Up in the Old Hotel

This is my comfort book, my favorite book of all time. I return to it often. I don't know what it is about Mitchell's writing exactly, but it feels like listening to an old friend. It's not for everyone, as it's very much rooted in the past, but I do feel that Mitchell was ahead of his time in his thinking and the way he approached his subjects. While his colleagues at The New Yorker were profiling actors and politicians, Mitchell focused on the extraordinarily ordinary people of New York City. It's fascinating to experience life as it was in the city during the 30s-60s, and that's why I love it so much. It truly takes you back in time, and Mitchell has a great sense of grace and care when writing about the various people he chose to profile. Yes, some of it is embellished, but not in a harmful way. I think, above all, Mitchell wanted to give a voice to the often voiceless, and that comes through in his writing, even if it's embellished at times or stuck in the ways of the past at others.