Spaceman of Bohemia: SHORTLISTED FOR THE ARTHUR C. CLARKE AWARD FOR SCIENCE FICTION
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By Jaroslav Kalfar
avg rating
2 reviews
‘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.
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Macclesfield Library Reading Group
The Macclesfield Library Reading group received 10 copies of this book via the Reading Agency for an honest review- here are our thoughts:
‘This book kept my interest the whole time. Interesting characters, great plot, beautifully descriptive, lots of quirky threads and sensitively written.
Would read again!’
‘Really enjoyed this book, not like anything I’ve read before. Did not know what to expect at each twist and turn, so found it highly entertaining.’
‘Strange, unique, weird, a wonderful mixture of sci-fi, history and philosophy. Dark in place but beautifully written.’
‘I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book but I certainly did very much! It was a journey that covers the full spectrum of emotions - well worth a read.’
‘Great book- very enjoyable. Hard to categorise – synopsis on the back cover does not do it justice’
‘Don’t let the words ‘sci-fi’ put you off! This book is anything and everything but ‘sci-fi’ – following the first Czech astronaut on his journey into deep space and exploring his emotions and thoughts as he travels! Very imaginative, very funny, strange and completely unlike anything I have read before!’
Most of our number finished the book and the vast majority thought it well written although the contents divided us with some thinking it was very good and others not enjoying it at all. Some felt that it took some getting into and that once in it was worthwhile whereas others found it an unrewarding slog. A few of us really enjoyed it from start to finish finding the subject matter interesting particularly the background of the astronaut and the nutella eating spider was enjoyed by all.
We found the contents amusing, if not laughing out loud funny. and the ending fitting . On the whole we are looking forward to further work from this author.
We gave it an average score of 7 out of 10.
