This book was interesting but ultimately a bit disappointing. "In the Metro" is a book of reflections on the Parisian metro system and the people who use it, by an ethnologist, hence the original French title "Un ethnologue dans le métro" (An ethnologist in the metro). Contrarily to his anthropological works, this one does not claim to be a scientific work, but despite knowing this beforehand, I still expected a bit more from the book.
What you'll find in here: well-written depictions of quotidian life in the Parisian subway, some very insightful observations of and interesting reflections on the metro, introduction to some concepts in anthropology (social fact, total social fact, rituals,...), some methodological suggestions for any young ethnologist/anthropologist who wants to study the metro.
What you will not find: data, any (sort of in-depth) analysis, interviews, anything you would expect in a sociological/ anthropological investigation.
The book is divided into 3 sections: Memories, Solitudes and Correspondences. And my enjoyment of this book went downhill as I read on, "Memories" was definitely the part I enjoyed the most and "Correspondences" the least, so maybe that's what has made this reading experience end on a not so high note for me. But again, this book has a lot of beautiful descriptions and interesting observations and I would still recommend it to anyone who's interested in getting into anthropology.
Here's some quotes from the book:
“The regular traveler on a given line is easily recognized by the elegant and natural economy of his or her way of walking; like an old sailor who calmly descends toward his boat at dawn and appreciates in a glance the billowing waves at the exit of the port, measuring the force of the wind without appearing to touch it, with style, but in a less studied way than a taster sniffing a glass of wine, listening without seeming to heed the waves slapping against the jetty or the clamor of the seagulls gathered on the shore or already scattering over the sea in little avid flocks, the seasoned traveler, especially if he or she is in the prime of life and strongly resists the desire suddenly to burst into the stairs for sheer pleasure, can be recognized in the perfect mastery of his or her movements: in the corridor leading to the platform, the traveler walks swiftly but without rushing; without letting on, all senses are on alert." (p. 6)
“Because it draws us into quotidian humanity, the subway plays the role of a magnifying mirror that invites us to take account of a phenomenon that, without it, we might risk or perhaps try to be unaware of: if the world, in its majority, is getting younger, we are the ones moving away from it. What are still for us current events have already become history for others [...] But that is a fundamental and exemplary experience: at the very moment when our own history catches up with us, that of others escapes us. [...] but from another point of view the inverse takes place: they [young people] leave us where we are, and in confusion we feel that it is they who are making or are going to make history.” (p. 14-15)
"In these anonymous silhouettes, wild and ill-adapted flowers in a "French-style" society (as it is said of gardens), we recognize the limits and signs of our collective identity: these beggars are what we are not, proof that we share with others at least this negativity. [...] they symbolize by way of negation and to the point of dizziness the whole social order, terribly concrete and terribly complete black holes in our daily galaxy. [...] That is probably one of the reasons for the sacred disquiet they arouse. They are an insurmountable, impassable border, a bit like the living dead. And the idea of making an offering to zombies is part of an obvious and immediate desire to stay within our borders…” (p. 48-49)