Home So Far Away: A Novel

(Paperback)

---

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A fictional diary set in interwar Germany and Spain allows us to peek into thelife of Klara Philipsborn, the only Communist in her merchant-class, German-Jewish family.

Klaras first visit to Seville in 1925 opens her eyes and her spirit to an era in which Spains major religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, shared deep cultural connections.

At the same time, she is made aware of the harsh injustices that persist in Spanish society. By 1930, she has landed a position with the medical school in Madrid. Though she feels compelled to hide her Jewish identity in her predominantly Christian new home, she finds that she feels less different in Spain than she did in Germany, especially as she learns new ways of expressing her opinions and desires. And when the Spanish Civil War erupts in 1936, Klara (now Clara) enlists in the Fifth Regiment, a step that transports her across the geography of the embattled peninsula and ultimately endangers a promising relationship and even Claras life itself.

A blending of thoroughly researched history and engrossing fiction, Home So Far Away is an epic tale that will sweep readers away.

Reviews

2021 CIBA Hemingway Book Awards Finalist

An affecting, historically astute novel.

Kirkus Reviews

. . . an emotionally compelling and historically accurate fictionalized diary . . . .Beginning in Germany in1925 and ending in Spain in 1938, readers see the changing world through the eyes of a Jewishwoman who is a self-declared communist . . . .This is an interesting and unique take on the period, andshould be considered by public and academic libraries alike.

Booklist

Judith BerlowitzsHome So Far Awayis like stepping into an Ernest Hemingway novel, with Kristin Hannah whispering in the readers ear. Caught in the political strife around her, devoted to the war-injured she cares for, and struggling to surmount the betrayals of country, the powers over her, and her emerging and conflicting identities as a woman, a Jew, and a Communist, Klara Philipsborn is tossed in the storms that surround her, threatening her person and profession. This vividly told story, written as diary entries, is a captivating picture of one of the many young foreign nationals who committed their lives to this fraught time in twentieth-century Spain.

Barbara Stark-Nemon, author ofEven in DarknessandHard Cider

With passionate commitment and conscientious research, JudithBerlowitzshares the story of her relative, Klara Philipsborn, a German-Jewish refugee whoflees to Spain and enlists in the storied Quinto Regimiento in defense of the Republic during the Spanish Civil War . . .Berlowitztells it with a gripping intensity that will catch you up and help you to understand this era in very personal, human terms.

Nancy Wallach, Board of Governors, ALBA, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives

Klaras voice is pitch-perfect, through wonderful dialogues and emotional reflections about belonging and gender in a nationally-bordered, male-dominated, and antisemitic fascist world. The diary form is a palette for Berlowitzs meticulous historical research, creating rich and vivid landscapes in which Klara forges a freedom both from a homeland that does not recognize me as a citizen as its child and freedom to choose a home that resonates for me.

Rina Benmayor, Professor Emerita, CSU Monterey Bay, member of Genealogies of Sepharad Research Group

Captivating. On the eve of the Nazi rise to power, a German Jewish Communist finds the home she craves in Spain, where she becomes deeply involved in defending the Republic. Klaras passion for life and freedom and the pungent sensual details create an immersive experience. The kind of diary Anne Frank might have written if she had survived to adulthood.

Kate Raphael, author ofMurder Under the Bridge, a Palestine mystery

Combining meticulous archival research with compelling literary creativity, Judith Berlowitz tells Klaras story in the form of a diary, from her first visit to Sevilla before the war to her involvement as a nurse and translator during the conflict.Home So Far Awaynot only brings history to us on a deeply personal level; it also offers a vital lesson for today and tomorrow about the threats to democracy and the critical role that commitment ethical and ideologicalcan play in its defense.

Anthony L. Geist, University of Washington, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives

Judith BerlowitzsHome So Far Awayis an absorbing tale: as her heroine Klara moves between a Germany where Jews are increasingly threatened, to Catholic Spain where Muslims & Jews once flourished, her Jewish identity becomes more central, just as it becomes more hidden. A fascinating historical adventure!

Penny Rosenwasser, author ofHope into Practice

Home So Far Awayis a tour de force of historical fiction. I walked in the shoes and saw through the eyes of the heroine, Klara, and for the first time, I felt the intensity of the struggle of the Spanish Civil War in my own bones I lived the history through Klaras words. I couldnt leave the story behind, inspired by the strength and courage of those who fought for freedom at great expense and live on through our memory.

Linda Joy Myers, President of National Association of Memoir Writers, author ofDont Call Me Mother,Song of the Plains, and the forthcoming novelThe Forger of Marseille

Set amid the travails of the Spanish Civil War, the Second Republic, and the Primo dictatorship before it, this book portrays one characters place in Spains tumultuous early twentieth century. But it is more. Portraying a woman, who is a Jew, who is German, and who shuttles between Germany and Spain, Berlowitz also ruminates on ones place in history and the impact that large historical events have on all of us.

Joshua Goode, Associate Professor of History and Cultural Studies, Chair, Department of History Claremont Graduate University

...Klaras belief in love and her optimism, humanism, feminism, and general chutzpah make her an easy-to-root-for protagonist. . . .an inspiring, insightful, and evocative read.

The Indypendent

Author Bio

Los Angelesborn author Judith Berlowitz had just retired from her Spanish-teaching position at Oaklands Mills College when her genealogical research uncovered a Gestapo record mentioning a relative, Clara Philipsborn, who was the only woman anti-fascist volunteer in the Spanish Civil War from the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. The few details of the report led to more research, which led to Home So Far Away. In addition to her career teaching Spanish and world cultures, and a stint as a tour guide, Judith is a card-carrying translator and has published in the field of ethnomusicology (Sephardic balladry) and Jewish identity. She sang for years with the Oakland Symphony Chorus and is now a member of the San Francisco Bach Choir. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, not far from her three daughters and three grandsons.