This post was most recently updated on June 30th, 2022
Home So Far Away by Judith Berlowitz
Publisher: She Writes Press (June 21, 2022)
Category: Historical Fiction; Jewish Identity, Wartime Diary, Spanish Civil War
Tour dates: June 14-June 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-1647423759
Available in Print and ebook, 345 pages
Description Home So Far Away by Judith Berlowitz
A fictional diary set in interwar Germany and Spain allows us to peek into the life of Klara Philipsborn, the only Communist in her merchant-class, German-Jewish family.
Klara’s first visit to Seville in 1925 opens her eyes and her spirit to an era in which Spain’s 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 Clara’s life itself.
A blending of thoroughly researched history and engrossing fiction, Home So Far Away is an epic tale that will sweep readers away.
Advance Praise Home So Far Away by Judith Berlowitz
“An affecting, historically astute novel.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Judith Berlowitz’s Home So Far Awayis like stepping into an Ernest Hemingway novel, with Kristin Hannah whispering in the reader’s 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 of Even in Darkness and Hard Cider
“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. Klara’s 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 of Murder Under the Bridge, a Palestine mystery
“Combining meticulous archival research with compelling literary creativity, Judith Berlowitz tells Klara’s 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 Away not 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 ideological—can play in its defense.”—Anthony L. Geist, University of Washington, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives
“Judith Berlowitz’s Home So Far Away is 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 of Hope into Practice
” “. . . an emotionally compelling and historically accurate fictionalized diary . . . . Beginning in Germany in 1925 and ending in Spain in 1938, readers see the changing world through the eyes of a Jewish woman who is a self-declared communist . . . . This is an interesting and unique take on the period, and should be considered by public and academic libraries alike.”-Booklist
About Judith Berlowitz
Los Angeles-born Judith Berlowitz holds a PhD in Romance Languages and Literatures and is a federally-certified translator. She is a former professor of Spanish and Cultural Studies and has published works in ethnomusicology, oral history, and Jewish identity.
Judith has played classical guitar and oboe and has sung with the Stanford Early Music Singers and the Oakland Symphony Chorus. She currently is a volunteer Curator with the genealogical website, Geni.com, and sings with the San Francisco Bach Choir. She lives in San Francisco with her husband, not far from her three daughters and three grandsons.
Website: https://judithberlowitzauthor.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jberlowitzauthor
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Giveaway Home So Far Away by Judith Berlowitz
This giveaway is for 3 print copies and is open to Canada and the U.S. only. This giveaway ends on July 1, 2022 midnight, pacific time. Entries accepted via Rafflecopter only.
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