Jaroslav Kalfar's Spaceman of Bohemia is a novel published in 2017. The novel is told from the perspective of Jakub Procházka, the first astronaut from the newly independent Czech Republic (which formed after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s). The novel follows Procházka, who is sent alone on a mission by his government to investigate "intergalactic dust" near the planet Venus. There, Jakub meets a big bug named Hanuš, who he becomes fast friends with. But as Jakub discovers more about Hanuš, Venus, and the space around him, missing his wife more and more, he becomes increasingly saddened by his own life and some of the traumas he has experienced in his past - a past which he went on the mission to escape.
Spaceman of Bohemia was lauded by critics for turning the science fiction genre on its head. In his glowing review of the novel for The Guardian, for example, Tibor Fischer wrote that "'Spaceman of Bohemia' should win many fans. It’s 'Solaris' with laughs, history lessons, and a pig killing."
To that end, the novel is currently being adapted into a film by the streaming platform Netflix called Spaceman. Set to star Adam Sandler and Carey Mulligan, the film is planned for release sometime in 2023.
