Zazie in the subway is a novel of Raymond Queneau, published in 1959.

Zazie, mouflette of a dozen years, high in province, is entrusted by his/her mother (who comes to see her lover with Paris) for two nights and a day to his/her uncle, Gabriel. Its most expensive desire is to go in the subway. Unfortunately, it is in strike. When it takes it, at the end of its stay, it will be deadened and will thus not see this so much dreamed subway.

The subway is, here, a metaphor. It represents the world of the adults closed to the child who it is still and where it tries to penetrate. It is an initiatory Romance . The Parisian adventures of Zazie are tests which it overcomes with brilliance, protected and guided by his/her uncle Gabriel (cf: the Gabriel archangel). It poses full with questions, long pitchfork everywhere, running away, uncovers the adults, the met in embarrassing situations, tightens traps, etc to them It is an enfant terrible, without complex, daring, arrogant, unsubdued, sure of it, which are unaware of the courtesy, etc

Little by little, Zazie enters the world of the adults, it realizes of certain things but many things (in particular escapes to him what is a " hormossessuel") ; it does not include/understand their behavior, looks at them, observes them outside. It does not form part of it. Thus, the subway, it only enters there deadened!

The characters do not have practically any psychological profile, much are interchangeable, others carry " masques". This absence of identity is also underlined by the little of descriptive details of their appearance and their name often reduced to a first name pass key, symbolic system or result of a play of mot.

Adaptation

• Zazie in the subway : film of Louis Malle (1960).