A Sharp Intake of Breath

By John Miller

Born with a split lip and cleft palate, Toshy Wolfman's life is an uphill battle. Believing he is dim-witted and ugly, Toshy finds his resentment slowly building as he is ridiculed, used, and misled. Ultimately, he is imprisoned after being caught stealing a valuable and famous diamond, the Orange Sunset.

But Toshy's story is not his alone it is shared with his two sisters: Lil, a radical and a devotee of anarchist Emma Goldman; and Bessie, who goes to work for one of Goldman's enemies, the owners of the Orange Sunset. Toshy's love for his sisters drives him to make some of the bravest decisions of his life. But despite having seemingly overcome his obstacles, an aging Toshy stuns his nephew by asking for his assistance in committing suicide.Toshy won't fully explain his decision. Nor will he fully explain why, at this late stage in life, he is obsessed with making a journey to France.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1550026070
• ISBN13: 9781550026078
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Dundurn Press
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 0.76 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A novel of moral choice

A disfigured and so underestimated boy and his two sisters become involved in the life of Emma Goldman and one of her enemies, a heartless tycoon. The plot (involving a fabulous yellow diamond, the Orange Sunset) is a good hinge for the life-spanning story of the siblings and their times. Miller is a terrific writer, and the richly-detailed evocation of the time and place (30s Toronto) recalls his previous novel, The Featherbed.