Mr. Pye

Written and illustrated by Mervyn Peake, this delightfully poetic and easy read is an original story filled with religion, love, lessons, and a hint of the supernatural. 

Mr. Harold Pye has travelled to the small island of Sark on a mission to convert the islanders from a group of eccentric and hate-filled creatures to one of great love and generosity. But Mr. Pye is prone to excess and in the increasingly personalised struggle between the forces of good and those of evil that follow his mission, his excess is very nearly his downfall. 

Written in the third person register, therefore the observer, Mr. Pye is a wonderful story from start to finish. It’s about a topic so good and sincere, but then subtle humour comes to knock it out of the sky, so to speak. Armed with its eccentric and memorable characters from the large Busby-wearing Miss George to the voluptuous and seductive Tintagieu, the book is a wonderful example of crime and punishment, and the constant struggle that many face between good and evil. 

The supernatural element of the story adds a nice, subtle touch of humour to play against the stronger messages about following a belief and loving thy neighbour. 

Throughout the story are also scattered, little simple illustrations from Peake himself, which have the same effect as adding a dash of colour to a grey charcoal portrait. The illustrations are not overly extravagant or beautiful like those of Tolkien, but they are simple and bring a nice little change to the monotony of the writing on the pages. 

As I mentioned before, the book is very poetic and what I mean by that is that, as you’re reading it, you almost feel the urge to read it out loud in a very grandiose voice, almost as though it were a heartfelt monologue on the stage. Peake’s use of words is similar to that of Dickens, in that he uses so many long and beautiful words to describe something so small. The effect of this is that it really paints a clear picture in mind of the reader, as well as adds new and glorious words to their vocabulary. It’s just wonderful. 

Filled with love, generosity, eccentric characters, and just a touch of the supernatural, Mr. Pye is a wonderful book that is easy to read and very enjoyable.