For gauche young apprentice Milos Hrma, life at the small but strategic railway station in Bohemia in 1945 is full of complex preoccupations. There is the exacting business of dispatching German troop trains to and from the toppling Eastern front; the problem of ridding himself of his burdensome innocence; and the awesome scandal of Dispatcher Hubicka's gross misuse of the station's official stamps upon the telegraphist's anatomy. Beside these, Milos's part in the plan for the ammunition train seems a simple affair. CLOSELY OBSERVED TRAINS, which became the award-winning Jiri Menzel film of the 'Prague Spring', is a classic of postwar literature, a small masterpiece of humour, humanity and heroism which fully justifies Hrabal's reputation as one of the best Czech writers of today.

博鬍米爾•赫拉巴爾，二十世紀最重要的捷剋作傢之一。生於一九一四年，法學博士，服過兵役，當過推銷員、倉管員、煉鋼工，等等。一九九七年死於意外。他曆經和見證瞭二十世紀捷剋曆史的跌宕起伏，四十九歲時纔得以齣版首部作品，一生創作無數，獲得國內外奬項多達三十多個。他的作品經常被改編為電影和戲劇，與小說同名的電影《嚴密監視的列車》於一九六六年獲奧斯卡最（zui）佳外語片奬；《我曾侍候過英國國王》於二〇一二年獲得捷剋國傢電影奬“捷剋獅”奬最（zui）佳影片、最（zui）佳導演等四項大奬。其他代錶作品有《絕對恐懼：緻杜卞卡》《雪絨花的慶典》《溫柔的野蠻人》《過於喧囂的孤獨》等。

徐偉珠，一九六四年生於江蘇省無锡市。一九九〇年畢業於布拉格查理大學哲學院語言文學專業。在捷剋學習工作十餘年。現為北京外國語大學捷剋語專業副教授。翻譯作品：《曆史上的獨裁者》《絞刑架下的報告》《洪水之後》《終極親密》等。