In August 2011, the San Francisco Chronicle described the book as follows: "Equal parts riveting, heartbreaking, inspiring and intelligent, this mystery set in the most infamous Jewish ghetto of World War II deserves a place among the most important works of Holocaust literature."

Directed by Swedish-Portuguese filmmaker Solveig Nordlund, the short stars Portuguese actors Gracinda Nave and Marta Peneda.

O Cão que Comia a Chuva, illustrated by the Portuguese artist Julio Pomar, won the prize for Best Children's Book of 2018 from the Bissaya Barreto Foundation of Portugal.

These novels explore such themes as Jewish mysticism; slavery; the devastating effect of the Inquisition on Portugal and its colonies; and the psychological conflict created in people who are forced to hide their faith.

The books that make up the Sephardic Cycle are: The Last Kabbalist of Lisbon, set in sixteenth century Portugal; Hunting Midnight, which takes place in Porto, London, New York and South Carolina in the early nineteenth century; Guardian of the Dawn, in which the main action takes place in Goa in the seventeenth century; The Seventh Gate, set in Nazi-controlled Berlin in the 1930s; and The Incandescent Threads, set mainly in New York and Montreal from 1970 to the present time but also with two long chapters that take place in Poland during and right after World War II.

In its starred review, Publishers Weekly referred to The Incandescent Threads as "Exceptional... A richly drawn, original portrayal of tenacity and sacrifice."

Participating authors include Margaret Atwood, Nadine Gordimer, André Brink, Markus Zusak, David Almond, Katherine Vaz, Alberto Manguel, Eva Hoffman, Junot Díaz, Uri Orlev and Ali Smith.

Zimler has lived with Portuguese scientist Alexandre Quintanilha since 1978, when they met in San Francisco, California, They were married in August 2010, when same-sex marriage was legalized in Portugal.

[citation needed] In April 2019, Zimler wrote an article for The Observer describing how his brother's death from HIV/AIDS at a young age affected his writing and, in particular, the themes of The Gospel According to Lazarus.

In June 2019, Zimler wrote an op-ed article in The Observer asserting that, in March 2019, his publicist told him that two cultural organisations in Britain had lost interest in hosting an event with him to promote his new book when they learned he was Jewish.