Mr. Messy (Mr. Men and Little Miss)
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First Sentence
Mr. Messy was the messiest person you've ever met in your whole life. Read the first page
Front Cover | Excerpt | Back Cover
Mr. Messy was the messiest person you've ever met in your whole life. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
357 of 359 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
If '1984' or 'The Trial' had been a children's book, Mr Messy would be it. No literary character has ever been so fully and categorically obliterated by the forces of social control. Hargreaves may well pay homage to Kafka and Orwell in this work, but he also goes beyond them.
We meet Mr Messy - a man whose entire day-to-day existence is the undiluted expression of his individuality. His very untidiness is a metaphor for his blissful and unselfconscious disregard for the Social Order. Yes, there are times when he himself is a victim of this individuality - as when he trips over a brush he has left on his garden path - but he goes through life with a smile on his face.
That is, until a chance meeting with Mr Neat and Mr Tidy - the archetypal men in suits. They set about a merciless programme of social engineering and indoctrination that we are left in no doubt is in flagrant violation of his free will. 'But I like being messy' he protests as they anonymize both his home and his person with their relentless cleaning activity, a symbolism thinly veiled.
This process is so thorough that by the end of it he is unrecognizable - a homogenized pink blob, no longer truly himself (that vibrant Pollock-like scribble of before). He smiles the smile of a brainwashed automaton, blandly accepting what he has been given no agency to question or refuse. It is in this very smile that the sheer horror of what we have seen to occur is at its most acute.
Somewhere behind this blank expression though is a latent anger - a trace of self-knowledge as to what he once was - in the barbed observation he makes to Neat and Tidy that they have even deprived him of his name.
The book ends with a dry reminder from Hargreaves that just as with the secret police in some totalitarian regime, our own small expressions of uniqueness and volition may also result in a visit from these sinister suited agents.
We meet Mr Messy - a man whose entire day-to-day existence is the undiluted expression of his individuality. His very untidiness is a metaphor for his blissful and unselfconscious disregard for the Social Order. Yes, there are times when he himself is a victim of this individuality - as when he trips over a brush he has left on his garden path - but he goes through life with a smile on his face.
That is, until a chance meeting with Mr Neat and Mr Tidy - the archetypal men in suits. They set about a merciless programme of social engineering and indoctrination that we are left in no doubt is in flagrant violation of his free will. 'But I like being messy' he protests as they anonymize both his home and his person with their relentless cleaning activity, a symbolism thinly veiled.
This process is so thorough that by the end of it he is unrecognizable - a homogenized pink blob, no longer truly himself (that vibrant Pollock-like scribble of before). He smiles the smile of a brainwashed automaton, blandly accepting what he has been given no agency to question or refuse. It is in this very smile that the sheer horror of what we have seen to occur is at its most acute.
Somewhere behind this blank expression though is a latent anger - a trace of self-knowledge as to what he once was - in the barbed observation he makes to Neat and Tidy that they have even deprived him of his name.
The book ends with a dry reminder from Hargreaves that just as with the secret police in some totalitarian regime, our own small expressions of uniqueness and volition may also result in a visit from these sinister suited agents.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
How disappointing - why should mr messy not be messy? I was hoping all along for him to win through in the end, but he never did.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Mel
Format:Paperback
A great stocking filler for a very messy man to remind him that I wouldn't have it any other way as most immaculate houses I know are very dull!! As with most of the Mr. Men books it's a kid's story with a grown-up moral. I love the Mr. Men library & bought Mr. Tickle as well. How can you grow out of these books?!!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Really great
This was the first ever one I read 38 years ago and got it for Christmas for my daughter. She liked it very much and asked when Mr Neat and Mr Tidy are coming to our house.
Published 1 month ago by tcherneva-rowland
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book
Very nice to read to my toddler at bedtime. Illustrations are really nice for her to look at and help her understand the story.
Published 4 months ago by Laura Gilchrist
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
My kids loved this book never seems to date. Great stocking filler for all ages, now they want the whole set.
Published 4 months ago by Amanda Mair
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great picture book
I borrowed this to check out the share function on prime and am delighted I chose this one to borrow. Brought back fond memories and made me smile.
Published 5 months ago by Gabriela da Silva Xavier
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic
Mr Men are one of the few franchises that started out with the intention to educate and entertain and not sell cheap and tacky merchandise like so many do on children's TV these... Read more
Published on 21 Jun 2009 by RoboNuggie
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not a cure for being messy
Some of the Mr Men books help relay a message to the child about being noisy or impolite etc - ut this book doesn't really work. Read more
Published on 26 Jan 2009 by Daddy-O
5.0 out of 5 stars
A lovely little book
What can I say that hasn't already been said? All the Mr Men and Little Misses books are just so much fun! Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2008 by Gra & Co
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read to Your Child to Improve Bonding and Intellect!
Researchers constantly find that reading to children is valuable in a variety of ways, not least of which are instilling a love of reading and improved reading skills. Read more
Published on 20 May 2004 by Donald Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Adorable
An excellent story about that cute fuzzy pink character. There's a brilliant picture of him with a sad face. Has the usual Mr Man charm.
Published on 28 Dec 2003 by "sunnybunch"
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