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Mr Mee
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year
In this inventive novel, octogenarian book collector Mr. Mee discovers the Internet with life-changing results. Told from the points of view of the guileless Mr. Mee, two eighteenth century French philosophers, and a middle-aged university professor, Andrew Crumey's book concerns the creation and mysterious disappearance of Rosier's Encyclopedia, an explosive text written more than two hundred years ago that purportedly disproves the existence of the universe. At times funny, often thought-provoking, and completely engaging, Mr. Mee is Crumey's most rewarding novel to date.
In this inventive novel, octogenarian book collector Mr. Mee discovers the Internet with life-changing results. Told from the points of view of the guileless Mr. Mee, two eighteenth century French philosophers, and a middle-aged university professor, Andrew Crumey's book concerns the creation and mysterious disappearance of Rosier's Encyclopedia, an explosive text written more than two hundred years ago that purportedly disproves the existence of the universe. At times funny, often thought-provoking, and completely engaging, Mr. Mee is Crumey's most rewarding novel to date.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
3 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
About the author
Andrew Crumey
15 books86 followersAndrew Crumey has a PhD in theoretical physics and is former literary editor of Scotland on Sunday. He won the £60,000 Northern Rock Foundation Writer's Award - the UK's largest literary prize - in 2006. His novels combine history, science, philosophy and humour, and have been translated into fifteen languages. Music, in a Foreign Language won the Saltire First Book Award; Sputnik Caledonia was shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; The Great Chain of Unbeing was shortlisted for the Saltire Fiction Award. He has also been nominated for the Arthur C Clarke Award and longlisted for the Booker Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
June 22, 2025
Video review https://youtu.be/skINg4BKRT8
December 22, 2025
Gotta love a novel where an 18th century "scientist" (or whatever they called themselves in those days) postulates an analogue version of quantum mechanics.
We have 3 separate storylines that dance around each other and are (mostly) tied up neatly together at the end.
A satisfying read.
We have 3 separate storylines that dance around each other and are (mostly) tied up neatly together at the end.
A satisfying read.
April 25, 2011
Mr Mee is an improbably naive octogenarian antiquary, living in Glasgow and writing occasional twee essays for journals like The Scots Magazine. His current obsession concerns two minor players in the life of Jean Jacques Rousseau called Ferrand and Minard. His battleaxe housekeeper suggests he get himself a computer rather than continue trying to research such subjects through his dirty, dusty old books. It's not long before his surfing of the interwebs leads him to the joys of online porn: there's this live webcam, you see, showing a naked woman (in whom Mr Mee has no more than mild interest) boredly reading a book about . . . Ferrand and Minard! Next thing he knows, he's having a torrid affair with a youthful masseuse, Catriona. In another of the three narrative strands making up this book, a middle-aged university lecturer is wishing he could have a torrid, adulterous affair with a youthful student, and believes himself to be playing her as skilfully as any trout angler. The third strand involves the two 18th-century copyists Ferrand and Minard who, through their incompetence, succeed in losing from history all trace of a revolutionary encyclopedia of human knowledge full of speculations and theorems that would have seemed insane to the editors of L'Encyclopédie; various of the lost essays -- as for example the one concerning a philosopher's discovery that the laws of nature can be represented by arrangements of furniture and domestic implements, meaning that arrangements of furniture and domestic implements can be used to generate new laws of nature -- pepper the text, often to very entertaining effect. Such modern concepts as quantum theory, special relativity, social networking, Mendel's Theory of Heredity and the world wide web are prefigured by the various 18th-century French authors. But are these essays really all that they might seem?
Of course, the whole way through I was having to stop myself identifying Mr Mee with Arthur Mee, the editor/author of The Children's Encyclopedia, a compilation that haunted my childhood.
I spent the first 50 or 100 pages enchanted by the conceits of this book, and laughing a lot. After that, though, the sexual elements of the text, which had earlier been just ribald fun (Mr Mee's discovery, looking at the naked woman on his screen, thinking: So that's why Ruskin was so upset!), began to seem instead a bit voyeuristic, or masturbatory, or both; in other words, even while I continued to be entertained by the book's various nat phil fancies, I had the horrid sensation of my skin crawling. Had the novel been porn, I'd have been unruffled; had it been Laurell K. Hamilton, I'd have been either giggling or throwing the book at the wall; as it was, I was just . . . somehow uneasy.
So:
Don't take my word for it. Your reaction to the text might be quite different. You may find yourself slapping your thighs with mirth all through the passages I thought were a bit seedy. But, for me, despite very many good things, this book left a faintly nasty taste.
Of course, the whole way through I was having to stop myself identifying Mr Mee with Arthur Mee, the editor/author of The Children's Encyclopedia, a compilation that haunted my childhood.
