Spaceman of Bohemia / Jaroslav Kalfař.
By: Kalfar, Jaroslav [author.]
.
Material type: 
TextPublisher: New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2017Copyright date: ©2017Edition: First edition.Description: 276 pages ; 25 cm.Content type: text Media type: unmediated Carrier type: volumeISBN: 9780316273435; 0316273430.Subject(s): Astronauts -- Fiction | Spiders -- Fiction | Interplanetary voyages -- Fiction | FICTION / Literary | FICTION / Science Fiction / General | Astronauts | Interplanetary voyages | SpidersGenre/Form: Science fiction. | Science fiction. | Science fiction. | Fiction. | Science fiction.Summary: "When Jakub Procha 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 and launches into the galaxy. But things aboard spaceship JanHus1 quickly turn weird, and, to make matters worse, he soon learns that his wife has disappeared without a trace back on Earth. As his spaceship hurtles toward an unknown danger and his sanity wavers, Jakub encounters an unlikely fellow passenger -- a giant alien spider. He and his strange arachnid companion form an unlikely bond over late-night refrigerator encounters, where they talk philosophy, love, life, death, and the incomprehensible deliciousness of bacon. But when their mission is thrown into crisis by secret Russian rivals, Jakub is forced to make violent decisions -- recalling the tortured past and dark political heritage he's buried -- in a desperate quest to return to his Earthly life. Packed with nail-biting thrills, exuberant heart, and surprising and absurd humor in the lineage 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"--
| Item type | Current library | Collection | Shelving location | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
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Voorhees | Science Fiction | Adult | SF Kal (Browse shelf(Opens below)) | Available | 05000009219226 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
An intergalactic odyssey of love, ambition, and self-discovery.
Orphaned as a boy, raised in the Czech countryside by his doting grandparents, Jakub Prochv°zka has risen from small-time scientist to become the country's first astronaut. When a dangerous solo mission to Venus offers him both the chance at heroism he's dreamt of, and a way to atone for his father's sins as a Communist informer, he ventures boldly into the vast unknown. But in so doing, he leaves behind his devoted wife, Lenka, whose love, he realizes too late, he has sacrificed on the altar of his ambitions.
Alone in Deep Space, Jakub discovers a possibly imaginary giant alien spider, who becomes his unlikely companion. Over philosophical conversations about the nature of love, life and death, and the deliciousness of bacon, the pair form an intense and emotional bond. Will it be enough to see Jakub through a clash with secret Russian rivals and return him safely to Earth for a second chance with Lenka?
Rich with warmth and suspense and surprise, Spaceman of Bohemia is an exuberant delight from start to finish. Very seldom has a novel this profound taken readers on a journey of such boundless entertainment and sheer fun.
"A frenetically imaginative first effort, booming with vitality and originality . . . Kalfar's voice is distinct enough to leave tread marks." --Jennifer Senior, New York Times
"When Jakub Procha 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 and launches into the galaxy. But things aboard spaceship JanHus1 quickly turn weird, and, to make matters worse, he soon learns that his wife has disappeared without a trace back on Earth. As his spaceship hurtles toward an unknown danger and his sanity wavers, Jakub encounters an unlikely fellow passenger -- a giant alien spider. He and his strange arachnid companion form an unlikely bond over late-night refrigerator encounters, where they talk philosophy, love, life, death, and the incomprehensible deliciousness of bacon. But when their mission is thrown into crisis by secret Russian rivals, Jakub is forced to make violent decisions -- recalling the tortured past and dark political heritage he's buried -- in a desperate quest to return to his Earthly life. Packed with nail-biting thrills, exuberant heart, and surprising and absurd humor in the lineage 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"--
