Publishers Weekly
★ 02/13/2023
Kalfař (Spaceman of Bohemia) imagines in his ingenious latest a near-future dystopia involving ghastly longevity experiments. It’s 2030, and a terminally ill Adéla Slavíková travels to America, which has descended into nativist fascism, to meet Tereza, the daughter she gave up for adoption. Tereza, a longevity researcher with no other family, hopes to prolong Adéla’s life, so she signs a lifetime contract with her shady employer, whose aim is to upload people’s consciousnesses to the cloud, in exchange for access to an experimental cell treatment for Adéla. But then Adéla dies, and her body goes missing. Tereza travels to the Czech Republic to break the news to her grandmother and half-brother, Roman, whom she learned about from Adéla during their meeting. After she and Roman both receive taunting messages, including one in Adéla’s voice saying “save me,” they set out to retrieve their mother’s body. Much of this is narrated by Adéla’s ghost, who recounts, among other things, distributing an illegal literary journal in communist Prague in the late 1970s. Kalfař draws many funny and chilling connections between Cold War era communist secret police and his imagined future fascist America (at the MoMA, a hologram of Vincent Van Gogh with an “absurd Dutch accent” scolds a child for defacing a painting, before pronouncing the child’s prison sentence of three years). With a perceptive satirical slant, sharp humor, and convincing emotion, Kalfař builds a plausibly terrifying world. Agent: Marya Spence, Janklow and Nesbit Assoc. (Apr.)
From the Publisher
Electric . . . Kalfař’s inventiveness rolls as if on wheels . . . He has a Kurt Vonnegut-like satirical touch . . . He also has an old-world melancholy, beneath the humor, that will put some readers in mind of writers like Mordecai Richler and Jerzy Kosinski . . . Jim Harrison, asked by The Paris Review if he had any advice for young writers, said: ‘Just start at Page 1 and write like a son of a bitch.’ This seems to be Kalfař’s method . . . A Brief History of Living Forever proposes that there’s only one thing worse than disintegrating. It’s being trapped in a mind you can never click off.” —New York Times
"Inventive and heartfelt, this dystopian take on the immigrant experience and the American Dream packs a walloping punch."—Esquire
“An ambitious novel . . . Kalfař’s vision of America that dominates the novel’s not-so-distant future is uncomfortably plausible . . . Chaos seems to be winning of late, and Kalfař is trying desperately to urge us to keep flying."—Washington Post
“Ambitious and exciting . . . Beautifully achieved . . . As was already clear from his genre-bending debut, Spaceman of Bohemia, Kalfař knows his way around a sentence. By turns aphoristic and lyrical, with touches of Don DeLillo, Kalfař’s prose contains plenty of stylish wisdom . . . Mixing fantasy, satire, horror, and metaphysics, A Brief History of Living Forever has many stories to tell. But the pulse animating each of them is the shock of sudden loss—of jobs, of loved ones, of a world you thought you knew. For all the jaunty quips or angry asides, the undertone is one of mourning . . . The delicacy of touch displayed here is reminiscent of the best of Milan Kundera."—The Telegraph (UK)
“A thoroughly original story from a writer to watch.”—Emily Firetong, Lit Hub
“Kalfař (Spaceman of Bohemia) imagines in his ingenious latest a near-future dystopia involving ghastly longevity experiments…. Kalfař draws many funny and chilling connections between Cold War era communist secret police and his imagined future fascist America… With a perceptive satirical slant, sharp humor, and convincing emotion, Kalfař builds a plausibly terrifying world.”—Publisher's Weekly (starred review)
"With piercing insights into human nature and the way we live now, Kalfar paints a compelling and convincing portrait of a near future rife with dangerous nationalism and perilous technological advances."—Kristine Huntley, Booklist
“Enchanting and haunting . . . Kalfař displays an extremely current sense of history, and he has an eye for the simultaneously ludicrous and ominous nature of news.”—Locus Magazine
“A Brief History of Living Forever is a book from the future, here to deliver an urgent story about the present. Extending the speculative logics of Kafka and working in the dreamlike, psychic registers of Philip K. Dick, Kalfař presents an entrancing, lucid, and incisive vision of immortality that starts and ends with the self. This is a brilliant, disorienting, and endlessly fascinating read.”—Tom Lin, author of The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu
"Kalfar, who moved to the United States from the Czech Republic when he was 15, incorporates both countries in this dystopian, techno-mystery story about life beyond physical death...Kalfar brings his characters to life with almost formal eloquence...he makes the potential power of technology and artificial intelligence a frightening prospect. Both scary science fiction and a bleak nightmare about the end of democracy."—Kirkus
"Jaroslav Kalfar turns an ambitious premise (a person whose body has expired but whose consciousness lives on) into a moving, frightening story about the strength of family bonds."—Michael Welch, Scientific American
Praise for Spaceman of Bohemia
"Kalfar has much larger aims with Spaceman of Bohemia than to write a spry, madcap work of speculative fiction . . . He has such a lively mind and so many ideas to explore . . . Kalfar has an exhilarating flair for imagery. He writes boisterously and mordantly . . . His voice is distinct enough to leave tread marks . . . A frenetically imaginative first effort, booming with vitality and originality."—Jennifer Senior, New York Times
"Spaceman of Bohemia gets heavy-but the story, like its protagonist, flies along weightlessly. A book like this lives and dies on the strength of its first-person voice, and in that regard, Kalfar triumphs. Jakub may be self-absorbed, but he's also charming, funny, and endearingly sympathetic."—Jason Heller, NPR
"In Jaroslav Kalfar's zany first novel . . . the spaceman, the alien, and all the rest of the book's extravagant conceptual furniture are merely metaphors for the human-scale issues that are its real concerns, in particular the collapse of Jakub's marriage to Lenka. That's not to say Kalfar hasn't done his research. There are lovingly detailed passages on the minutiae of life in zero gravity, but all the whizzy space business is harnessed to the basic question of what it means to leave and whether it's possible to come back. The alien acts as a Proustian trigger for Jakub's memories . . . But for all the strangeness of outer space, it is the writing about his home village, the place to which he longs to return and perhaps never can, that beats strongest in this wry, melancholy book."—Hari Kunzru, New York Times Book Review
The author skillfully splices a barbed picture of the Czech Republic between Jakub's misadventures in the cosmos. "These include floating free inside the dust cloud and hitching a ride on a clandestine Russian space shuttle. The book suggests that every national hero has a dark side, though you may have to leave Earth to see it."—Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal "Best New Fiction"
"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...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."—Caroline Leavitt, San Francisco Chronicle
"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."—Sam Lipsyte, New York Times bestselling author of The Ask
"Spaceman of Bohemia should win many fans. With its interplanetary shenanigans and lessons in Czech history, this zany satirical debut is bursting at the seams."—Tibor Fischer, Guardian UK
"A supercharged, voice-driven romp."
—Meredith Turits, Extra Crispy
"Blend Bradbury and Lem with Saint-Exupéry and perhaps a little Kafka, and you get this talky, pleasing first novel by Czech immigrant writer Kalfar....a book built on sly, decidedly contrarian humor. Blending subtle asides on Czech history, the Cold War, and today's wobbly democracy, Kalfar's confection is an inventive, well-paced exercise in speculative fiction. An entertaining, provocative addition to the spate of literary near-future novels that have lately hit the shelves."—Kirkus Reviews
"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."
—Samantha Hunt, author of Mr. Splitfoot
"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."—Darin Strauss, National Book Critics Circle Award winner for Half a Life
"Spaceman of Bohemia is a wise and elegant work composed of its own unique ethereal grace-a hauntingly beautiful story of solitude, hope, family, and love that transcends, uplifts, carries the reader away."—Dinaw Mengestu, author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears
"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, author of The Glorious Heresies, winner of the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction
"An exhilarating concoction of history, social commentary, and irony. Reading like Arthur C. Clarke's 2001 crossed with a Milan Kundera novel, set in a Philip K. Dick universe, with a nod to Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis, it manages to be singularly compelling while still providing mass appeal. Highly recommended."—Library Journal (starred review)
"Kalfar's writing has the same hyperactivity, and fidgety contempt for generic boundaries, as that of the young Safran Foer.... Part space opera, part folk tale, his novel is also a love song to the city of Prague.... Funny, humane and oddly down-to-earth in ways that its scenario cannot possibly convey."
—Claire Armitstead, The Guardian
New York Times bestselling author of The Ask Sam Lipsyte
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.
Extra Crispy Meredith Turits
A supercharged, voice-driven romp.
author of The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears Dinaw Mengestu
Spaceman of Bohemia is a wise and elegant work composed of its own unique ethereal grace-a hauntingly beautiful story of solitude, hope, family, and love that transcends, uplifts, carries the reader away.
Lisa McInerney
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.