I spent the first 50 or 100 pages enchanted by the conceits of this book, and laughing a lot. After that, though, the sexual elements of the text, which had earlier been just ribald fun (Mr Mee's discovery, looking at the naked woman on his screen, thinking: So that's why Ruskin was so upset!), began to seem instead a bit voyeuristic, or masturbatory, or both; in other words, even while I continued to be entertained by the book's various nat phil fancies, I had the horrid sensation of my skin crawling. Had the novel been porn, I'd have been unruffled; had it been Laurell K. Hamilton, I'd have been either giggling or throwing the book at the wall; as it was, I was just . . . somehow uneasy.
So:
Don't take my word for it. Your reaction to the text might be quite different. You may find yourself slapping your thighs with mirth all through the passages I thought were a bit seedy. But, for me, despite very many good things, this book left a faintly nasty taste.
April 3, 2013
A wonderful intellectual entertainment. It weaves together three stories that it would be disingenuous to call unrelated, because you know they̕re going to be related. How they̕re related is the novel̕s mystery, and it is not completely solved until the novel̕s last line.
But it̕s hardly a novel of suspense, and the only murder in the novel is by the way. Clever, well-written, the perfect book to take on a trip, to be stuck with all day at an airport when flights are being canceled.
But it̕s hardly a novel of suspense, and the only murder in the novel is by the way. Clever, well-written, the perfect book to take on a trip, to be stuck with all day at an airport when flights are being canceled.
May 5, 2008
It's been a long time since I read this, so it's hard to accurately rate it. But, if memory serves, it's a high-3/low-4 type of book. A lot of fun, very inventive, but nothing that you're urgently pressing into the hands of friends.
June 29, 2015
This is a literary novel peppered with literary references which also tries to be funny. Sometimes it is. I can't say that I didn't enjoy it, but ultimately it feels like a dissertation re-written as a novel, with characters who would only exist within a book and with little relevance to the everyday world. That's not to say that such books aren't relevant - even essential - and I invested much time and thought to the book whilst I was reading it. However, if after turning the final page the end result is 'oh, ok', then I feel the work hasn't sufficiently reached its potential. At least, not for me. It also feels like it's trying too hard not to take itself seriously, but actually it does.
There are three interlinking stories: Improbably naive elderly male and his obsession in finding a particular book, two historical characters who might not exist who are connected to the same book, and a hopefully-adulterous lecturer who has written a book about the historical characters. To make the circle complete just use your imagination.
Writing this review I realise that in some respects it resembles Paul Auster's "The Moon Palace" which I also recently read, however there is none of the brilliance and genuine insight to be found in this book as there is in Auster's. It seems a product of the establishment - neither wholly free-flowing nor genuinely funny - and wears it's 'literary' genre firmly sewn onto its sleeve.
There are three interlinking stories: Improbably naive elderly male and his obsession in finding a particular book, two historical characters who might not exist who are connected to the same book, and a hopefully-adulterous lecturer who has written a book about the historical characters. To make the circle complete just use your imagination.
Writing this review I realise that in some respects it resembles Paul Auster's "The Moon Palace" which I also recently read, however there is none of the brilliance and genuine insight to be found in this book as there is in Auster's. It seems a product of the establishment - neither wholly free-flowing nor genuinely funny - and wears it's 'literary' genre firmly sewn onto its sleeve.
January 14, 2019
3 and half - was very original and quite funny, but a little pretentious
February 25, 2020
Another Crumey gem.
Stories within stories and tales about tales; which are 'fact', which are 'fiction', and what is 'truth' anyway?
It's probably down to quantum in the end.
Stories within stories and tales about tales; which are 'fact', which are 'fiction', and what is 'truth' anyway?
It's probably down to quantum in the end.
December 22, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in September 2001.
What is the connection between a sex site on the Internet, Marcel Proust, and two men who make a minor appearance in the Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau? This self-conscious, literary novel concerns all these things, and though it manages at times to be funny, and at others to be interesting intellectually, it never really quite takes off.
There are three narratives, all connected by the eighteenth century Encyclopedia of Rosier, supposedly a dissenting voice to the famous one written by the eminent French philosophers of the time. One of these is a David Lodge-like story of an academic, a specialist in Rousseau, who develops an obsessive crush on one of his students, another is the story of the minor characters from the Confessions, who are portrayed as an eighteenth century Laurel and Hardy. (Neither of these strands is anything like as funny as their influences.)
The most important strand is also the most original. It is the story of an elderly lover of literature, who becomes interested in Rosier after seeing a couple of references to him. This leads him to discover the Internet as a research tool, but the first time he uses it at home, a search for Rosier leads him to a sex site, to his naive delight and the disgust of his housekeeper. (His innocence is the most difficult thing to believe, as he turns out to be ignorant of quite common English phrases.)
