''Closely Observed Trains'' (), also published as ''A Close Watch on the Trains'' and ''Closely Watched Trains'', is a 1965 novella by the Czech writer

Bohumil Hrabal Bohumil Hrabal (; 28 March 1914 – 3 February 1997) was a Czech Republic, Czech writer, often named among the best Czech writers of the 20th century. Early life Hrabal was born in Židenice (suburb of Brno) on 28 March 1914, in what was then ...

Plot

Set in German-occupied Czechoslovakia toward the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the story is about a 22-year-old signalman apprentice at a small railroad station who struggles with sexual anxiety and becomes involved with the wartime resistance.

Reception

''Closely Observed Trains'' is Hrabal's most famous work. The scholar Robert Porter writes that "the substance of the work is to be found outside the realms of conventional narrative realism" and describes it as "not so much a war story as a comic exploration of an individual's existential anguish".

Adaptation

The story was adapted into a 1966 Czechoslovak film with the same name, directed by

Jiří Menzel Jiří Menzel () (23 February 1938 – 5 September 2020) was a Czech film director, theatre director, actor, and screenwriter. His films often combine a humanistic view of the world with sarcasm and provocative cinematography. Some of these films ...

. The film is one of the most famous examples of the

Czechoslovak New Wave The Czechoslovak New Wave (also Czech/Slovak New Wave) is a term used for the Czechoslovak filmmakers who started making films in the 1960s. The directors commonly included are Miloš Forman, Věra Chytilová, Jan Švankmajer, Ivan Passer, Pave ...

and received the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

References

1965 novels 20th-century Czech novels Novellas Novels by Bohumil Hrabal Czech novels adapted into films Novels about Czech resistance to Nazi occupation Novels about rail transport Bildungsromans {{WWII-novel-stub