French literature summaries - 2021
Short summary - Zazie in the Subway - Zazie dans le métro
Raymond Queneau
At the train station, Gabrielle meets her niece Zazi, whom he has agreed to look after over the weekend. In the metro, where the girl so wanted to get, there is a strike, and they have to take a taxi home. Lucky their friend Gabriel - Charles. Before going home, they dine at the Pogrebok cafe with Turandot and Mado Little Foot, located in the same house. After dinner, Gabrielle and his wife Marceline put Zazie to bed, and Gabrielle leaves, almost forgetting her lipstick.
In the morning, taking advantage of the fact that the naive owners left the key in the keyhole, Zazi immediately runs out into the street. She is noticed by Turandot, coming out of the door of the cellar, and chases after her. As soon as he catches up with the girl, she throws a tantrum, convinces the crowd gathered to her screams that Turandot is a pedophile, and slowly slips away. Left alone, Zazie tries to get on the subway again, but the strike continues, and the entrance to the nearest station is still closed. She is crying selflessly, sitting on the bench. At this time Khmyr appears and invites her to drink a bottle of Coca-Cola in the light of day and a large crowd of people, in a word, without any vile intentions. They sit in a cafe, after which they go to a flea market, where Khmyr buys Zazi bludzhinzy, whom she has long dreamed of. At lunch, the girl tells Khmyr about how her drunken father began to kiss and paw her obscenely, and at that time her mother appeared and smashed her father's skull with an ax.
After lunch in a cafe, Zazi tries to run away with the Bludzhins, but after jogging, she discovers Khmyrya, who, as if nothing had happened, is walking alongside. Khmyr immediately accuses the girl of stealing in front of a crowd of onlookers, and takes her home.
At home, Zazie happily tells Gabriel that he is a police officer in disguise and wants to talk to him. Khmyr denies that he belongs to the law enforcement officers and tells his uncle that he is a merchant from a flea market and that Zazi stole bluedzhins from him. After that, Khmyr accuses Gabriel of organizing child prostitution. Gabrielle admits she works as a dancer in a gay nightclub. When Khmyr starts pestering Marceline, Gabrielle breaks down, takes Khmyr by the collar and pulls him down the stairs.
Gabrielle goes down to the Cellar for Charles, who is supposed to take Zazi to the Eiffel Tower, and Khmyr is already sitting there. Frustrated, Gabrielle and Charles leave.
Mado carries lunch across the road to Podschaffe the shoemaker. Complains to him that Charles is constantly delving into marriage announcements and does not want to notice her feelings for him. "Let's get a quickie, right there, 'on the steps of the castle, on the steps of the castle", do you know how the song is sung? " She says, and adds: “I ought to invite him to dinner sometime. Do you think he will go? ”, After which he returns back to the Cellar. Khmyr leaves Turandot, tries to start a conversation with Podshaffe, they quarrel.
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Charles is taking Gabrielle and Zazie to the Eiffel Tower. On the way, Zazi tries to figure out what “homosexualism” is (she heard Khmyr call her uncle “homosexual”).
Gabrielle, Charles and Zazie admire the panorama of Paris from the Eiffel Tower. Gabrielle states that he is dizzy from the height and runs off to wait for his friends downstairs. A few minutes later Charles comes down (he and Zazi had an unpleasant conversation about Charles's suppressed "senseality" and attractiveness), runs into his taxi and leaves. Gabrielle is immersed in thought and out loud delivers a monologue about the frailty of existence. During the monologue, tourists gather around him, mistaking him for the second guide of their group. Then Fyodor Balanovich (Gabriel's acquaintance) appears and begins to gather his group of tourists on a bus for a trip to Sainte-Chapelle (a pearl of Gothic art). Tourists refuse to go without their new idol, and Gabrielle and Zazie join the tour. The girl is against traveling with "these mattresses" and after the bus gets stuck in a traffic jam, the heroes run away.
Zazie continues to torture, pinch and even beat Gabriel on the ankle, trying to figure out what "homosexual" means. A casual spectator of what is happening, the widow A'votea, stands up for Gabriel. A taxi suddenly appears, packed with tourists who miraculously caught up with Gabriel. Uncle is stuffed into a taxi, Zazie is left with the widow on the bench. Policeman Khwatzazad approaches the widow's screams. They decide to go to Saint-Charpelle to help out the "stolen" uncle. After several unsuccessful attempts to stop passing cars, Khwatzazada is lucky, and the three of them get into the car, which is driving towards St. Charpelle. On the way, they crash into Fyodor Balanovich's bus.
On the terrace of the Two Palaces cafe, they find Gabriel, who continues to read sermons to tourists and at the end of his speech invites them to his bar for homosexuals to watch his number. Khvatzazad and A'votea disappear for lack of corpus delicti. They agree to meet later at the Spheroid beer hall after Khvatzazad changes into civilian clothes. A'votya is already in love with him.
Balanovich and Gabrielle decide to turn a gamble - instead of a luxurious restaurant planned by a travel company, take tourists to dinner at a pub on Boulevard Turbigo, and share the remaining money. During dinner in a pub, they are joined by a widow with a policeman - coincidentally, Khvatzazad made an appointment with the widow in the very restaurant where the tourists, Gabrielle, Zazi and Balanovich, came.
Gabrielle calls Mado Little Foot and asks to warn Marceline to come to the show. Mado and Charles decided to get married a few minutes before. “To your now legal fuck,” Turandot proclaims a toast. Gabrielle invites everyone to her bar, The Old Lombard.
Podschaffe, Madeleine, Turandot, Charles and Zelenunda the parrot are loaded into the car and go to the "Old Lombard". At the entrance they are met by the doorman, who is sincerely amazed, "Bird, which, too, of these?"
At this time, Marceline, Gabrielle's wife, wakes up to the rustle and rattle coming from the front door. Khmyr enters, who tells her that he fell in love with her in the morning and expects immediate reciprocity from her. It turns out that Khmyr and Khvatzazad are one person. Khmyr admits that he has many names, and he loves to dress up and play different roles. The moment he is distracted, Marceline runs away through the window.
Khvatzazad again disguises himself as a policeman and goes to guard the heroes at the exit from the "Old Lombard" Balanovich takes the enthusiastic tourists away, Charles and Madeleine leave for home. Gabrielle, Zazi, Podshaffe, Turandot, the widow A'votea and Khvatzazad, who unnoticed joined them, go to the cafe. Podshaffe recognizes Khvatzazade as Khmyr. At the screams of the company, the police appear, who accuse the audience of the Lunar Huddle, the son-destructive ore and the midnight hubbub. A little later, a second patrol with a van appears and takes the first patrol and Khmyr, disguised as a policeman.