Very short, but really good - a comic tragedy. One of the 1001 BTRBYD.

Going on to Soffita1 as part of 1001 VBB.

Thanks for sending this, I have wanted to read it for ages.

A young man Milos, working for the Czech Railways under German occupation, has just come back to work after a suicide attempt stemming from unconsumated relationship with Masha. The station where he works may be small, but it has a wealth of characters, from the pigeon-poo bespattered station master and his earthy wife to Dispatcher Hubicka, an unlikely lothario currently in trouble for stamping the telegraphist's bottom.

The politics of the book is understated, but is there. The Traffic Police has aligned himself with the German occupiers, following their troop positions, trying to distance himself from his own people. There are the German trains, with German soldiers, their wounded coming through the station, observed by the local staff.

It is comic, but also full of tragedy. I saw the film a few years ago when I was living in Prague, and it is good to see that they were faithful to the book.

Thanks so much for your donation soffitta1!

This book is now part of the 1001-library. If you want to take this book from the library but don't know how to proceed, please refer to the 1001-library bookshelf.

Sent via the Euro 1001-Library VBB. Enjoy!

Picked up this morning from the post office, thanks soffitta1 for mailing it and for the whole EU 1001 VBB idea. From what I see in your presentation, this seems a really interesting and intense book and I'm sure I'll get to read it soon. I've always been a fan of trains and train stations, as I used to travel a lot by train while in college.

This is really a book to leave you with some persistent images. From stamps on a bottom to tormented animals, from slashed wrists to pigeon droppings, everything in the novel is intense, unexpected, but perfectly fitting a bigger picture. Really a book I'd recommend.

now travelling to the US, to flewry, as part of the wishlist-tag game. Happy Reading!

Arrived safe and sound, thanks so much, lamelemon!

I added this to my wishlist BECAUSE of the positive reviews on this particular copy, which I read from the Challenge Yourself to Read from the 1001 List thread in Book Talk. Then I play a game and voila, the very book is at my doorstep! Isn't BookCrossing the greatest?

Some very strong imagery and memorable characters, but I had a lot of trouble following the plot. Very different than anything else I've ever read, which is a good thing!

This is now heading to perryfran, who selected it in the 1001-Library VBB. Enjoy!

I received 2 similar packages in the mail today with my selections from the 1001 VBB - one from flewry and one from Vasha. Thanks for sending these! I will try to get to this book soon.

Very short book (91 pages) that I read in one afternoon. Although short, the book is also absorbing telling the story of a young Czech apprentice signalman at a train station near the end of WWII. His job is to watch German trains that may include soldiers, arms and ammunition, etc., to ensure safe passage. If he gets this wrong, the Gestapo may be his next visitor. The young man also witnesses other humorous events including the dispatcher's misuse of official stamps upon the female telegraphist's rear end which makes the dispatcher a type of hero in the eyes of other men in the station. He also witnesses the cruelty towards animals that are shipped on the trains and the German survivors of the bombing of Dresden. At the end, he performs an act of heroism against the German suppressors. Overall, an interesting and worthy read.

This book is No. 595 on the 2008 list of 1001 books you must read before you die.

Adding to dicentragirl's 1001 bookbox.