Bookshop Santa Cruz, Institute for Humanities Research, and Temple Beth El present best-selling and award-winning author Jonathan Safran Foer (Everything Is Illuminated, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) for a reading  and signing of his latest novel, Here I Am. Ticket packages are $19.98 and include two tickets to the event and one copy of Here I Am in paperback (publication date: June 6th). Purchase tickets here 

Location: Santa Cruz High Theater

“In Foer’s latest novel, generations of history are laid on the shoulders of one modern Jewish-American family during a time of crisis. So much is endured, revealed, and lost that they seem inextricably bound to the reader. At the heart of it all is this: What does it mean to be fully present in one’s life? There are no easy answers, but I am in awe at the skill with which Foer delves into the heart of familial life.” – Jax, Bookshop Santa Cruz Staff

Unfolding over four tumultuous weeks in present-day Washington, D.C., Here I Am is the story of a fracturing family in a moment of crisis. As Jacob and Julia Bloch and their three sons are forced to confront the distances between the lives they think they want and the lives they are living, a catastrophic earthquake sets in motion a quickly escalating conflict in the Middle East. At stake is the meaning of home—and the fundamental question of how much aliveness one can bear. One of the year’s most anticipated novels, Here I Am is bestselling Safran Foer’s most searching, hard-hitting, and grandly entertaining novel yet.

Jonathan Safran Foer is the author of the novels Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and the nonfiction book Eating Animals. His work has received numerous awards and has been translated into thirty-eight languages. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.