He has written four novels (Three Dollars, Seven Types of Ambiguity, The Street Sweeper and Maybe the Horse Will Talk), one short story collection (The Reasons I Won't Be Coming) and a book for children.

[2] He was called to the Bar in 1997, but while working as a judge's associate in the early 1990s he started writing short stories.

[9] His work "condemns the economic rationalism that destroys the humanity of ordinary people when they are confronted with unemployment and poverty.

"[9] He describes himself, in fact, as being interested in "the essence of humanity" and argued that exploring this often means touching on political issues.

[9] Perlman often uses music, and song lyrics, in his work to convey an idea or mood, or to give a sense of who a character is.