Spaceman of Bohemia

Ive had this book for about a year now. Its my favorite book.

Early on, I thought this book was fantastic. As others have written, it bounces around among personal history, Czech history, sci-fi, love and general philosophical musings. As it progressed, I felt that the author had lost his way (or, perhaps, was pursing an idea until it forgot the point he was trying to make). While I had hoped for a somewhat happy ending (and arguably it has a happy ending), it became obvious that any happy ending wouldn't be the one a reader had begun to anticipate. And that's fine. Unfortunately, in trying to tie together all of the disparate threads, the author seems to have sacrificed the beautiful, seemingly effortless style of the first 80% of the book by more or less making declarative philosophical statements that seem to have come out of nowhere. It does make sense in its context, but it left me a bit frustrated at the end. Still, nicely written and, until near the end, highly engaging.

A nice debut novel from a Czech author about a Bohemian spaceman who goes to the stars. I thought Kaflar pulled off the narrative structure quite well, weaving the present mission with glimpses from the protagonist's past as well as Bohemia's troubled past. Anyone who has read Kundera's The Joke or is wise to contemporary Czech history will have an understanding of the political background that sets the stage for the novel. If not, Kalfar does a nice overview of the history as well as describing the magic of Prague. The prose and plotting is also well done, though it does careen out of control at times and characters tend to say the kind of dialogue that no one ever says in real life, only in first novels. But that is a small complaint because the read is engrossing overall and I found myself invested in the characters and always enjoying the book when I picked it up. In short, buy this book! It will make for a nice summer read. Looking forward to more from this author.

The book is an attempt to identify origins - the origin of the universe, the origin of our national associations, the origin of our personal selves. It is an attempt to trace our pasts to the point "where it all went wrong" to see if we can fix it. It is a gloomy book. The characters are well drawn (except for a large spider who plays a large role in driving the science fiction part of the action.) But, like the central European countries blighted by Soviet domination described in the book, the outlook is pretty dismal. You end up unsure of the value of this quest for inner enlightenment. Yes, the characters exhibit real growth as people, but whether the changes that accompany this growth have a meaningful impact on their lives or on their happiness is uncertain. Yes, the spider offers some comic offset. But I finished the book pretty depressed.

This is a fun thought provoking first novel by a Czech american. I bought it because I read it at the library and later wanted to own it. As an American with very close Czech Republic ties, there are many very poignant moments in this book that I feel touch the sole of Czechs and Czech fans (ala Kafka) Plus the outer space parts are very creative and outrageously funny(ala K. Vonnegut). Strongly recommend.

I'm still reading it, about 2/3 of the way through. A slow read for me, but worth the effort. Well written, self depreciating humor and, life experiences (fictional) in Czechoslovakia. Inner thoughts of a spaceman/scientist at risk of dyeing in space with a spider-like alien.

What a well written book and story. Wow. I am really amazed at how Kalfar weeded the past and the future so skillfully together.

Great book!

I love quirky books. This one was informative, interesting, with a gripping tale to boot. I did not want to boot it down!

it's got everything a good book needs. Couldn't stop reading... and then suddenly it was over and you want to start it again..

muy buen libro

If you saw Spaceman available to watch on Netflix, please, read the book first. Although adaptation is in my opinion great - book is far better, and doesn't stop the moment that movie does. It expands and (no spoilers) gives you way more to think through, way more to the story that is important at its core. Ending is way different than movie, and leaves you with different feelings, too. I'd recommend it for any sci-fi/cosmic fiction fans that love nostalgic tone and uncatchable longing with not-so-happy, difficult, and thought-provoking passages.

A mysterious cosmic cloud has appeared near Venus. Probe missions sent to investigate have failed and the Earth's great spacefaring nations are hesitant about sending a manned mission. This is when the Czech Republic decide to launch their space program by sending a lone astronaut to Venus to take samples from the cloud and analyse them while attempting to bring them back to Earth. The story is interspersed with flashbacks and memories from Jakub's (the proverbial Spaceman of Bohemia) childhood and life up to now. It's a very human story and may wrench at your heart strings. I don't want to ruin the events of the story but suffice to say this is a very strong debut novel and well worth a read.