Home So Far Away

“An affecting, historically astute novel.”—Kirkus Reviews

“With passionate commitment and conscientious research, Judith Berlowitz shares the story of her relative, Klara Philipsborn, a German-Jewish refugee who flees to Spain and enlists in the storied Quinto Regimiento in defense of the Republic during the Spanish Civil War . . . Berlowitz tells 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

“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

“Klara’s 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 Berlowitz’s 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

“…seamlessly weaves history and fiction together into a compelling narrative.”

—Dorian L. (Dusty) Nicol, Economic Geologist, author of “Miss Spain in Exile”: Isa Reyes’ Escape from the Spanish Civil War, Flamenco and Stardom in 1930’s Europe

“…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

“Home So Far Away is 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 Klara’s words. I couldn’t 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 of Don’t Call Me Mother and Song of the Plains. Her first novel The Forger of Marseille will be published in 2023

“Judith Berlowitz’s Home So Far Away is an absorbing tale: as her heroine Klara moves between a Germany where Jews are increasingly threatened, and 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, Hope into Practice, Jewish women choosing justice despite our fears

“Set amid the travails of the Spanish Civil War, the Second Republic, and the Primo dictatorship before it, this book portrays one character’s place in Spain’s 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 one’s 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

“The Spanish Civil War was a time when ordinary people did extraordinary things. 35,000 volunteers from 66 countries risked their lives to fight fascism and defend democracy in what has been called the dress-rehearsal for the Second World War, which began five months after the democratically elected government of Spain fell to Franco’s forces. Among those volunteers was Klara Philipsborn, a German Jew and relative of the author. 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, Executive Committee, Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives