Second Hand Smoke A Novel

In the seamy atmosphere of Miami Beach's Collins Avenue, Mila Katz, a streaky card shark and confidante of mobsters, lives by the wits with which she has survived the Holocaust. Second Hand Smoke is the story of Mila's sons, Issac and Duncan, the one secretly abandoned in Poland, and the other, American-born, raised as an avenging Nazi hunter, poisoned with rage. Told in bursts of fractured realism and dark comedy, Second Hand Smoke is a postmodern mystery of great lyrical power, deep insight, and emotional resonance.

Thane Rosenbaum is the author of the acclaimed novel-in-stories Elijah Visible, which was awarded the Wallant Prize for best book of Jewish-American fiction. A law professor in human rights and a teacher of creative writing, he is also the literary editor of Tikkun and writes essays and reviews for The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other national publications. He lives in New York with his daughter, Basia Tess.

"In Second Hand Smoke, Than Rosenbaum continues, with tact and talent, his quest for the rediscovery of a vanished world and its haunted wanderers." --Elie Wiesel

"An altogether gripping call of the seemingly endless conseuences of the Holocaust." -Chaim Potok

"Second Hand Smoke is written with passion and energy, penetrating into the roots of Jewish existence. This book is not to be easily forgotten." -Ahron Appelfeld

"As deadly on target as its title. Than Rosenbaum's literary voice is singular, alluring, and important. " --Daniel Goldhagen, author of Hitler's Willing Executioners

"Quite extraordinary...Larger than life, but true to life." --Richard Lourie, The New York Times Book Review

"Second Hand SMoke is a sharply arresting novel, full of bite, as disquieting its subject." --Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times

"A fierce, poignant and mordantly funny novel." --Booklist (starred review)

"A gauntlet of a novel. Than Rosenbaum proves himself a novelist of extraordinary passion and imaginative resources." --Floyd Skloot, The Oregonian (Portland)

"An expansive, challenging novel....Vivid, colorful, singular." --Renee Graham, The Boston Globe