Galaxy quest
Outer space, inner turmoil, fierce ambition and the hunger for love — all seem to boldly go where no novelist has gone before in Jaroslav Kalfar’s audaciously moving debut, “Spaceman of Bohemia.”
Growing up under the nasty shadow of his communist informer dad, Jakub Prochazka believes the only way he can atone is to achieve greatness for both his country and for himself by becoming Bohemia’s first astronaut, even if it means leaving behind his beloved, increasingly uninterested wife, Lenka, just as they are trying to have a child.
But as Jakub hurtles into the heavens, desperate to collect a mysterious cosmic dust around Venus, Lenka retaliates by vanishing on Earth. Even more perplexing, the lonely Jakub is soon confronted with a lurking castaway — Hanus, an alien that looks like a huge spider with eight hairy legs and a lipsticked-looking smile, who has a major jones for Nutella. But is Hanus a hallucination or real? No matter, because the two begin to have philosophical discussions about their societies and themselves.
As Hanus dips into Jakub’s memories in an attempt to understand him, he also gives Jakub a warning: The Gorumpeds, tiny living creatures inside him, have a destiny as fierce as Jakub’s need to make good — they’ll eventually eat Hanus alive.
As time runs out, other uncomfortable truths arise. Jakub begins to realize that Lenka might be happier without him. Hanus experiences the terrible horror of human fears, unknown in his civilization. Can either of them find a new way to live or to hope?
Eloquent, heart-stunning and rich in awe-inspiring prose, “Spaceman of Bohemia” flirts with how we leave our mark on history. But its real mission is to unravel what makes us human — and that, according to this wise, rapturous and original novel, is a connection to others.