Originally published in the mid-1940s, Old Mr. Flood is Joseph Mitchell’s story of retired house wrecker Hugh G. Flood, a New Yorker determined to live to the age of 115 on a diet of fresh seafood, harbor air, and good Scotch. Mitchell created an unforgettable character in these stories of fish-eating, whiskey, death, and rebirth by combining aspects of several men who worked at or frequented Manhattan’s famed Fulton Fish Market along the East River.Reporter Joseph Mitchell, regarded by many as one of the finest writers of the twentieth century, pioneered an honest, colorful and declarative style of journalism while writing brilliant magazine pieces for the New Yorker until his death in 1996.In 1992, most of his New Yorker pieces were collected in a New York Times best-seller omnibus titled Up in the Old Hotel and Other Stories, introducing his masterful craftsmanship and storytelling technique to a new generation of readers.“Mr. Flood, like many of the characters Mitchell wrote about in the New Yorker, conveys in his very being the aura of old New York…Mr. Flood is unforgettable.”Los Angeles Times“In the 1940s one of the century’s best reporters prowled the Fulton Fish Market to find a story. He came up with Hugh Flood, who spends his time eating clams, drinking scotch and cheating death. An amazing portrait of a New York long since paved over.”Playboy“Mitchell is a pioneer of the long quote in journalism and a master of making it sing.”Village Voice“Readers won’t quickly forget Flood or his friends…Life should be lived, Flood observes, and failing to do so will leave you empty, much the same as passing over Mitchell’s writing will do.”Pages Magazine“…nuanced, insightful, and painstakingly lifelike…a memorable tale of a vanished urban landscape that seems just as significant today as it did some 60 years ago.”Time Out Chicago“The ability to stay out of a story – learned as a beat reporter in his pre-New Yorker days – was part of Mitchell’s enduring strength, and it’s on display in Old Mr. Flood…Mitchell treated all his ‘characters’ with consummate dignity, and brought them alive through the microscopic precision of his peerless prose.”Hartford Advocate“…one of the best world-sketchers of his (or probably any other) era…It is a work of joy, of genius, and of blessed memory – a gift from the past for those of us who remember people like this – and a wishful reminder for those who came too late to know them.”The Courier-Gazette“Old school is new again…”7x7 Magazine“For those raised to believe journalism isn't good unless it's self-aggrandizing, the publication in book form of Joseph Mitchell's Old Mr. Flood is the perfect antidote.”San Francisco Bay Guardian“Here’s one that will make you smile. You’ll call up your friends and read passages over the phone…This slim little volume, celebrating a part of the city that has just now vanished forever, is a delight.”Ann LaFarge, Constant Reader“The epitome of the independent spirit that characterized so many of his generation, Mr. Flood is essential Americana, an individual who is proud of his achievement – justifiably so.”Curledup.com“The book isn’t long—only 118 pages—but it is mesmerizing, as you get lost to the sounds and smells of Manhattan’s harbor.
advertisement