Reviews

Zazie nel metró by Raymond Queneau, Roland Barthes, Franco Fortini, Louis Malle, Giacomo Magrini

deedeedee's review

challenging funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

mtillstaff's review against another edition

2.0

I found reading this French popular classic pretty difficult. I assume the original includes a lot of French slang, and the translator aimed to capture that. The result is a weird version of English. Words were slurred together and there were lots of strange phonetic spellings, for example 'explained' was 'iksplained'. It was distracting and hard to read. Beyond that, I very much felt like an outsider to this book. I suspect references, characters, and humour would make A LOT more sense if you are French.
The story is set in the 1950s. A potty-mouth, sassy, street-smart girl Zazie (maybe 9?) comes to Paris to stay with her uncle. Alone, and with others, Zazie traverses the city meeting a range of strange characters and having bizarre experiences. This is not Paris, city of love and light -- but one of dive bars, street markets, and gay clubs. It sounds like it could be fun, but it really wasn't.
Louis Malle did a film adaptation of this book that I would like to see. I think, for an non-Francophone like me, it might work better in that format.

jolou's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

lilymoon_11's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

belles_window's review against another edition

2.0

FREAK SHOOOOW ! Ca part dans tous les sens, et c'est vraiment bizarre comme histoire.

Reading time: 3hours.

gwenaelle_vandendriessche's review against another edition

3.0

Les aventures rocambolesques d'une mouflette à Paris en un langage particulièrement savoureux!

inestelle_'s review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Homophobia, Racism, and Racial slurs

philosophie's review against another edition

3.0

Γιατί, έλεγε, γιατί να μην ανεχόμαστε τη ζωή, τη στιγμή που αρκεί ένα τίποτα για να τη στερηθούμε; Ένα τίποτα τη φέρνει, ένα τίποτα τη δυναμώνει. ένα τίποτα τη χαντακώνει, ένα τίποτα την παίρνει. Χωρίς αυτό, ποιος θ' άντεχε τα χτυπήματα της μοίρας, τις ταπεινώσεις μιας καλής καριέρας, [...] τους αναστεναγμούς των κατατρεγμένων, τη σιωπή του απέραντου διαστήματος, τη μυρουδιά των κουνουπιδιών ή την παθητικότητα των ξύλινων αλόγων [...]

han_cat's review against another edition

1.0

I feel rather stupid for not "getting" this book. To me this was tedious rather than hilarious. Imagine that's some shortcoming on my part, but anyway .....

kirbybeaton's review against another edition

2.0

I had to read this for a Parisian Literature class and it was certainly... interesting, but not something I particularly enjoyed. Reading the antiquated slang was hard to muddle through and none of the characters were particularly likable. The ending was fun though.