the Fulton Fish Market and isn’t afraid to tell everyone his
opinions on life.
What I think…
I’m not sure why I picked this book up in the first place, but I’m glad I did
and I became quite eager to delve into it when I found where it had originally
been published.
It has the interesting aspect to it of being journalistic.
While I’m generally one who favors long winded authors, Mitchell’s style of short,
concise sentences really makes this book stand out and gives you a good
impression of the time period he’s writing about. His use of detailed description
in some cases could be seen as overdone, but it is tactfully used in such a way
that you get the feeling of reading a travel brochure for some place pleasant
instead of being overwhelmed by it.
The
stories themselves, while simple, are entertaining. Mitchell’s characters are
all very realistic, which, as the forward in the edition I read points out, is
because they are based on a combination of real people (including the author
himself) and experiences. Mr. Flood himself, with the claim to live to be 115
by eating fish and drinking, is quite quirky and Mitchell does not fail to
fully develop his title character.
I would definitely be willing to try
some his other works.
To sum it all up…
This book is probably not
everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoyed it for its writing style and the interesting
characters. I would recommend it to anyone who’s a fan of the fiction published in The New Yorker during the 40’s. ♥
Fascinating! I can only imagine how different the world of the 1940s would have been to a real person who was born 90 years before. From the early days of the industrial revolution to the challenges of WW2, what a full life and great premise for a book.
ReplyDeleteBig hugs,
♥ Jessica