New York Times Book Review Editors'' Choice Wall Street Journal Best New Fiction Kirkus Top 10 Favorite Debut Selection SML Orphaned as a boy and raised in the Czech countryside by doting grandparents, scientist Jakub Procházka has risen to become the country''s first astronaut. On a dangerous solo mission to Venus, Jakub befriends a possibly imaginary giant alien spider. Will their philosophical conversations and intense bond be enough to see him through?