Hailed as one of the most important Hispanic writers of his generation, Ilan Stavans is a celebrated storyteller whose work has been translated into a dozen languages and has garnered numerous international awards. The Disappearance: A Novella and Stories contains three masterful gems. The novella, “Morirse está en hebreo,” is a thought-provoking meditation on continuity and tradition among Mexican Jews; “Xerox Man” is an intriguing story about a book thief with a bizarre theological obsession; and the title story, “The Disappearance,” is the resonant tale of a Belgian actor who kidnaps himself in an attempt to respond to neo-Nazi groups. Together, these three pieces offer an unforeseen vista of Jewish-Hispanic relations and confirm Stavans’ reputation as an original literary voice.

ILAN STAVANS is Lewis-Sebring Professor in Latin American and Latino Culture and Five-College Fortieth Anniversary Professor at Amherst College. He is the author of Bandido: The Death and Resurrection of Oscar “Zeta” Acosta, and the editor of A Luis Leal Reader, both published by Northwestern University Press.