Jonathan Papernick at Harvard Book Store

Harvard Book Store welcomes JONATHAN PAPERNICK—professor at Emerson College and author of The Ascent of Eli Israel and I Am My Beloveds—for a discussion of his new collection Gallery of the Disappeared Men. He will be joined in conversation by journalist and writer STEVEN LEE BEEBER. 

Update on Event Masking Policies

Masks are not required for this event. As of June 1, 2023, masks are encouraged but not required for most Harvard Book Store events, unless otherwise specified. Please review individual listings.

About Gallery of the Disappeared Men

From the author of the acclaimed short story collection The Ascent of Eli Israel, and the warm, funny and heart-wrenching novel I Am My Beloveds, here are 14 searing, deeply-immersive stories that will forever change the way you look at the human experience.

Profound and magical, dark and disturbing, Papernick's stories are always challenging and brave. Whether he is writing stiletto-sharp flash fiction or a novella-length historical drama, Papernick's characters are rendered with the greatest empathy, presenting beauty and understanding amid stark brutality.

From the opening story “Displaced Person,” to the sexy and shocking “The Cinq à Sept Girl,” Papernick returns to the themes of love and longing and desire. “Adam Number Three,” provides a golem revenge story for the 21st century, while “When the Rains Came,” a brief but devastating parable, takes on the eternal great flood myth in which only innocent children remain to carry on.

Masterful storytelling, by a writer working at peak power, Gallery of the Disappeared Men will remain with you long after you have closed the book.

Praise for Gallery of the Disappeared Men

"The stories in Jonathan Papernick's ambitious collection, Gallery of the Disappeared Men, all ask a profound question: how do we begin to face our own trauma? Part mythical, part magical, always historical, and forever haunting, this book examines the violence and brutality of antisemitism, racism and misogyny through a difficult lens; prepare to be shaken by it. I won't forget it." —Carolyn Ferrell, author of Dear Miss Metropolitan

"With his new collection, Gallery of the Disappeared Men, Jonathan Papernick once again proves himself a consummate storyteller. From a stark displaced persons camp to the staid Boston suburbs, to the purportedly cushy camp hills of Orange County, Papernick boldly immerses us in unsettling and disturbing landscapes. Violence is everywhere and often unrelenting, perpetrated by an extensive cast of bullies. But there is magic in the horror, too. Children grow gills. A dead mother spams her son. A severed hand morphs into a man. These are brutal stories of a troubled world excavated with surgical precision in a tireless search of the reckless and ruined, ever-beating, human heart." —Sara Lippmann, author of Doll Palace

"As a novelist, Jon Papernick is a master at salvaging dignity from human disappointment. He is a fixer in fiction, a storyteller of hidden silver linings, the kind of lively, engaging writer who will make you laugh and squirm and root for a happier ending for his characters--all misfits, outcasts, survivors—many of whom are too cynical or broken to believe in the writer who conjured them. Gallery of the Disappeared Men is a master class in Papernick's special talents." —Thane Rosenbaum, author of How Sweet it is!