New York Times Book Review Hari Kunzru
In Jaroslav Kalfar's zany first novel . . . the spaceman, the alien, and all the rest of the book's extravagant conceptual furniture are merely metaphors for the human-scale issues that are its real concerns, in particular the collapse of Jakub's marriage to Lenka. That's not to say Kalfar hasn't done his research. There are lovingly detailed passages on the minutiae of life in zero gravity, but all the whizzy space business is harnessed to the basic question of what it means to leave and whether it's possible to come back. The alien acts as a Proustian trigger for Jakub's memories . . . But for all the strangeness of outer space, it is the writing about his home village, the place to which he longs to return and perhaps never can, that beats strongest in this wry, melancholy book.
San Francisco Chronicle Caroline Leavitt
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...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.
Guardian UK Tibor Fischer
Spaceman of Bohemia should win many fans. With its interplanetary shenanigans and lessons in Czech history, this zany satirical debut is bursting at the seams.
NPR Jason Heller
Spaceman of Bohemia gets heavy-but the story, like its protagonist, flies along weightlessly. A book like this lives and dies on the strength of its first-person voice, and in that regard, Kalfar triumphs. Jakub may be self-absorbed, but he's also charming, funny, and endearingly sympathetic.
Wall Street Journal "Best New Fiction" Sam Sacks
The author skillfully splices a barbed picture of the Czech Republic between Jakub's misadventures in the cosmos. "These include floating free inside the dust cloud and hitching a ride on a clandestine Russian space shuttle. The book suggests that every national hero has a dark side, though you may have to leave Earth to see it.
National Book Critics Circle Award winner for Half Darin Strauss
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.
author of Mr. Splitfoot Samantha Hunt
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.
The Guardian Claire Armitstead
Kalfar's writing has the same hyperactivity, and fidgety contempt for generic boundaries, as that of the young Safran Foer.... Part space opera, part folk tale, his novel is also a love song to the city of Prague.... Funny, humane and oddly down-to-earth in ways that its scenario cannot possibly convey.
Library Journal
11/01/2022
This dual-timeline novel presents society both before and after a deadly virus and environmental disasters as the lives of two women are connected through their experiences coping with crisis, supporting family, cultural changes, travel, memories, and storytelling. The parts of this novel that make it science fiction are almost secondary to the relationship that develops between the women. As one of them contemplates the end of her life, the other grapples with society's future, all the while meeting two generations of her birth family. Contemporary issues such as immigration, environmental concerns, medical consent, surveillance, and information privacy are all deftly and provocatively handled. Radical creativity in 1980s Czechoslovakia is juxtaposed with technological innovations in 2030s New York City and Florida. While the chaos that creates upheaval in societies around the world is not overtly discussed, the changes in political and social life are reminiscent of stories about Big Brother, authoritarianism, and the quest for immortality. VERDICT The post-apocalyptic setting makes Kalfar's (Spaceman of Bohemia) latest an excellent addition to SF collections, but it's also an interesting story of an adopted adult reuniting with her birth family.—Sara Baron
Kirkus Reviews
2023-01-12
Kalfař, who moved to the United States from the Czech Republic when he was 15, incorporates both countries in this dystopian story about a Czech woman whose search for her long-lost daughter in 2029 America quickly becomes a techno-mystery about life beyond physical death.
Learning she has a fatal disease, Adéla Slavíková procures a 10-day visa to America to find Tereza, the daughter she gave up for adoption as an infant. Unfortunately, America—now ruled by former Republicans who have formed the Reclamation Party under an unnamed former Florida governor’s leadership—now exemplifies a world that, having been buffeted by natural and political disasters, has deteriorated into “global fascism.” Tereza works for VITA, a bioengineering corporation run by twin masterminds (a fictional double whammy of Elon Musk). Adéla does locate Tereza, and they spend one joyous day together. But that night Adéla dies in her hotel room, at least physically. Unbodied, she continues to narrate her attempt to adjust to what she assumes is death. She lacks sensations, like smell, but she can mentally travel at will. So her consciousness veers between observing her current situation and reliving the late 1980s, when she came to the U.S. for the first time with high hopes for a better life. When her ambitions and love life faltered, she returned to Czechoslovakia pregnant—and now she is drawn yet resistant to nostalgia over the romantic but ultimately disappointing American interlude. Meanwhile, she observes as her Czech son, Roman, who's struggling with his own demons, joins forces with Tereza to search for their mother’s now-missing body. Their dangerous trek into a world where greed and tribal loyalty trump ethics carries them to VITA’s secret facilities in climate-ravaged Florida, where things get too weird to explain. Kalfař brings his characters to life with almost formal eloquence. Although he tends to overstate and repeat his moral condemnations, he makes the potential power of technology and artificial intelligence a frightening prospect.
Both scary science fiction and a bleak nightmare about the end of democracy.
