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Spaceman of Bohemia

the award-winning intergalactic odyssey, now a major Netflix film

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Spaceman of Bohemia

By: Jaroslav Kalfar
Narrated by: Jot Davies
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Summary
 'An incredible experience... 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.

(P)2017 Hodder & Stoughton©2017 Jaroslav Kalfar Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Science Fiction
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Critic reviews

A superb debut (Sam Kitchener)
Dizzyingly inventive, alternately lyrical, earthy, silly and sad. (Kathryn Murphy)
A frenetically imaginative first effort, booming with vitality and originality . . . Kalfar's voice is distinct enough to leave tread marks . . . He has such a lively mind and so many ideas to explore . . . Kalfar has an exhilarating flair for imagery . . . He writes boisterously and mordantly (Jennifer Senior)
[An] excellent debut . . . This book could mark the launch of an astronomical career (James Marriott)
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)
A joyfully intellectual book; the whole narrative could be read as a dream, as a clever paradigm in ways that resonate with David Mitchell. (Ruth McKee)
This wonderful debut is a fine addition to the tradition of eastern European émigré writers [Vladimir Nabokov and, more recently, Gary Shteyngart and Aleksandar Hemon] producing dazzling fiction in English, their second language.
An incredible experience . . . 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.
A hauntingly beautiful story of solitude, hope, family, and love that transcends, uplifts, carries the reader away.
Spaceman of Bohemia represents the fiery, funny launch of an exciting new voice. Jaroslav Kalfar, like a good literary astronaut, finds levity in gravity, and vice versa.
Spaceman of Bohemia is an out-of-this-world look at all our beautiful smallnesses, from the cells of our biology to the bacterial minutiae of one broken heart. The roar of revolution and governmental injustice is cast against the depths of our emotions and the bottomless, grateful silence of the stars. Jaroslav Kalfar has spun an unforgettable tale, a poignant interplanetary work that collapses the distance between us with the beauty of its language and the unstoppable wonder of this universe he's created.
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 Jaroslav Kalfar's voice is entirely his own. I beg you: take this strange, hilarious, profound, life-affirming trip into literary outer space.
All stars
Most relevant
Listened to this book because the lady next to me started reading it and recommended it... she finished as I finished and we both though it started off full of possibilities and ended a bit pants.
It’s okay. But the second half does drag a bit.

Starts well. Ends a bit crappy.

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I decided to give this a listen when I learned they're releasing a movie around it later this year ("The Spaceman" featuring Adam Sandler).
The narrating is brilliant, although I couldn't put the image of the "Alien" to the voice used for it.
The story is excellent too, however I found myself frustrated by the paths it went down at times.
All in all I found myself very invested, enjoyed it thoroughly and look forward to seeing how they decide to turn it into a movie.

Frustrating at times but a great listen!

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Bought the book due to the new Adam Sandler film,
to be honest I dont know if it's just me but I found the story confusing and boring and feel like it was a waste of a credit. with that being said I might give it another go one day and change the review

I Don't know

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Utterly wonderful. I haven't had an experience like listening to this in many years. I highly recommend this book!

Wonderful

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Bought the book based on reviews and because I was curious about the first novel of a Czech writer living abroad, since I am one myself. Unfortunately I was disappointed with both the story and the narrator. Even though I appreciate the way the communism era is incorporated into the book, I the cannot agree with author's description of the Czech nation in the present time, let alone near future. His obsession with eating habits of the main character seems redundant and overshadows the philosophical thoughts of the space traveller. The narrator has a pleasant voice and tries to adjust it for each of the main characters, yet he misplaces the Czech accent for a Russian one, which is disturbing, if you know the difference. I was struggling to listen to the whole book and I certainly would have quit within the first minutes, if I had another one to listen to during my 10 hour drive.

Waste of time

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