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Closely Watched Trains

By Bohumil Hrabal
Series: Penguin Archive
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Brief Description
90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books Closely Watched Trains tells the story of Milos Hrma, a young railroad apprentice coming of age in wartime Czechoslovakia. Milos is overwhelmed with worries—about his virginity, his love for the conductor, and ongoing scandals in the stationmaster's... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$1799
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Closely Watched Trains

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90 classic titles celebrating 90 years of Penguin Books

Closely Watched Trains tells the story of Milos Hrma, a young railroad apprentice coming of age in wartime Czechoslovakia. Milos is overwhelmed with worries—about his virginity, his love for the conductor, and ongoing scandals in the stationmaster's office—besides which the idea of fighting the Germans seems a simple affair.

Poignant, humorous, and the inspiration behind the 1966 Academy Award-winning film, this is a small masterpiece from one of the best Czech writers of the twentieth century.

Series: Penguin Archive

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241752142

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 April 2025

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Contributors:

  • Translated by Edith Pargeter

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 6.0mm

Width: 110.0mm

Height: 180.0mm

Weight: 73g

Pages: 112

Collections

Bohumil Hrabal Fiction General Fiction Literary Fiction Penguin Books Penguin Classics Series: Penguin Archive

About the Author

Bohumil Hrabal was one of the most important and admired Czech writers of the twentieth century. He was born and raised in Brno in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1914. After working as a railway labourer, insurance agent, travelling salesman, manual labourer, paper-packer and stagehand, he published a collection of poetry that was quickly withdrawn by the communist regime. His best-known books include I Served the King of England, Closely Watched Trains (made into an Academy Award-winning film directed by Jiri Menzel) and Too Loud a Solitude. In 1997, he fell to his death from the fifth floor of a Prague hospital, apparently trying to feed the pigeons.

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