Reviews

Zazie dans le Metro by Raymond Queneau

caractacus's review against another edition

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5.0

Pretty fantastic. Only previously familiar with Queneau in the context of Oulipo, I wasn't really prepared for what this book would be like, or how playful the language would be. Nor how difficult it would be to describe it in this Goodreads review!

shumska's review against another edition

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3.0

nismo se našli baš queneau i ja ovdje.. mislim da se "zazie" može u potpunosti primiti jedino u originalu, pisana je pariškim žargonom, a vanda mikšić je to relativno spretno prebacila u zagrebački sleng, ali nekako ipak čudno ispada kada se jedno pokraj drugog nalaze metro, brie i camembert s "kaj", "zakaj" i "striček". vjerujem da je napravila najbolji mogući posao, ali u glavi su mi se stalno preklapale slike koje teško idu zajedno. već tu mi je bilo teško uroniti u priču, a uz to velikim djelom knjiga se bazira na brzim dijalozima kojih inače nisam ljubiteljica...

vjerujem da je ovo puno kvalitetnije djelo nego što sam ga mogla primiti. queneauove kultne "stilske vježbe" gledala sam u kazalištu barem pet puta (kao najdugovječnija predstava na svijetu s istom glumačkom postavom -izvrsni pero kvrgić i lela margitić - u guinnessovu knjigu rekorda uvrštene su 2018. - predstava je izvođena neprekidno 50 godina) pa nisam mogla odoljeti ideji kako bi "zazie" djelovala na kazališnim daskama. mislim da bi mi se više svidjela.

lou1sb's review against another edition

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4.0

Part three of my audacious attempt to read every book written in 1959.

This got a little weird towards the end, but it was worth it for the final line.

hellenordrum's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Paris bai nait
Smila litt, lo litt, vart litt førrvirra

jwmcoaching's review against another edition

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2.0

2 1/2 stars. Maybe there was something lost in translation (I did notice a lot of British slang, which took away from the Frenchness of it), but I didn't find this nearly as entertaining as I had been led to believe that it would be. Yes, I had a chuckle here and a smile there, and it is pretty well-written, but it just didn't WOW me like I thought it would.

belifg's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

2.0

jimmylorunning's review against another edition

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2.0

Talk, talk, that's all you can do!

Seems like a fitting description of this novel which is just an excuse for slapstick language comedy. Some of the witty language was amusing and clever, but overall I don't see the point of this romp. It got sillier and sillier, but not in a way that was funnier and funnier. The thing kinda read like a writing exercise, actually. And the characters are like flashy cartoons. I never thought slapstick was possible in book form, but here it is. I've never enjoyed slapstick comedy (though I try at least a few times a year and am always disappointed... just not my thing), but I can see how someone can really love this book if it is their thing. I enjoyed the wordplay, to some degree, but it got old kinda fast. It is quite impressive, though, that this was a translation. I'm sure the word-jokes were entirely different in French.

nicola_dileva's review against another edition

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2.0

Penso proprio di non averlo capito. Vedo che è una sperimentazione letteraria, sul linguaggio e la struttura, ma non credo di essere in grado di capirla appieno. E purtroppo nemmeno la lettura "ingenua" mi ha soddisfatto: a tratti mi ha fatto ridere, spesso mi ha solo lasciato perplesso. Evidentemente è un tipo di comicità che non fa per me (ammesso che sia un romanzo comico: non ne sono sicuro).

baconpng's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

ugh omg par où commencer….

au début j’étais pas très sure que j’allais aimer ce livre, j’ai du relire plusieurs passages au début. mais j’ai vraiment commencé à l’apprécier lorsque le registre de langue est réellement devenu familier. des centaines de mots de ce livre s’écrivent de la même façon qu’ils se disent et je trouve ça génial. ça rend le bouquin un peu plus spécial, les personnes qui ne comprennent pas les expressions français (ou bien l’accent) ne pourraient apprécier ce livre. 

voici quelques exemples de mots que j’ai trouvé drôles, avec leur équivalent en bon français à côté en ()

-pour moi zossi (pour moi aussi)
-egzemple (exemple)
-espliquer (expliquer)
-sketadittaleur (ce que tu as dit tout à l’heure)
-claqueson (klaxon)
-vzêtes (vous êtes) 
-bloudjinzes (blue jeans)
-artisses (artistes)
-ottchose (autre chose)
-ffransouèze (française)
-st’année (cette année)
-biftèque (bifteck)
-dmande (demande)
-passque (parce que)
-egzistence (existence)
-tôste (toast)
-zoizo (oiseau)
-upu (eu pu)

et le meilleur pour la fin : 
apibeursdètouillou (happy birthday to you)

je tiens aussi à rajouter que ce roman était très “ahead of its time”, il traitait sur des sujets comme : l’homosexualité. un des personnages (Gabriel) était même une drag queen de métier. sans parler du style d’écriture qui est du jamais vu pour les années cinquante.

thecommonswings's review against another edition

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5.0

A freewheeling, madcap work of subversive brilliance. I’ve not seen the film but the book most reminds me of Rivette’s masterpiece, Celine and Julie Go Boating in as much as there’s a thriller/ caper element to it that the book quickly bores of and decides to send up. It’s beautifully written and has as much fun tearing up language (as with Exercises In Style, Barbara Wright deserves a medal for this) as it does plot conventions. At times you think “is all this through Zazie’s eyes?”, especially the chameleon like “chap” and the “gunning down” of Widow Mouaque, but that is still too literal for what I think Queneau is doing here: basically writing a joyous, incredibly accessible and utterly impossible to keep track of novel that intends on every level to confound your expectations. It’s high farce, it’s joy in language, it’s satire and parody, it’s incredibly touching, it’s all a huge game: and it’s one of the most absolutely joyous books I can ever remember reading