Jaroslav Kalfar Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Jaroslav Kalfař is a published author known for his novel Spaceman of Bohemia.

He was born in Prague in the Czech Republic, ‘into a revolution’, as he puts it, on May 20, 1988. He says that as soon as he was able to hold a pen he began to write short stories. He was fifteen years old when he immigrated to the United States in 2003. He did not speak much English at this time and was able to pick up more of the language by watching Cartoon Network.

Jaroslav quickly dropped from high school and took odd jobs, waiting tables, working in a photo lab, running a cash register, before deciding to pursue higher education. He attended the University of Central Florida and graduated, going on to attend New York University, where he studied literature and writing. While he was there, Jaroslav wrote a draft of what would become his first novel.

Spaceman of Bohemia debuted to great praise and popularity. It was an Editors’ Choice in the new York Times. It was also a finalist for The Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, and the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize. The novel was also nominated for the Dublin Literary Award. It has been released in over a dozen languages and counting.

The author has had the honor of getting a fiction fellowship from the National Endowments for the Arts in 2018, calling it a career highlight. The fellowship gave him $25,000 to not only write but to travel and do research.

He resides in Brooklyn. There he reads tons of books, preferring odd books that reflect the ‘strangest parts of life’. He also divides his time writing screenplays and novels.

He often goes back to the Czech Republic, spending time to reconnect with the language, history, culture, and family. The author is grateful to have many homes in the world, with each providing its own texture, stories, and inspiration.

The book Spaceman of Bohemia was adapted into a full length feature film that debuted on Netflix in 2023. The movie (‘Spaceman’) starred Adam Sandler as the main character, as well as Carey Mulligan and Paul Dano. It was directed by Johan Renck and the screenplay was written by Kalfař and Colby Day.

In the book, the author says that the grandfather of Jakub is similar to his own grandfather. He dedicated the book to him and continually thought about a core memory while writing the book, getting lost in the perfect darkness with just the stars while on a nighttime walk with his grandfather. The silence and the loneliness, the feeling of that experience, stayed with him throughout life and helped him to write the story and relate to the main character.

The author was interested in storytelling while young. His father had all types of tapes, from horror to science fiction, and the author noted how stories could shape a person. He also tried writing fan fiction about the X-Files, and then went on to write his own stories.

Jaroslav also says how the book started as a short story that he began writing before coming to New York. The book revolved around an American astronaut who was stuck in space as his wife filed for divorce. While in a class taught by Jonathan Foer, Jaroslav received the suggestion that his main character should be Czech. From there, it ‘all clicked’ and the author was able to work on the story more and make it longer.

Spaceman of Bohemia is a full length fictional novel by Jaroslav Kalfař. If you have been looking for a story that is totally unique and in the sci-fi realm, check out this book!

Jakub is a Czech astrophysicist who is about to go on a mission that will take him off the planet for eight months. A comet created a space dust cloud known as Chopra and he is tasked with exploring it. He must go to it physically and get samples from the cloud. Then scientists will be able to figure out what it is, why it’s consuming itself, and why it turns the sky purple at night.

Most countries say that the mission is far too dangerous to try. The Czech Republic decides that it will be first and picks Jakub to go on the mission. He is an instant celebrity and known figure. Jakub is more motivated by restoring the family name than being an astronaut, wanting to reverse the damage done from his father belonging to the Communist Party. What better way than by becoming a hero?

Jakub goes on the mission but speaks to Lenka, his wife, daily on video call. He also stays in contact with Petr, the mission engineer. Lenka becomes overwhelmed by it all and by being left alone and decides to leave him. Jakub becomes lonely and starts drinking a lot, becoming depressed and hearing voices. He is having a tough time dealing with the mission.

So when he witnesses a huge spider that can talk in the space shuttle, Jakub assumes it must be a sign of his mental state. Then he keeps seeing the spider. Then he gives it a name. The spider talks to him and tells him he’s an alien, sent to do some research on people and how they live.

As the plot goes on, Jakub gets closer to Chopra. Read the rest of this fascinating story and find out what happens by getting a copy of Spaceman of Bohemia!

A Brief History of Living Forever is the second novel from author Jaroslav Kalfař. Check this out if you love a good sci-fi story!

In the America of the future, everyone is obsessed with living forever. But they also have to deal with a lot of tech surveillance. Under these conditions, a brother and sister that have long been lost to each other are doing everything they can to save their mother from oblivion.

Adéla gets an illness that is deemed terminal. She instantly thinks of Tereza, the daughter that she gave up forty years ago at birth. She leaves behind her adult son Roman in the Czech village to brood and leaves to go find her daughter in NYC.

The year is 2029, and the American government is authoritarian and has closed the borders. It’s a totally different place from the one she knew when she was young, when she starred in a sci-fi movie after eloping with the filmmaker.

Tereza is happy to reunite. She’s a researcher for a biotech company that wants to find out how to make people immortal. She wants to find a cure but before she can, her mother dies and is sent to a mass grave since she is an undocumented immigrant.

Now she must go to meet her brother and to try and get their mother’s remains home. Will she be successful? Read this book to find out!