Link to order the novel-: Converso Jews: A Hidden Family Story - Kindle edition by Blitz, gordon.  Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com. 

SYNOPSIS

In Converso Jews: A Hidden Family Story, the author, Gordon Blitz, offers a dual storyline following Jews who practiced their faith in secret during the period of the Inquisition and the current love story of Isaac and Pablo, a Sephardic Jew and a Catholic who meet at a gay Jewish synagogue. We ultimately encounter people of faith who are attempting to uncover their converso heritage trying to explain why their families have continued to practice certain traditions for the last five hundred years without understanding why. And if that was not enough, we follow Pablo who goes through the coming out process after his parents want to disown him and, with Isaac’s blessing, decides to convert to Judaism. For those of you who liked The Last Jew by Noah Gordon or The Silver Candlesticks by Linda Chávez, you will enjoy Converso Jews: A Hidden Family Story.

EXCERPT FROM CONVERSO JEWS: A HIDDEN FAMILY STORY-WRITTEN BY  GORDON BLITZ:

When Pablo’s grandmother died, Gladys told the funeral director that she needed to wash her mother before wrapping the body in white linen and placing her in her coffin. The mortuary found the request unusual for a Catholic. Washing and bathing were frowned upon and the only acceptable preparation was embalming. Gladys wanted her mother to be protected from prying eyes and hungry animals. She clipped each of the finger and toe nails. When Gladys questioned these practices, the answer was, “We’ve been doing this for generations.”

Additionally, Gladys was taught by her grandmother about sudario, the Spanish word for shroud. This was the first death for Pablo. As a troubled teenager, the intimacy with his Abuela prevented his emotions from splattering. His sheltered life had kept the concept of death removed from him. Why didn’t his parents warn him of this crushing anxiety that would be unleashed? Pablo became an abandoned animal without his Abuela.

Before 13-year-old Pablo left for camp he told Abuela, “Dad is insisting that I go. He says it will be good for me. But I don’t want to go! I hated camp last year! The boys kept laughing at me because I couldn’t catch the baseball.”

“You’re a year older. And your papi has been working with you on the weekends. Throwing the ball. I’ve watched you. You are improving.”

“He never tells me that. And he keeps hollering at me when I drop the ball. Never smiling even if I catch it.”

“He’s just trying to help you out. He knows you like music, and he takes you for guitar lessons. He taught you tennis and how to use golf clubs at the miniature golf range.”

 “I just don’t seem to be good at anything. And I’ll miss you. And who is going to help you when you make tapas with that special ingredient that you made me swear not to tell anyone about. This is the best part of the day when we talk. What happens if you get sick? The doctor said your heart was weak. And who is going to massage your feet when I’m gone?”

“I’m fine. I take my blood pressure pills every day. Don’t worry about me. Your father will take care of my feet. He’s good with his hands.”

“Why don’t I have any friends at school?  Is something wrong with me? I’m ugly. I have a big nose. And I look so different from everyone else. I feel like I am an alien.”

“No. Why do you say that? You are the sweetest most beautiful grandson. I’m your friend. I love you, Pablo.”

“And I have this horrible acne. They call me pizza face.” Pablo’s tears made him dissolve into his grandma. He snuggled into her fleshy arm as she ran her hand through his black hair. When his face dried, he started giggling when Abuela tickled his underarms. The laughter enabled Pablo to stitch a pattern of happiness into his life. Both Abuela and Pablo eased into an afternoon nap.     

Pablo continued to protest camp despite Abuela’s encouragement. His father said, “You are going. We paid $500, and it’s not refundable.”

Pablo stopped talking to his parents. When they drove to the YMCA camp, he refused to hug them. He grabbed his backpack and suitcase. No crying. A zombie walking to his incarceration.  

His first thoughts upon entering the campsite were I hate this place. I don’t like the outdoors. It’s dirty. It’s going to screw up my allergies. I can’t play any sports. I won’t go swimming. No one can ever see my body.

The camp director pointed him in the direction of his cabin number 9.

Pablo had never shared a room and being in a dormitory setting with other boys traumatized him. He felt as if he were an orphan waiting to be chosen by a future parent. Each of the boys was examining his defects; his scabby skin, his big ears, his crooked teeth. After the leader of the animal pack, Sam, stopped encouraging the laughter of the campers, he said, “What’s wrong, sissy? Can’t find your bed? You’ve got the best bed in the cabin. Everyone wants the top bunk.”

Pablo said, “How do I get up there?”

Sam giggled, “Oh, you don’t need a ladder. You can use a chair.”

Despite Sam’s torment, Pablo kept staring at Sam’s arms which looked like they were ready to rip through his tee-shirt.

“Oh, don’t be such a baby. If the chair doesn’t work, I’ll help you. I could probably lift you up with one arm.”

If Sam touched him, he would die. Better to run back to the camp director and tell him he wanted his parents to retrieve him.

         As he backed up to the door to flee, he was blocked by a large man.

         The gentle giant said, “What’s going on in here?”

After a torturous week at camp, Pablo was summoned to Daniel’s office, the head counselor. Pablo was comforted by the wallpapered walls full of a sun-bursting flower design.

“Come in, Pablo. Sit down. I just got a call from your parents. They are coming to pick you up.”

Pablo didn’t sit. He backed against the wall hugging the flowered wallpaper.

A thunderous relief swept through Pablo. But then Daniel’s somber face made Pablo’s stomach clench.

“Your grandmother died last night from a heart attack.”

As Pablo stiffened, he became plastered against the wall until he collapsed to the wood floor. When he woke, he was in unfamiliar surroundings, and his head ached.

His mother was saying “Oh god, Pablo. Thank goodness you are okay. You fainted before we could pick you up. The doctor said you have a concussion and need to rest. Your blood sugar was very low. They have to watch you for the next forty-eight hours.”

“Where is papi?”

“Your father is making arrangements. The funeral is tomorrow, and there is so much to do.”

“Whose funeral?”

“Abuela’s.”

Pablo held his hands against his ears. He willed his eyes to shut.

Still his mother kept talking, “Abuela needs to be buried quickly. It would be a bad omen if we waited until you came home. She died on Wednesday. The funeral is tomorrow.”

No closure for Pablo because he had no opportunity to say goodbye to his beloved grandmother. He had trouble remembering her smell, and when his mother made the same fish stew that Abuela was famous for, it never tasted or smelled the same.

   He was never sure his parents loved him the way Abuela had. His search for a replacement began.