Honestly this is one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.  Actually, it’s more like a feature article series.  But I think Joseph Mitchell does an amazing job at telling the story of Joe Gould.  His talent for description and imagery really conjured an image of Joe Gould for me, and I almost felt like I knew him as the story unfolded.

The twist of the story was not something I anticipated until Mitchell intended the reader to.  Often when I read a story of this nature, I feel like I almost already know where the author is going to go before hand.  Not with Joe Mitchell.  This article is a perfect example of what a profile should be, because it gives all of the angles and sides to the character.  We see Joe Gould as a sad, desperate, delusional liar and then we also see him as a guy who wanted a lot for himself but couldn’t quite motivate himself enough to make it happen.  We also experience changing emotions regarding Gould at the same time Joe Mitchell does.

Overall, an exhilarating and extremely well-written profile.  I am interested in reading some of Joe Mitchell’s other work after this book.