Marketed as a “charmingly honest illustrated guide to living a messy life!”, Einat Tsarfati and Maverick Press’s pastel delight I’m a Mess: A Guide to a Messy Life is a soft, thoughtful read, exploring the messiness of life (whether that be physical, emotional, or otherwise!). Rather than going down the traditional route of complaining about the flaws of a messy lifestyle, Tsarfati’s delicate artwork and careful wording instead reveals the unexpected advantages and creativity that a messy lifestyle can bring. Lovingly translated from the original Hebrew by Annette Appel, with the English language layout being adapted by Noa Mishkin, it’s clear from the huge list of contributors how much thought was put into both the original and the translated version of I’m a Mess.
The cover alone shows great versatility from artist and writer Tsarfati; a young woman stands with her eyes shut, whilst a swarm of mess circles above her head, in lush pinks, reds and oranges. An abundance of mess swirls and swishes above, including chargers, toilet roll and a discarded lava lamp. Yet, contrasting with the overwhelming scene above, the zen, meditative woman below seems quite content. Tsarfati elaborates on this scene inside, in her short author’s note, with a refreshingly philosophical view on the idea of inherent messiness: “There are many sides to a mess. Sometimes, it can be petty and redundant—while other times a mess can be abstract and larger than life”.
The narrative begins by informing the reader that all humans are born messy; opposite, a baby in utero appears tiny amongst the tangled, labyrinthian umbilical chord surrounding it, physically proving the point that mess is with us even in the womb. Not at all stationary in its narrative, I’m a Mess is liminal, showing messy cave children, disorganised Greek gods and muddled Victorians, with humorous anecdotes accompanying each, like scrubbing untidy hieroglyphs from cave walls. An element I really enjoyed were the quiz-like sections, inviting the reader to choose from illustrated options to reveal how messy they really are; a kind of choose-your-own-adventure style situation, with hilarious results.
Tsarfati is generous in her tips for controlling mess, but not needing everything to be completely spick and span – refreshingly, these goals are achievable, small wins that require minimal effort, for when the mess seems completely overwhelming: “If you haven’t washed the dishes for two days and the sink is full, at least try to keep the countertop organized”; “If you haven’t done laundry for a week, at least collect the clothes and pile them up neatly on the chair in the corner of the room”. I’m a Mess doesn’t offer a solution, guide or quick fix for messiness, but instead embraces it. Rather than merely considering messiness a drawback, Tsarfati frames it as a feature that can be advantageous: “Don’t try so hard and make peace with the fact that mess is just part of life. Even with all its drawbacks, a mess is the secret ingredient that makes the difference between a hotel and a home”.
I’m a Mess is completely unlike a traditional graphic novel, in that, for the majority, it is completely panel-less. This artistic choice from Tsarfati allows her to showcase her versatility as an artist, following her own advice and using her inherent messiness as an advantage, without the tidy constraints of the traditional panel format. From heaps of mess flowing from her handbag and completely encompassing the double page spread, to an imaginary fantasy land with meteors, ships and giant vampires, Tsarfati showcases the vivid creativity that her disarray can accomplish. Even when panels are used sparingly for effect, Tsarfati’s swirling art escapes their confines, eddying between and over the boundaries of the panel. While the lettering was occasionally hard to follow due to its lack of linear formatting on the page, the originality and breaking away from the norm was very welcome.
I’m a Mess is a brilliant reminder that within chaos, there can be ingenuity and inventiveness. The personal message that messiness isn’t a flaw but a facet of one’s identity will help messy readers everywhere finally feel comfortable with their clutter.
Einat Tsarfarti (W/A), Annette Appel (T), Noa Mishkin (English Language Layout), Micah Meyers (Additional Lettering) • Mad Cave Studios/Maverick Press, $14.99
Review by Lydia Turner