To follow this novel, it helps to be familiar with the the important ideas from Remembrance of Things Past (including "the I that is not always I", which I suspect prompted the name of the main character), the Confessions and eighteenth century philosophy generally. Mr Mee is quite an intellectual novel, but left me with the feeling that it requires more effort than it is really worth. This is really because the characters are never sufficiently interesting or believable.
What is the connection between a sex site on the Internet, Marcel Proust, and two men who make a minor appearance in the Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau? This self-conscious, literary novel concerns all these things, and though it manages at times to be funny, and at others to be interesting intellectually, it never really quite takes off.
There are three narratives, all connected by the eighteenth century Encyclopedia of Rosier, supposedly a dissenting voice to the famous one written by the eminent French philosophers of the time. One of these is a David Lodge-like story of an academic, a specialist in Rousseau, who develops an obsessive crush on one of his students, another is the story of the minor characters from the Confessions, who are portrayed as an eighteenth century Laurel and Hardy. (Neither of these strands is anything like as funny as their influences.)
The most important strand is also the most original. It is the story of an elderly lover of literature, who becomes interested in Rosier after seeing a couple of references to him. This leads him to discover the Internet as a research tool, but the first time he uses it at home, a search for Rosier leads him to a sex site, to his naive delight and the disgust of his housekeeper. (His innocence is the most difficult thing to believe, as he turns out to be ignorant of quite common English phrases.)
To follow this novel, it helps to be familiar with the the important ideas from Remembrance of Things Past (including "the I that is not always I", which I suspect prompted the name of the main character), the Confessions and eighteenth century philosophy generally. Mr Mee is quite an intellectual novel, but left me with the feeling that it requires more effort than it is really worth. This is really because the characters are never sufficiently interesting or believable.
December 29, 2010
This reads like Poor Things if it had been influenced by Stephenson.[return]The jokes are generally better than Poor Things. Drawing their source about equally from computer science and a literary even a classical education. The maguffin, Rosiers encyclopedia and its more and more unlikely entries providing most of the humour. The first half went well but when life made me pause in my reading, there was litte to help me back into the story. This was quite bleak for most of the second half. [return][return]Elderly Mr Mee is told by his cleaner that he is sad but this hardly makes him stand out from the rest of the cast.The . The problem is that funny things happening to sad people still boils down to a story about sad people. The Narrative was quite complex with inter weaving viewpoints. of which lecturer's story was the most disapointing thread. His lack of access to Rosiers work meant there was nothing to lighten the mix. while he seemed to exist only to be miserable and provide a different possible more objective view point. [return][return]It was all looking a bit bleak towards the end.but the epilogue managed to brighten it up by providing a decent resolution.[return][return]Mr Mees sexual escapades left me feeling more uncomfortable than I would have thought.[return][return]In my ratings for read it swap it I gave it a 6/10 some nice lines and well plotted with jokes that Flatter ones ones knowledge the telephone egineer caught up in an interminable conversation with Proust for example but I spent too much time feeling sorry for the characters to laugh a very much.
March 2, 2014
I thought this was a good read, very ideas-based and lots to think about, and more accessible than Mobius Dick, with some fantastic moments, and a pleasing feeling of having to work things out and a slow tying together of ideas. There are lots of connections to glean and debates expanded about life and literature, and fantasy and reality: though it steered clear of being overtly metafictional.
However, I did have two small problems with it. Firstly, the chapters alternate between Mr Mee, Ferrand and Minard, and Dr Petrie. The trouble is that with three styles and characters so different, it is almost inevitable that the reader will prefer one narrative over the other two, and therefore rush through the other two chapters.
Also, I found Mr Mee's chapters frustrating as his naivety is entirely unconvincing - it's expressed largely by putting a lot of words in inverted commas, which is both irritating and unnecessary. He's an 81 year old scholar but doesn't know where his towels are kept or how to make tea, which I would almost believe if he learnt booky things quickly - but he couldn't comprehend the internet and was foxed by language itself, which just doesn't seem to add up to me.
Given what the book is about I'm wondering if this was partly Crumey's intention, but making a philosopical point doesn't always make a good story...
But nevertheless it's a v enjoyable read
However, I did have two small problems with it. Firstly, the chapters alternate between Mr Mee, Ferrand and Minard, and Dr Petrie. The trouble is that with three styles and characters so different, it is almost inevitable that the reader will prefer one narrative over the other two, and therefore rush through the other two chapters.
Also, I found Mr Mee's chapters frustrating as his naivety is entirely unconvincing - it's expressed largely by putting a lot of words in inverted commas, which is both irritating and unnecessary. He's an 81 year old scholar but doesn't know where his towels are kept or how to make tea, which I would almost believe if he learnt booky things quickly - but he couldn't comprehend the internet and was foxed by language itself, which just doesn't seem to add up to me.
