Read more
The Martian meets Life of Pi in this dazzling, funny intergalactic odyssey about the first Czech astronaut's mission to Venus.
When Jakub Prochazka is sent into space to examine a cosmic dust cloud covering Venus, it may be a solo suicide mission. Dreaming of becoming a national hero and desperate to atone for his father's sins as a Communist informer, he leaves his beloved wife behind. As his spaceship hurtles toward an unknown danger and he tries to keep his sanity and marriage together, Jakub hallucinates a giant alien spider, with whom he forms an unlikely bond over late-night philosophical conversations. But their mission is thrown into a crisis that leads to an epic showdown among the stars. Packed with nail-biting thrills, enormous heart, and the absurd humor of Kafka and Vonnegut, SPACEMAN OF BOHEMIA offers an extraordinary vision of the endless human capacity to persist-and risk everything-in the name of love and home.
About the author
Summary
'Reading Spaceman of Bohemia reminded me of the thrill of unearthing Everything is Illuminated from the mound of entries to the Guardian First Book Prize'
Claire Armitstead, Guardian
'I can honestly say I loved every page. Every sentence. Spaceman of Bohemia is unforgettable: a work of breathtaking scope and heart, and a reflection of humanity that's raw and strange and profound and true.' Lisa McInerney, Baileys-Prize-winning author of The Glorious Heresies
Set in the near-distant future, Spaceman follows a Czech astronaut as he launches into space to investigate a mysterious dust cloud covering Venus, a suicide mission sponsored by a proud nation. Suddenly a world celebrity, Jakub's marriage starts to fail as the weeks go by, and his sanity comes into question. After his mission is derailed he must make a violent decision that will force him to come to terms with his family's dark political past.
An extraordinary vision of the endless human capacity to persist-and risk everything-in the name of love and home, by a startlingly talented young debut novelist.
Foreword
A dazzling, ambitious, original, funny literary debut spanning duplicitous love, family secrets, political intrigue, a historical riddle and a cloud of spacedust over Venus - Everything is Illuminated meets Life of Pi.
Additional text
Spaceman of Bohemia is the best, most enjoyably heartbreaking, most fun book you'll read this year. On the surface, you'll see affinities with Gary Shteyngart, with The Martian, with Kelly Link. But Kalfar's voice is entirely his own. I beg you: take this strange, hilarious, profound, life-affirming trip into literary outer space.
