Kindle
$11.40
Available instantly
Audible Logo Audiobook
$0.00
with membership trial
Hardcover
$5.99
Paperback
$12.00
Buy new:
$12.00
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Ships from: Amazon.com
Sold by: Amazon.com
$12.00
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
FREE delivery Tuesday, May 21 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35
Or fastest delivery Monday, May 20. Order within 8 hrs 53 mins
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
$$12.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$12.00
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Amazon.com
Ships from
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Sold by
Amazon.com
Returns
30-day easy returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Returns
30-day easy returns
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Payment
Secure transaction
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
$7.75
Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns
Looks very close to new! At most, it shows extremely little use with little noticeable wear. NO markings on pages. Binding and spine are tight. We carefully inspected this book. If used, probably read just once. Note: Comes with Super Fast Shipping – usually leaves warehouse within 24 hours. Professional packaging with tracking number and 24/7 customer service provided at no additional cost. 100% satisfaction guaranteed with every purchase! Looks very close to new! At most, it shows extremely little use with little noticeable wear. NO markings on pages. Binding and spine are tight. We carefully inspected this book. If used, probably read just once. Note: Comes with Super Fast Shipping – usually leaves warehouse within 24 hours. Professional packaging with tracking number and 24/7 customer service provided at no additional cost. 100% satisfaction guaranteed with every purchase! See less
FREE delivery Monday, May 20 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35. Order within 9 hrs 23 mins
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$12.00 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$12.00
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Robert Olen Butler
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Mr. Spaceman Paperback – February 27, 2001

by Robert Olen Butler (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 49 ratings
See all formats and editions
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$12.00","priceAmount":12.00,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"12","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"00","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"bZQbjiJhVexYq%2BWCW%2B2FPQlNtekkC9xYjsTDDH%2BgLRnsER4Q0DoVV9Ruuzl1%2Falctd3D308u2DlrhoAtvKaMCo2bsMr0vx93Vv96wgWyMK76RXkYEdH4a6%2BVIBH8ovyCl5Omm25XUMY%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$7.75","priceAmount":7.75,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"7","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"75","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"bZQbjiJhVexYq%2BWCW%2B2FPQlNtekkC9xYYc6oNivaaB4%2B5ymTBmzI02JoNS6tQlHcHrJLu495QKQyZGEZaa6HuniP0SZeu%2FqXaoHpcjtLBO0x5BN%2FLphiqREje4q63Q%2B%2FF0KiYr6pd4ey1oWYh6N9Cpdvt5Mb5XA9iZErkQp%2BtcuZlTBRASZXHA%3D%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

"There are three things about this planet which are too wonderful for me. Make that four things. The way of dreams in the mind; the way of tears in the eye; the way of words in the mouth; and the way of my wife Edna Bradshaw when she acts like a cat and love-nibbles me into her arms." This is the voice of Desi, the hero of Robert Olen Butler's novel Mr. Spaceman, who has kept a quiet vigil above the Earth for decades while studying the confusing, fascinating, and frustrating primary species of our planet, occasionally venturing to the planet's surface to hear their thoughts and experience their memories using his empathic powers. Now, on December 31, 2000, he prepares for the final phase of his mysterious mission, which begins when he beams a tour bus bound for a Louisiana casino aboard his ship. The twelve passengers will be the last humans whose lives he will experience before he positions his spaceship in full and irrefutable view of the people of Earth, and descend to the planet's surface to proclaim his presence to all of humanity at the turn of the millennium. Poignant, funny, and charming, Mr. Spaceman is filled with unexpected twists and turns, a tribute to the powers of love and understanding and the essence of what it means to be human.
Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Print length
    240 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Grove Press
  4. Publication date
    February 27, 2001
  5. Dimensions
    5.49 x 0.67 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0802137822
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0802137821
  8. See all details
Next page
Layla
"Layla" by Colleen Hoover for $7.19
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love. | Learn more

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Grove Press; Reprint edition (February 27, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0802137822
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0802137821
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.49 x 0.67 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 49 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Robert Olen Butler

Robert Olen Butler

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
49 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

John L. Jacobson
5.0 out of 5 stars Out of this world
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2020
Verified Purchase
The book started out slowly, but the more I read the more I liked Desi and the predicament he found himself in. The characters are well drawn and his view of our foibles is very funny. The ending was perfect
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
John Griffin
4.0 out of 5 stars I enjoyed this book for its rich characters
Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2017
A charming, bittersweet tale of a lone alien whose task it is to "interview" various abductees, in preparation for revealing his existence to mankind on the millennial celebration. He has taken on an Earth woman as wife, and she helps him do his last set of interviews of a group of people from a beamed aboard casino bus.

I enjoyed this book for its rich characters, including Desi the titular spaceman, who speaks largely in commercial phrases. But especially for his interviewees, who come from a diverse and interesting set of backgrounds - black, asian refugee, gay, communist, veteran, etc. And his very sweet wife Edna. Desi discovers how much of humanity revolves around yearning, and starts to take on some of the attributes of his new connections.

The only things I thought could have been better are his wife Edna, who although sweet and well drawn could have taken on a bigger role as a coprotagonist but was portrayed more as a sidekick, and also (minor spoiler) the ending, which although clever in its own way, involved too much manufactured danger and was somewhat of an anticlimax.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Uschi
5.0 out of 5 stars Sweet little soft science fiction love story.
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2016
Verified Purchase
One of my very favorite soft science fiction novels of all time. For me it's a re-reader.
2 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
pmuehling
3.0 out of 5 stars Boom or Bust???
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2004
Endless ramblings/obvious allegory/weak conclusion. This is not a humour piece nor sci-fi and has little value as a fiction piece for entertainment. Having said that, this novel has definite merit for school study. It is an exellent piece to provoke discussion and should be on a mandatory reading list for English and Psyc students.
I rate this as a 1 if your looking for a casual entertaining read. I suggest you keep away and stick with your blockbuster story writers.
I rate this as a 5 if you want a book for a reading club and are ready for potentially intense dialoque.
Helpful
 Report
Remy
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is such a sweet book!! Great fun! A must to take you away for a while!! "oh you Spaceman!"
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Jay
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully artistic, intelligent entertainment
Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2004
I loved this book. Desi is as engaging a "character" as I've encountered in years. He's been studying us for 30 years and is preparing for a grand appearance on New Year's Eve of the new millenium. His wise and quirky ruminations are by turn funny, poignant, and sad. He discerns the yearning that drives humans, but he doesn't quite understand it -- just as we don't. He has fallen in love with Edna, a downhome girl from Alabama who enjoys cooking and nurturing the folks who have been beamed up to the spacecraft.

So we wonder: Is this a love story? A sci-fi tale? A comedy? A study of the mysteries of language, of culture, of spirituality?

However we classify it (if we even need to do so), I'd like to say that this work seems a more imaginative achievement than his Pulitzer-Prize-winning book (A Good Scent ...). What impresses me most about Butler's writing is his commitment to voice. He lives within his characters, granting them compassion and understanding. His works are literary entertainments, what any discriminating reader yearns to find.
4 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Caroline Sugarman
5.0 out of 5 stars Super Entertaining Read!
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2019
The premise is fun, the characters are vibrant and lovable. Laughed out loud a lot. Narrator was amazing! I actually brought the paperback on vacation with me, left it on my flight and then got the audio book so I could finish it. Was the best accident! Narrator(s) made the book even more enjoyable. 10 / 10.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
BShap
2.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite
Reviewed in the United States on May 19, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book was recommended to me, but I was never hooked and was continually waiting for what seemed like nothing.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report