Given what the book is about I'm wondering if this was partly Crumey's intention, but making a philosopical point doesn't always make a good story...
But nevertheless it's a v enjoyable read
March 10, 2014
Definitely an unusual book. Somewhat chaotic, yet enticing, leaping carelessly from one story to the other, from one uncanny character to the other. One must be quite patient when pushing through the first pages. Afterwards, there is no way back. Ferrand and Minard are quite charming, leaving aside the fact that their idiocy might be rather irritating for those unaccustomed to a certain type of character. Rousseau’s biographic details plus a handful of fictional events, characters and situations turn this novel into one of the strangest reading experiences I’ve had so far. Great epilogue – it closes the circle quite seamlessly, adding to the ridiculous seriousness of an otherwise funny novel (it’s twisted and I meant it. Try reading the book yourselves!)
September 23, 2014
In genere, un roman reflectă în paginile sale înclinațiile și obsesiile autorului: curiozități nesatisfăcute, marote cultivate cu grijă de-a lungul timpului, lumea în care trăiește (mediul social, evoluţia politică), preocuparea pentru un anumit gen de formă/registru șamd. Din acest motiv, am tendința de a recomanda cititorilor să arunce o privire asupra fundalului – viața autorului, plăcerile sale literare și/sau vinovate, vremurile în care scrie. Romanul prinde viață în momentul în care este încadrat într-un context care dezvăluie detalii de subtext ori sensuri aparent absconse.
de la sursă: Andrew Crumey. Domnul Mee, romanul revelațiilor inutile – SemneBune http://semnebune.ro/2014/andrew-crume...
de la sursă: Andrew Crumey. Domnul Mee, romanul revelațiilor inutile – SemneBune http://semnebune.ro/2014/andrew-crume...
December 19, 2016
I read this right after 'Kafka on the Shore,' and it was a peculiar coincidence. They have similarities: intertwined stories, lots of references to philosophers and writers, seemingly disconnected events that eventually connect, and surreal aspects. I enjoyed the 'historical' story the most - the one focused on the French odd couple in search of Rousseau (sort of). The story of Mr Mee himself was strangely homespun and funny (and reminded me very much of Nakata's from 'Kafka on the Shore'), but the third story about the academic had too much hand-wringing obsession with a student for my taste. I did like his thoughts on memory, however.
August 4, 2022
Acá tenemos a un anciano erudito e ingenuo (el Señor Mee del título) que descubre sin querer el internet en su búsqueda de la llamada Enciclopedia de Rosier, que es una Enciclopedia perdida que describe un universo alternativo, que al parecer estaría en mano de una mujer desnuda con la que se obsesion. Esto combinado con las apariciones de Rousseau y Proust y una serie de sinsentidos que nos hacen pensar que estamos leyendo una versión alternativa de Bouvard y Pecuchet, además de tratar de entender qué sucede con la increíble fuerza de voluntad del señor Mee.
January 2, 2012
I enjoyed it, but it got a little dense in places and the author seemed at times to be very proud of how clever he was being. But then he apparently doesn't trust his readers to figure out how clever he is being, so he practically bashes us in the head with it in the epilogue. An interesting read though, with bits that spiraled hilariously into the absurd, and I do intend to read more of this author. Also, I am now curious as to whether or not Rousseau really was such a complete and utter bastard.....
January 19, 2012
I do like Andrew Crumey - "Moebius Dick" was a hugely satisfying read, "Sputnik Caledonia" was great, and "Pfitz" was a really good read. Then I try "Mr Mee" and I stumble into a road block. It's not that I didn't like this book because some great books are intensely unlikable. It is not because I struggled with the book because difficult reads are often rewarding. "Mr Mee" just wasn't very good.
September 9, 2011
Clever book about an unworldly elderly man, Mr Mee, whose introduction to the internet changes his life in many ways. This is quite a confronting book, definitely not for everyone, with strange and unpleasant characters. And yet I enjoyed it.
October 21, 2016
After the first three paragraphs, I was sure I was going to find this unbearably pompous and contrived. I'm so glad I kept going. The complex plot makes me think of Borges, but it's full of funny bits too!
June 20, 2009
I was hoping this book would be as interesting as "Pfitz", by the same author, but it did not hold my attention.
November 11, 2012
ένα πρόσωπο που ονομάζεται ΕΓΩ αλλά δεν είναι πάντα ο εαυτός μας.
one person called ΜΕ but its ΝΟΤ always ourselves.
one person called ΜΕ but its ΝΟΤ always ourselves.
January 6, 2013
Annoying
July 9, 2013
It was OK, altho I had a little trouble following it since it moved between three different time frames. It's the kind of book that if you read it again, would make more sense.
December 6, 2013
Very amusing book about an elderly Scottish bookworm.....who purchases a computer an enters a new world......much fun and laughter......
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews