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Sufferance
From the author of the international bestseller The Quincunx When his nation is invaded and occupied by a brutal enemy, a man persuades his wife that they should give temporary shelter to a young girl who is at school with their daughter. He has no idea that the girl belongs to a community against whom the invader intends to commit genocide. Days stretch into weeks and then months while the enemy's pitiless hatred of the girl's community puts all of the family in danger. Nobody outside the family can be trusted with the dangerous secret and the threat from outside creates internal conflicts that put the family's unity at risk.
212 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 2024
7 people are currently reading
161 people want to read
About the author
Charles Palliser
33 books204 followersCharles Palliser (born December 11, 1947) is an American-born, British-based novelist. He is the elder brother of the late author and freelance journalist Marcus Palliser.
Born in New England, Palliser is an American citizen, but has lived in the United Kingdom since the age of three. He attended Oxford University in 1967 to read English Language and Literature, and took a First in June 1970. He was awarded the B. Litt. in 1975 for a dissertation on Modernist fiction.
From 1974 until 1990, Palliser was a Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He was the first Deputy Editor of The Literary Review when it was founded in 1979. He taught creative writing during the Spring semester of 1986 at Rutgers University in New Jersey. In 1990 he gave up his university post to become a full-time writer when his first novel, The Quincunx, became an international best-seller. He has published four novels which have been translated into a dozen languages.
Palliser has also written for the theatre, radio, and television. His stage play, Week Nothing, toured Scotland in 1980. His 90 minute radio play, The Journal of Simon Owen, was commissioned by the BBC and twice broadcast on Radio 4 in June, 1982. His short TV film, Obsessions: Writing, was broadcast by the BBC and published by BBC Publications in 1991. Most recently, his short radio play, Artist with Designs, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 21 February 2004.
He teaches occasionally for the Arvon Foundation, the Skyros Institute, London University, the London Metropolitan University, and Middlesex University. He was Writer in Residence at Poitiers University in 1997.
In 1991, The Quincunx was awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters which is given for the best first novel published in North America. The Unburied was nominated for the 2001 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Since 1990 he has written the Introduction to a Penguin Classics edition of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the Foreword to a new French translation of Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone published by Editions Phebus, and other articles on 19th century and contemporary fiction. He is a past member of the long-running North London Writers circle.
Born in New England, Palliser is an American citizen, but has lived in the United Kingdom since the age of three. He attended Oxford University in 1967 to read English Language and Literature, and took a First in June 1970. He was awarded the B. Litt. in 1975 for a dissertation on Modernist fiction.
From 1974 until 1990, Palliser was a Lecturer in the Department of English at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. He was the first Deputy Editor of The Literary Review when it was founded in 1979. He taught creative writing during the Spring semester of 1986 at Rutgers University in New Jersey. In 1990 he gave up his university post to become a full-time writer when his first novel, The Quincunx, became an international best-seller. He has published four novels which have been translated into a dozen languages.
Palliser has also written for the theatre, radio, and television. His stage play, Week Nothing, toured Scotland in 1980. His 90 minute radio play, The Journal of Simon Owen, was commissioned by the BBC and twice broadcast on Radio 4 in June, 1982. His short TV film, Obsessions: Writing, was broadcast by the BBC and published by BBC Publications in 1991. Most recently, his short radio play, Artist with Designs, was broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on 21 February 2004.
He teaches occasionally for the Arvon Foundation, the Skyros Institute, London University, the London Metropolitan University, and Middlesex University. He was Writer in Residence at Poitiers University in 1997.
In 1991, The Quincunx was awarded the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction by the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters which is given for the best first novel published in North America. The Unburied was nominated for the 2001 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.
Since 1990 he has written the Introduction to a Penguin Classics edition of the Sherlock Holmes stories, the Foreword to a new French translation of Wilkie Collins’ The Moonstone published by Editions Phebus, and other articles on 19th century and contemporary fiction. He is a past member of the long-running North London Writers circle.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
December 13, 2023
This is a book that gives you pause for thought.
It starts innoculously enough with the youngest daughter of a family telling her parents about her friend whose family have more or less abandoned her with only a maid in their family home whilst they are away. However whilst the parents and younger brother are gone the country has been taken over by a vicious enemy who, it soon becomes apparent, abhor the community to which the girl and her family belong.
After only a short time the father narrating the book persuades his family that they should take the girl in to live with them. This is not altruism as he believes that when the girl's wealthy father returns home he will be well rewarded for his care of the girl.
As time goes on it becomes clear that the enemy are prepared to go to any lengths to eradicate the girl's whole community and with this comes the knowledge that not only the girl herself but the whole of her "foster" family are now at risk.
Charles Palliser's novel is incredibly powerful. The insidious threat of the enemy, the veiled threats of exposure from neighbours and relations, the increasing tensions within the household all serve to build the pressure within the novel until you find yourself breathlessly turning each page.
I suppose what stands out with this book is the way that Palliser keeps the girl completely ignorant of what is happening in the wider community until almost the end of the book. The tension is ramped up so slowly that you begin to wonder how the story will end.
Truly wonderful but horrifying story telling. Highly recommended.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Guernica for the advance review copy.
It starts innoculously enough with the youngest daughter of a family telling her parents about her friend whose family have more or less abandoned her with only a maid in their family home whilst they are away. However whilst the parents and younger brother are gone the country has been taken over by a vicious enemy who, it soon becomes apparent, abhor the community to which the girl and her family belong.
After only a short time the father narrating the book persuades his family that they should take the girl in to live with them. This is not altruism as he believes that when the girl's wealthy father returns home he will be well rewarded for his care of the girl.
As time goes on it becomes clear that the enemy are prepared to go to any lengths to eradicate the girl's whole community and with this comes the knowledge that not only the girl herself but the whole of her "foster" family are now at risk.
Charles Palliser's novel is incredibly powerful. The insidious threat of the enemy, the veiled threats of exposure from neighbours and relations, the increasing tensions within the household all serve to build the pressure within the novel until you find yourself breathlessly turning each page.
I suppose what stands out with this book is the way that Palliser keeps the girl completely ignorant of what is happening in the wider community until almost the end of the book. The tension is ramped up so slowly that you begin to wonder how the story will end.
Truly wonderful but horrifying story telling. Highly recommended.
Thankyou to Netgalley and Guernica for the advance review copy.
April 17, 2024
They were a perfectly nice, normal family. A father with a low level government job, a mother, and two daughters, typical sisters who didn’t get along. Everything changed when the youngest daughter suggested she bring home a school classmate who didn’t have any friends. It was a kind gesture. The friend charmed the parents, she was so well behaved and well spoken.
The world around them was in turmoil. When the Enemy takes over the family’s homeland, everything changes. Learning that the girl’s family was away and unable to return home, they kindly take her in. It would only be a few days, they thought, and since her family was well off and well connected, it might bring a better position for the father.
The days turned to weeks turned to months. The Enemy instituted new laws, wage cuts, prices skyrocketed. The family budget is stressed, still providing for the girl, who is a member of a “community” sanctioned by the Enemy government, their rights slowly being taken away.
The father finds himself in a trap, needing to hide the girl to protect his family, unable to send her anywhere without risk, for now their sheltering the girl was illegal. Hospitality is replaced by self preservation.
The time and place are unnamed, although the circumstances and events reflect countries taken over by Nazi Germany. It allows us to put ourselves into the characters, considering the choices we would make if it happened to us. It is easy to look backwards and judge, ask why citizens made the choices they did. This dark tale guides us through what it is like to experience an increasing threat that turns our liberal acceptance to self-preservation, what we will do to survive. It is a shocking revelation.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
The world around them was in turmoil. When the Enemy takes over the family’s homeland, everything changes. Learning that the girl’s family was away and unable to return home, they kindly take her in. It would only be a few days, they thought, and since her family was well off and well connected, it might bring a better position for the father.
The days turned to weeks turned to months. The Enemy instituted new laws, wage cuts, prices skyrocketed. The family budget is stressed, still providing for the girl, who is a member of a “community” sanctioned by the Enemy government, their rights slowly being taken away.
The father finds himself in a trap, needing to hide the girl to protect his family, unable to send her anywhere without risk, for now their sheltering the girl was illegal. Hospitality is replaced by self preservation.
The time and place are unnamed, although the circumstances and events reflect countries taken over by Nazi Germany. It allows us to put ourselves into the characters, considering the choices we would make if it happened to us. It is easy to look backwards and judge, ask why citizens made the choices they did. This dark tale guides us through what it is like to experience an increasing threat that turns our liberal acceptance to self-preservation, what we will do to survive. It is a shocking revelation.
Thanks to the publisher for a free book.
March 15, 2024
Sufferance is set in an unnamed country in Eastern Europe that has been occupied and partitioned by an enemy during the Second World War. In fact the country is just the first of the many unnamed things in the novel. We never learn the name of the narrator, his wife, his two daughters or even the young girl he takes into his home in an act of (misplaced, as it turns out) charity. Or perhaps it’s self-interest as she belongs to a wealthy family – or so it appears. What we do know is that her surname marks her out as a member of an ironically named ‘protected community’ whose day to day lives and livelihoods are being progressively constrained by the occupying power. Again, the community is not named, the reader instead left to draw their own conclusions.
An unsettling air of menace permeates the book which only increases as our narrator finds he has placed himself and his family in danger by taking in the girl. His role as a government official tasked with enforcing some of the occupying power’s increasingly severe actions against the girl’s community complicates things further. He also faces his wife and daughters’ growing unhappiness with the girl’s presence. Spoiled and prone to untruthfulness, she is not a child it is easy to love.
Our narrator is forced to take more and more extreme measures to prevent the girl’s presence being discovered by the authorities. It’s difficult not to feel unsettled by some of these thing, and their obvious parallels, but then I think that’s the author’s intention. And to make us question the things we might be prepared to do – or not do – in similar circumstances. The simple prose with which the story unfolds only adds to the sinister feel of this skilfully crafted, dark little tale.
An unsettling air of menace permeates the book which only increases as our narrator finds he has placed himself and his family in danger by taking in the girl. His role as a government official tasked with enforcing some of the occupying power’s increasingly severe actions against the girl’s community complicates things further. He also faces his wife and daughters’ growing unhappiness with the girl’s presence. Spoiled and prone to untruthfulness, she is not a child it is easy to love.
Our narrator is forced to take more and more extreme measures to prevent the girl’s presence being discovered by the authorities. It’s difficult not to feel unsettled by some of these thing, and their obvious parallels, but then I think that’s the author’s intention. And to make us question the things we might be prepared to do – or not do – in similar circumstances. The simple prose with which the story unfolds only adds to the sinister feel of this skilfully crafted, dark little tale.
June 19, 2024
Most of us who are fascinated by the Second World War and the Holocaust surely see ourselves on the side of the rescuers. Though we cannot quite imagine ourselves having the courage to be commemorated amongst the righteous at Yad Vashem, we like to think we’d have been amongst the inhabitants of that French Protestant village who sheltered Jews from being rounded up for the death camps or the Danes who helped them escape. When we read how many, especially in eastern Europe, not only collaborated with the Nazis but assisted the extermination of their neighbours and took their houses and furniture and even clothes, we wonder that they could have been so callous. Indeed, the most likely to betray the victims to the killers were the neighbours from whom they had sought, and often received, shelter. Reading Sufferance was a sobering experience, for me and for all of us who are likely to be judgemental towards those whose behaviour fell far short of the standards of what we who have the privileges of living in liberal democracies might regard as elementary humanity or simple decency.
The nameless first-person narrator never identifies the precise setting and the parallels to the Nazi Holocaust are simply implied: Germany, Nazis, and Jews are never mentioned. Instead we have ‘the Enemy’, ‘the regime’, and ‘the community’ which is subject to restrictions and persecution. The setting loosely fits German occupied Poland or France. The narrator is a married man, father of two teenaged daughters, and some kind of minor bureaucrat responsible for taxation and finance. Without much reflection, the narrator allows a schoolmate of his younger daughter to move into their flat. Her family was away in ‘the capital’ when the country was invaded and divided, and now they are out of touch, but are expected to return soon. The girl’s family have a large house, but she has no companions but a housekeeper whom she doesn’t trust. Our narrator’s motives for looking after the girl are not entirely eleemosynary, her father owned the town’s upscale department store, and our narrator hopes to be rewarded, perhaps with a cushy job, for looking after the girl and keeps an account of her expenses. Gradually the responsibility becomes more onerous. No answers are forthcoming to his queries about the girl’s father and family. Later there are vague intimations that they have been relocated to some unknown eastern destination. The property is placed under the ‘protection’ of the regime. Restrictions are levelled against members of her ‘community’ so she is no longer allowed to attend his daughter’s school and her presence becomes increasingly difficult to explain. Rationing makes another mouth to feed hard, especially with dietary restrictions. At first he tries to claim she is a distant relative, but then has to keep her hidden in their flat. The concierge becomes curious; her son, who has designs on his elder daughter, belongs to the militia who work with the regime. There is constant danger of denunciation to the authorities. Her intended benefactor finds her presence dangerous and intolerable.
Long before we reach this point in the story, we realise that to have exercised our imaginary heroics as rescuers would have required a lot more than good intentions. Better to have the good luck to belong to a remote community in the mountains inhabited by people who share our values. Or to have been supported by a resistance network with safe houses and assistance from allies abroad. (And those were frequently betrayed too.)
I’ve previously enjoyed Charles Palliser as an author of Victorian gothics. Sufferance is most different in setting and subject, though there is a common theme of betrayal. And it definitely made me think seriously about myself and my values.
The nameless first-person narrator never identifies the precise setting and the parallels to the Nazi Holocaust are simply implied: Germany, Nazis, and Jews are never mentioned. Instead we have ‘the Enemy’, ‘the regime’, and ‘the community’ which is subject to restrictions and persecution. The setting loosely fits German occupied Poland or France. The narrator is a married man, father of two teenaged daughters, and some kind of minor bureaucrat responsible for taxation and finance. Without much reflection, the narrator allows a schoolmate of his younger daughter to move into their flat. Her family was away in ‘the capital’ when the country was invaded and divided, and now they are out of touch, but are expected to return soon. The girl’s family have a large house, but she has no companions but a housekeeper whom she doesn’t trust. Our narrator’s motives for looking after the girl are not entirely eleemosynary, her father owned the town’s upscale department store, and our narrator hopes to be rewarded, perhaps with a cushy job, for looking after the girl and keeps an account of her expenses. Gradually the responsibility becomes more onerous. No answers are forthcoming to his queries about the girl’s father and family. Later there are vague intimations that they have been relocated to some unknown eastern destination. The property is placed under the ‘protection’ of the regime. Restrictions are levelled against members of her ‘community’ so she is no longer allowed to attend his daughter’s school and her presence becomes increasingly difficult to explain. Rationing makes another mouth to feed hard, especially with dietary restrictions. At first he tries to claim she is a distant relative, but then has to keep her hidden in their flat. The concierge becomes curious; her son, who has designs on his elder daughter, belongs to the militia who work with the regime. There is constant danger of denunciation to the authorities. Her intended benefactor finds her presence dangerous and intolerable.
Long before we reach this point in the story, we realise that to have exercised our imaginary heroics as rescuers would have required a lot more than good intentions. Better to have the good luck to belong to a remote community in the mountains inhabited by people who share our values. Or to have been supported by a resistance network with safe houses and assistance from allies abroad. (And those were frequently betrayed too.)
I’ve previously enjoyed Charles Palliser as an author of Victorian gothics. Sufferance is most different in setting and subject, though there is a common theme of betrayal. And it definitely made me think seriously about myself and my values.
May 2, 2024
Charles Palliser is probably best known as the author of The Quincunx, a long and twisty Dickensian novel which I read and loved years ago, but he has also written five more books including The Unburied and this new one, Sufferance.
Sufferance is a strange novel as none of the characters are named – not even the narrator – and we are not told where or when the story is set. However, it’s obvious enough that we are reading about an occupied European city during the Second World War and at the start of the novel, the Enemy has divided the city into Western and Eastern Zones. We also know that our narrator is a respectable, law-abiding man who works for the government and has a wife and two teenage daughters.
When the narrator’s youngest daughter brings a friend home from school and explains that the girl’s parents have become trapped in the other zone, unable to return to their house, he thinks he is doing the right thing by inviting her to stay with them until her parents come back. He doesn’t expect it to be for long – and it seems that the girl’s parents are wealthy people, who might repay the family for their kindness when they return. Unfortunately, a series of government announcements makes it clear that the girl belongs to a ‘protected community’, who are gradually having their rights taken away and are being closely monitored by the Enemy occupiers.
As the weeks and months go by with no news of the girl’s parents, our narrator and his wife become increasingly anxious and afraid. What will happen if the authorities discover that they are sheltering one of the protected community? To make things worse, the girl has proved to be a selfish, manipulative person who seems ungrateful for the help she has been given and completely unaware of the danger all of them are facing. Tensions within the family start to build as they struggle to agree on how to deal with the situation, but things are only going to get worse the longer they wait.
This is an excellent novel; the vagueness surrounding names, dates and places, which I could have found irritating in another book, is used very effectively here to create a sinister, unsettling atmosphere. Although the historical parallels are very obvious, we are left with the impression that the things described could happen anywhere, at any time and to anybody. The sense of fear and desperation felt by the narrator comes across very strongly, as with the introduction of identity cards, rationing and new laws regarding the girl’s community, he becomes aware that he is committing a crime.
Sufferance is a fascinating exploration of how each decision we make can have serious consequences and how quickly things can spiral out of control. I loved it and really must find time to re-read The Quincunx!
Sufferance is a strange novel as none of the characters are named – not even the narrator – and we are not told where or when the story is set. However, it’s obvious enough that we are reading about an occupied European city during the Second World War and at the start of the novel, the Enemy has divided the city into Western and Eastern Zones. We also know that our narrator is a respectable, law-abiding man who works for the government and has a wife and two teenage daughters.
When the narrator’s youngest daughter brings a friend home from school and explains that the girl’s parents have become trapped in the other zone, unable to return to their house, he thinks he is doing the right thing by inviting her to stay with them until her parents come back. He doesn’t expect it to be for long – and it seems that the girl’s parents are wealthy people, who might repay the family for their kindness when they return. Unfortunately, a series of government announcements makes it clear that the girl belongs to a ‘protected community’, who are gradually having their rights taken away and are being closely monitored by the Enemy occupiers.
As the weeks and months go by with no news of the girl’s parents, our narrator and his wife become increasingly anxious and afraid. What will happen if the authorities discover that they are sheltering one of the protected community? To make things worse, the girl has proved to be a selfish, manipulative person who seems ungrateful for the help she has been given and completely unaware of the danger all of them are facing. Tensions within the family start to build as they struggle to agree on how to deal with the situation, but things are only going to get worse the longer they wait.
This is an excellent novel; the vagueness surrounding names, dates and places, which I could have found irritating in another book, is used very effectively here to create a sinister, unsettling atmosphere. Although the historical parallels are very obvious, we are left with the impression that the things described could happen anywhere, at any time and to anybody. The sense of fear and desperation felt by the narrator comes across very strongly, as with the introduction of identity cards, rationing and new laws regarding the girl’s community, he becomes aware that he is committing a crime.
Sufferance is a fascinating exploration of how each decision we make can have serious consequences and how quickly things can spiral out of control. I loved it and really must find time to re-read The Quincunx!
December 9, 2023
Sufferance tells a story about a family that takes in a girl who is separated from her family due to war.
This book is different from most that I’ve read. There are no chapters and it reads like the author is recalling the events from memories to the reader. It is also vague on some details like names, places, and events. It reminds me of events that happened during WWII in Europe.
The narrator is a father of two girls and one of them has a schoolmate whose family is forced to be away from her. The narrator and his family take the girl in thinking that it will be a temporary thing and that her wealthy father will reward them for their kindness. The girl quickly shows her true colors and the family is facing difficult choices with the possibility of dangerous consequences.
This book was very intriguing. The narrator seemed to think he made the morally correct choices but there was always a selfish undertone to the choices he made. I was surprised at how he rationalized some of his decisions. As someone who studies history, I saw how people who were living in Germany occupied areas during the rise of the Nazi party might have done some of the same things.
* Special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is different from most that I’ve read. There are no chapters and it reads like the author is recalling the events from memories to the reader. It is also vague on some details like names, places, and events. It reminds me of events that happened during WWII in Europe.
The narrator is a father of two girls and one of them has a schoolmate whose family is forced to be away from her. The narrator and his family take the girl in thinking that it will be a temporary thing and that her wealthy father will reward them for their kindness. The girl quickly shows her true colors and the family is facing difficult choices with the possibility of dangerous consequences.
This book was very intriguing. The narrator seemed to think he made the morally correct choices but there was always a selfish undertone to the choices he made. I was surprised at how he rationalized some of his decisions. As someone who studies history, I saw how people who were living in Germany occupied areas during the rise of the Nazi party might have done some of the same things.
* Special thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for early access to this book in exchange for an honest review.
May 20, 2024
A rare DNF for me. I was a third of the way through when I decided I had had enough of the
anonymity of the oppressive, genocidal regime. I'm afraid I don't understand the logic of writing such a story when there are many powerful and shocking, non-fiction holocaust stories already published. What does this add to our knowledge? Not much.
anonymity of the oppressive, genocidal regime. I'm afraid I don't understand the logic of writing such a story when there are many powerful and shocking, non-fiction holocaust stories already published. What does this add to our knowledge? Not much.
May 14, 2024
Big oof. I needed a couple of hours to decompress after that ending.
Sufferance is set in a country taken over by the Nazis during the Holocaust, but because almost all identifiers have been removed - no names given for people, countries, ethnic groups or places - and because there’s hardly any references to particular technologies or culture, it almost has a sort of timelessness to it, a dystopian sci-fi vibe.
The story plays out like a chamber drama, almost exclusively taking place within the confines of one small apartment. It’s as claustrophobic as it sounds.
It’s told by a civil servant whose younger daughter mentions one day that a girl from her school is having to stay in her house all alone because her family got caught in another part of the country in the middle of the war. The father feels sorry for the girl and they invite her to stay with them for what they assume will only be a few days until her parents come back. This doesn’t happen - it ends up being months and it becomes clear that her parents are never coming back. The family ends up being “stuck” with the girl, partly because of their kindheartedness and feeling responsible for a child all alone in the world, and partly because by that point simply associating with her has become a crime. The girl is part of a “protected community” (great use of doublespeak) marked out for at first repression and discrimination and eventually extermination by the foreboding “Enemy” that has invaded the country.
I didn’t think I could be that captivated by what’s basically a retelling of continuous family fights while the situation outside becomes ever more repressive and dire, but I was. It reminds me a lot of what I’ve personally witnessed with people who volunteer with disadvantaged groups - you think you’re doing good and want to be bathed in gratitude, but people are people and sometimes they aren’t all that grateful. They complain, make demands, don’t say thanks. I think a lot of volunteers are surprised by that and get indignant. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still volunteer - it’s the right thing to do regardless.
The family has these same feelings towards the girl; she’s boastful, ungrateful, tells lies, with seemingly no understanding of the danger she’s in and the danger she represents for her reluctant hosts. They start to feel like she’s destroying their family, even though she’s just a lonely scared girl.
At the same time the family goes to ever greater lengths to protect her, for her sake and for theirs, up until the horrifying breaking point.
It’s an up close look at what it must be like to live through a descent into fascism. I’m not gonna lie, I wanted this to have some sort of happy ending after sitting through this terrifying crescendo of tension. I wanted them to save just this one person, screw the fact that she’s an annoying teenager. But the ending the book did have packed a real punch.
It’s not a book for everyone I reckon, but it would deserve the kind of hype that the asinine Prophet Song got. If you’re a historical fiction reader or even if you mainly like dystopian books and are up for having your mood ruined (in a positive, literary way lol), give this one a go.
Sufferance is set in a country taken over by the Nazis during the Holocaust, but because almost all identifiers have been removed - no names given for people, countries, ethnic groups or places - and because there’s hardly any references to particular technologies or culture, it almost has a sort of timelessness to it, a dystopian sci-fi vibe.
The story plays out like a chamber drama, almost exclusively taking place within the confines of one small apartment. It’s as claustrophobic as it sounds.
It’s told by a civil servant whose younger daughter mentions one day that a girl from her school is having to stay in her house all alone because her family got caught in another part of the country in the middle of the war. The father feels sorry for the girl and they invite her to stay with them for what they assume will only be a few days until her parents come back. This doesn’t happen - it ends up being months and it becomes clear that her parents are never coming back. The family ends up being “stuck” with the girl, partly because of their kindheartedness and feeling responsible for a child all alone in the world, and partly because by that point simply associating with her has become a crime. The girl is part of a “protected community” (great use of doublespeak) marked out for at first repression and discrimination and eventually extermination by the foreboding “Enemy” that has invaded the country.
I didn’t think I could be that captivated by what’s basically a retelling of continuous family fights while the situation outside becomes ever more repressive and dire, but I was. It reminds me a lot of what I’ve personally witnessed with people who volunteer with disadvantaged groups - you think you’re doing good and want to be bathed in gratitude, but people are people and sometimes they aren’t all that grateful. They complain, make demands, don’t say thanks. I think a lot of volunteers are surprised by that and get indignant. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still volunteer - it’s the right thing to do regardless.
The family has these same feelings towards the girl; she’s boastful, ungrateful, tells lies, with seemingly no understanding of the danger she’s in and the danger she represents for her reluctant hosts. They start to feel like she’s destroying their family, even though she’s just a lonely scared girl.
At the same time the family goes to ever greater lengths to protect her, for her sake and for theirs, up until the horrifying breaking point.
It’s an up close look at what it must be like to live through a descent into fascism. I’m not gonna lie, I wanted this to have some sort of happy ending after sitting through this terrifying crescendo of tension. I wanted them to save just this one person, screw the fact that she’s an annoying teenager. But the ending the book did have packed a real punch.
It’s not a book for everyone I reckon, but it would deserve the kind of hype that the asinine Prophet Song got. If you’re a historical fiction reader or even if you mainly like dystopian books and are up for having your mood ruined (in a positive, literary way lol), give this one a go.
August 14, 2024
Sufferance is a historical fiction novel that will take readers back to an era of war, terror, and unrelenting tension. Author Charles Palliser weaves a story about a family who takes on a commitment that they believe will pay off in the end. Instead, what they experience over the days, weeks and months to come will keep you glued to the pages to learn how it all ends.
The cover of Sufferance sets the stage for readers with a building facade in black and white. Readers will see the facade of an apartment building which set the imagination stirring to imagining the family of this story living in it. An arch leading to a set of stairs that leads into the building. Tall windows giving limited peeks into the interior hiding whatever secrets it may hold inside. The building appears to be set on the edge of a body of water. This small detail is an unknown clue of a darker theme to come.
Sufferance is an interesting historical fiction novel that unfolds in a time period that many readers will find familiar. The era? The unfolding of World War II. This book is told from the perspective of the father as he reflects on the situations that unfolded concerning his family taking in a schoolmate of his youngest daughter’s.
It will be easy to piece together the country in Eastern Europe that author Palliser describes in this book. The Enemy occupation and the splitting of the country. Piece by piece the unfolding of the persecution of the specific community will take root little by little. While the family, initially will be dismissive of the mounting danger, the child, the girl in question, will be completely oblivious to it.
Sufferance is a well-written depiction of the term “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” The father may have initially had “good intentions” when he and his wife made the decision to take the schoolmate of his daughter’s in. It was meant to be just for a few days. However, a few days turned into a few weeks, and a few weeks turned into a few months.
The suffering that the family in Sufferance struggled through with this girl will blow your mind. Her family is missing after the invasion of the Enemy and the splitting of the country. She was on one side, while they were on another. The expectation was that soon they would be reunited and that the girl would be able to go home. What no one has anyway of knowing is the restrictions that will begin to rain down on them all and the chaos that will follow.
Sufferance is told from the perspective of the father and through the first person perspective. This book is told in a vague form of not giving readers any specifics concerning the exact country, the exact heritage of the girl and the community that she belongs to, or even the girl’s name. We are given the barest facts and that this story is taking place in the era of the Second World War.
In the beginning, readers will want to know these details of Sufferance. However, as the story progresses, those details will become less and less of an issue. Why? The answer is simple – the psychological aspect of this story will take hold. Readers will feel a myriad of emotions when it comes to the young girl the family has chosen to take in, and then will shift to the family themselves and back again.
Sufferance is a psychological story that delves deep into the mindset of the characters. Their decision to “help” out this young girl initially sounds like a good idea. Doing something good, right? Helping a young girl who appears to be alone in the world other than a servant who allegedly treats her badly. Besides, once the fighting and chaos settles down, the girl’s family will surely return or at the least send instructions on what she should do – either wait for them or come join them.
However, things are far from what they appear on the surface. The father isn’t taking this course of action out of the “goodness of his heart.” No, he had his own agenda and it is a constant focus as the story progresses...until it’s not. On the one hand, readers will understand the father’s initial thought process, to an extent, but you’re also going to get the feeling that – this isn’t going to go how he hopes it will.
Little by little as Sufferance progresses readers will witness the shift in attitude towards the young girl that this family has taken in. A wealthy young girl, from a specific community – certain things are to be expected – primarily diet restrictions. However, you’d think that this same young girl would have some consideration and appreciation for the people who have generously taken her in. Or are we just being naive about this? LOL!
Well, in Sufferance you will find very little gratitude and a whole lot of suffering on the part of many. It’s rather frustrating how ungrateful the girl is, but that is how author Palliser has written her. Honestly, the attitudes of many of the characters in this book is truly believable. The stress and tension that their “house guest” begins to put on the family is palatable. It’s like an emotional roller coaster. Things are fine one minute, and then chaos breaks out. The drama dies down, and issues get ironed out only for more or the same to reemerge at a later time.
Now, throw in the restrictions that the new regime begins to implement and how it all becomes a vice that is slowly killing this family and the tension mounts for us readers. You can’t help but wonder – “How is this all going to shake out?” Will the family be exposed for “harboring” this girl? Will they survive the war itself as things become increasingly and increasingly more dangerous? The questions will mount as the dangers will as well, but it’s the ending that you will never see coming.
Sufferance is a historical fiction novel that will twist you up with the psychological drama that it will dribble upon you a little at a time. You will feel for the family as they give up so much for someone who seems to appreciate so little. You will feel empathy for the young girl, but those feelings will come and go.
Sufferance is a truly interesting psychological page-turner of a novel. When you initially pick this book up you will think “historical fiction” but then the psychological aspect will not just sneak up on you, but shock you with how twisted it becomes.
Sufferance takes a page out of a truly horrific moment in human history and puts one particular family under a microscope. This book zeroes in on the struggles of a father trying to get ahead and take better care of his family, but slowly seeing that his plans...are slowly crumbling before his eyes.
Readers who enjoy psychological novels and historical fiction will not want to pass up on Sufferance. This book will grip you and pull you to the edge of your seat. While this book does have a slower beginning than most readers would prefer, it will hold you to it’s pages to an ending that will break your heart. Sufferance is one of those books that even after you’ve finished it – it will stick with you.
Pros:
• Engaging storyline
• Realistic
• Interesting characters
• Page-turner
Cons:
• Slow beginning
The cover of Sufferance sets the stage for readers with a building facade in black and white. Readers will see the facade of an apartment building which set the imagination stirring to imagining the family of this story living in it. An arch leading to a set of stairs that leads into the building. Tall windows giving limited peeks into the interior hiding whatever secrets it may hold inside. The building appears to be set on the edge of a body of water. This small detail is an unknown clue of a darker theme to come.
Sufferance is an interesting historical fiction novel that unfolds in a time period that many readers will find familiar. The era? The unfolding of World War II. This book is told from the perspective of the father as he reflects on the situations that unfolded concerning his family taking in a schoolmate of his youngest daughter’s.
It will be easy to piece together the country in Eastern Europe that author Palliser describes in this book. The Enemy occupation and the splitting of the country. Piece by piece the unfolding of the persecution of the specific community will take root little by little. While the family, initially will be dismissive of the mounting danger, the child, the girl in question, will be completely oblivious to it.
Sufferance is a well-written depiction of the term “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” The father may have initially had “good intentions” when he and his wife made the decision to take the schoolmate of his daughter’s in. It was meant to be just for a few days. However, a few days turned into a few weeks, and a few weeks turned into a few months.
The suffering that the family in Sufferance struggled through with this girl will blow your mind. Her family is missing after the invasion of the Enemy and the splitting of the country. She was on one side, while they were on another. The expectation was that soon they would be reunited and that the girl would be able to go home. What no one has anyway of knowing is the restrictions that will begin to rain down on them all and the chaos that will follow.
Sufferance is told from the perspective of the father and through the first person perspective. This book is told in a vague form of not giving readers any specifics concerning the exact country, the exact heritage of the girl and the community that she belongs to, or even the girl’s name. We are given the barest facts and that this story is taking place in the era of the Second World War.
In the beginning, readers will want to know these details of Sufferance. However, as the story progresses, those details will become less and less of an issue. Why? The answer is simple – the psychological aspect of this story will take hold. Readers will feel a myriad of emotions when it comes to the young girl the family has chosen to take in, and then will shift to the family themselves and back again.
Sufferance is a psychological story that delves deep into the mindset of the characters. Their decision to “help” out this young girl initially sounds like a good idea. Doing something good, right? Helping a young girl who appears to be alone in the world other than a servant who allegedly treats her badly. Besides, once the fighting and chaos settles down, the girl’s family will surely return or at the least send instructions on what she should do – either wait for them or come join them.
However, things are far from what they appear on the surface. The father isn’t taking this course of action out of the “goodness of his heart.” No, he had his own agenda and it is a constant focus as the story progresses...until it’s not. On the one hand, readers will understand the father’s initial thought process, to an extent, but you’re also going to get the feeling that – this isn’t going to go how he hopes it will.
Little by little as Sufferance progresses readers will witness the shift in attitude towards the young girl that this family has taken in. A wealthy young girl, from a specific community – certain things are to be expected – primarily diet restrictions. However, you’d think that this same young girl would have some consideration and appreciation for the people who have generously taken her in. Or are we just being naive about this? LOL!
Well, in Sufferance you will find very little gratitude and a whole lot of suffering on the part of many. It’s rather frustrating how ungrateful the girl is, but that is how author Palliser has written her. Honestly, the attitudes of many of the characters in this book is truly believable. The stress and tension that their “house guest” begins to put on the family is palatable. It’s like an emotional roller coaster. Things are fine one minute, and then chaos breaks out. The drama dies down, and issues get ironed out only for more or the same to reemerge at a later time.
Now, throw in the restrictions that the new regime begins to implement and how it all becomes a vice that is slowly killing this family and the tension mounts for us readers. You can’t help but wonder – “How is this all going to shake out?” Will the family be exposed for “harboring” this girl? Will they survive the war itself as things become increasingly and increasingly more dangerous? The questions will mount as the dangers will as well, but it’s the ending that you will never see coming.
Sufferance is a historical fiction novel that will twist you up with the psychological drama that it will dribble upon you a little at a time. You will feel for the family as they give up so much for someone who seems to appreciate so little. You will feel empathy for the young girl, but those feelings will come and go.
Sufferance is a truly interesting psychological page-turner of a novel. When you initially pick this book up you will think “historical fiction” but then the psychological aspect will not just sneak up on you, but shock you with how twisted it becomes.
Sufferance takes a page out of a truly horrific moment in human history and puts one particular family under a microscope. This book zeroes in on the struggles of a father trying to get ahead and take better care of his family, but slowly seeing that his plans...are slowly crumbling before his eyes.
Readers who enjoy psychological novels and historical fiction will not want to pass up on Sufferance. This book will grip you and pull you to the edge of your seat. While this book does have a slower beginning than most readers would prefer, it will hold you to it’s pages to an ending that will break your heart. Sufferance is one of those books that even after you’ve finished it – it will stick with you.
Pros:
• Engaging storyline
• Realistic
• Interesting characters
• Page-turner
Cons:
• Slow beginning
November 17, 2025
I first came across this novel through fellow book blogger, She Reads Novels. I was intrigued and decided to check it out for myself. I wasn't sure what to expect; however, the moment I started this book, I knew I was in for a riveting story that kept me gripped until the end.
Sufferance, by Charles Palliser, is a stand-alone work of historical fiction set in what feels like WWII Europe but leaves the setting vague. We're introduced to an unnamed bookkeeper, his wife, and their two daughters. One day, his younger daughter befriends another girl at school and reveals that the girl's parents and brother never returned home from a trip. Feeling sorry for the girl, the bookkeeper and his wife give her houseroom until the girl's family can be located. As time passes, the nation's situation becomes dire and more desperate: war is escalating and so are hostilities against an ethnic community living within the now-invaded country. The girl belongs to this community, who is being uprooted and exterminated along with anyone caught trying to hide them. As tensions mount both within and without of his household, the bookkeeper is torn between sympathy for his guest and preservation of his family. In the end, his choices threaten to ignite a firestorm that may consume them all.
That's all I could think upon finishing this book - just wow. Because in many ways, it's a thrilling read that will leave you breathless until the end. It's all thanks to the Hitchcock-esque tension seeping through every page until the taut atmosphere snaps, offering a sense of cold comfort in place of cathartic release.
While many of the situations forming the backbone and background of this novel are redolent of WWII Europe, the story never explicitly states where characters are. Similarly, character names are non-existent as are individual chapters. Instead, the story relies upon ambiguities and reads like an extended narrative with scene breaks, much like if someone was verbally recounting this tale from beginning to end. It initially took me out of my comfort zone, but I think there was a good reason for the vagueness. By keeping the people and places generic, it allows readers to step into the story without any preconceived notions as well as contend with the implication that the primary dilemma could have happened to anyone under similar circumstances. Thus, readers are free to put their own personal stamp on the story.
If I could sum up this novel's tone, it would be intense. Not in a Fast and Furious-style car chase over a lava waterfall kind of way. This is more like a white knuckle sense of danger that accumulates until the torrent bursts - a question of not if but when. Tension is manifested here in two ways: the mystery surrounding the girl herself and the tempestuous situation into which the family is thrown. The girl comes with little baggage but tons of secrets: who is she, is her family truly gone, is she a pathological liar or acting out of trauma and grief, can anything she says be trusted? This underlying sense of uncertainly spills over into the bookkeeper's family dynamic as truths about the girl and her family unfold at the same time the government's tyrannical net tightens. Thus, Sufferance becomes a high stakes story where the bookkeeper and his family stand to lose everything, all for the sake of an incorrigible house guest.
Concerning the characters themselves, everyone rounding out the main cast feels fleshed out and possesses realistic moral flaws. The bookkeeper is a hard-working man who cares for his family. He refuses to stoop to underhanded tactics to get ahead at work and remains the girl's ally long after the rest of his family have disavowed her. However, his motivations aren't always pure, as he lives with the hope that the girl's family will reimburse him for taking in their daughter. When said hope dissolves, he feels forced to give her houseroom only to protect his family from the government's wrath for harboring an ethnic degenerate. Along the same lines, while the family is initially happy to take the girl in, it isn't long until they're divided among themselves, torn amid moral obligation, propriety, and self-preservation.
The girl herself becomes a key figure as, not only is her history veiled, but her actions are both perplexing and frustrating. She quickly goes from a grateful house guest to a demanding, insolent, prickly imp who has the audacity to complain and ignite strife, uncaring how her words and actions affect everyone else. She reminded me of Rhoda from William March's The Bad Seed in that she's a master manipulator and a liar albeit with less sociopathic tendencies. Everyone walks on eggshells around her because one microscopic slip could spell doom for the entire family, the girl included though she acts ignorant of this. But the girl isn't the only character who defies readers' trust: many other characters just as easily could be allies as they could be enemies, and even the bookkeeper can't discern friend from foe after a while, including under his own roof.
Sufferance, at its core, presents a simple yet complex question: to what extremes would we go to protect a stranger as well as our own family? Trouble starts when the family takes the girl into their home, but what would have been a better alternative? When government mandates and threats of arrest and worse encircle the family, they are left with two options: keep the girl or cast her fate to the wind. I'll confess, the bookkeeper and his wife showed far more patience that I would have, especially when the girl becomes an insufferable brat. Yet she remains in the family's care until the delicate threads of loyalty and unity reach a breaking point.
The novel never casts judgment upon the bookkeeper for his decisions and actions, but only lets them be, allowing readers to judge for themselves. It doesn't come with easy answers but, instead, submerges both characters and readers into murky gray areas littered with thorns. The novel's title perfectly encapsulates the story's heart: it's an endurance sprint of reluctant tolerance until said patience erodes. It isn't a spoiler to say this novel doesn't have a traditional happy ending, but it's to be expected. It simply offers all its emotional, familial, psychological, and moral conundrums up to readers, for their mercy and judgment, while latently encouraging them to reflect upon the same.
Overall, Sufferance is a gripping novel that leaves you thinking about it long after it's finished. In place of whizz-bang action or overt dramatics, it presents a thoughtful character study and multifaceted moral challenge rolled into one. If you're looking for an immersive story that relies upon slow-building, subtle tension; realistic and flawed characters; and an intricate plot that raises more questions than answers, then this unique selection is certainly worth exploring.
Content:
Language - Essentially none, save for sporadic, PG-level, blink-and-miss-it profanities.
Violence - Nothing in terms of anything graphic or gory. There is a sense of perilous tension throughout the entire story. General warfare and violence against certain ethnic groups (akin to the treatment of the Jewish community under Nazi reign during WWII) are openly discussed. People are arrested and have their homes forcibly searched. Children lie and deceive, and some adult characters steal or act suspect. We're told the bookkeeper's wife once suffered a persistent illness that's never described. Arguments break out among children and adults. A child claims her household servant mistreats her, but we see no physical evidence of this. A man sees dead bodies that had been executed (off-page) by hanging. Air raids occur and some buildings are destroyed. Some characters are . A character is accused of . A character intentionally feeds a stray dog medication to sedate it and later drowns it as practice for (some description of the animal struggling is mentioned). A character contemplates breaking the law by seeking help from back channel sources. Lastly, a character considers .
Sexual Content - Nothing in terms of any sex scenes or nudity. The girl dons a short, low-cut dress in front of the bookkeeper a few times, claiming her father liked seeing her wearing it. After this, the wife prefers to leave the study door open whenever the bookkeeper is tutoring the girl. When the bookkeeper is ill and resting in bed, the girl dons the same short dress and lipstick and sits by his side, her dress riding up on her thigh. However, never does the bookkeeper behave inappropriately towards the girl. Lastly, the bookkeeper's elder daughter frequents bars, comes home drunk, and keeps company with neer-do-wells. She remarks that her current boyfriend might as well "get what he wants" from her but doesn't elaborate.
Sufferance, by Charles Palliser, is a stand-alone work of historical fiction set in what feels like WWII Europe but leaves the setting vague. We're introduced to an unnamed bookkeeper, his wife, and their two daughters. One day, his younger daughter befriends another girl at school and reveals that the girl's parents and brother never returned home from a trip. Feeling sorry for the girl, the bookkeeper and his wife give her houseroom until the girl's family can be located. As time passes, the nation's situation becomes dire and more desperate: war is escalating and so are hostilities against an ethnic community living within the now-invaded country. The girl belongs to this community, who is being uprooted and exterminated along with anyone caught trying to hide them. As tensions mount both within and without of his household, the bookkeeper is torn between sympathy for his guest and preservation of his family. In the end, his choices threaten to ignite a firestorm that may consume them all.
That's all I could think upon finishing this book - just wow. Because in many ways, it's a thrilling read that will leave you breathless until the end. It's all thanks to the Hitchcock-esque tension seeping through every page until the taut atmosphere snaps, offering a sense of cold comfort in place of cathartic release.
While many of the situations forming the backbone and background of this novel are redolent of WWII Europe, the story never explicitly states where characters are. Similarly, character names are non-existent as are individual chapters. Instead, the story relies upon ambiguities and reads like an extended narrative with scene breaks, much like if someone was verbally recounting this tale from beginning to end. It initially took me out of my comfort zone, but I think there was a good reason for the vagueness. By keeping the people and places generic, it allows readers to step into the story without any preconceived notions as well as contend with the implication that the primary dilemma could have happened to anyone under similar circumstances. Thus, readers are free to put their own personal stamp on the story.
If I could sum up this novel's tone, it would be intense. Not in a Fast and Furious-style car chase over a lava waterfall kind of way. This is more like a white knuckle sense of danger that accumulates until the torrent bursts - a question of not if but when. Tension is manifested here in two ways: the mystery surrounding the girl herself and the tempestuous situation into which the family is thrown. The girl comes with little baggage but tons of secrets: who is she, is her family truly gone, is she a pathological liar or acting out of trauma and grief, can anything she says be trusted? This underlying sense of uncertainly spills over into the bookkeeper's family dynamic as truths about the girl and her family unfold at the same time the government's tyrannical net tightens. Thus, Sufferance becomes a high stakes story where the bookkeeper and his family stand to lose everything, all for the sake of an incorrigible house guest.
Concerning the characters themselves, everyone rounding out the main cast feels fleshed out and possesses realistic moral flaws. The bookkeeper is a hard-working man who cares for his family. He refuses to stoop to underhanded tactics to get ahead at work and remains the girl's ally long after the rest of his family have disavowed her. However, his motivations aren't always pure, as he lives with the hope that the girl's family will reimburse him for taking in their daughter. When said hope dissolves, he feels forced to give her houseroom only to protect his family from the government's wrath for harboring an ethnic degenerate. Along the same lines, while the family is initially happy to take the girl in, it isn't long until they're divided among themselves, torn amid moral obligation, propriety, and self-preservation.
The girl herself becomes a key figure as, not only is her history veiled, but her actions are both perplexing and frustrating. She quickly goes from a grateful house guest to a demanding, insolent, prickly imp who has the audacity to complain and ignite strife, uncaring how her words and actions affect everyone else. She reminded me of Rhoda from William March's The Bad Seed in that she's a master manipulator and a liar albeit with less sociopathic tendencies. Everyone walks on eggshells around her because one microscopic slip could spell doom for the entire family, the girl included though she acts ignorant of this. But the girl isn't the only character who defies readers' trust: many other characters just as easily could be allies as they could be enemies, and even the bookkeeper can't discern friend from foe after a while, including under his own roof.
Sufferance, at its core, presents a simple yet complex question: to what extremes would we go to protect a stranger as well as our own family? Trouble starts when the family takes the girl into their home, but what would have been a better alternative? When government mandates and threats of arrest and worse encircle the family, they are left with two options: keep the girl or cast her fate to the wind. I'll confess, the bookkeeper and his wife showed far more patience that I would have, especially when the girl becomes an insufferable brat. Yet she remains in the family's care until the delicate threads of loyalty and unity reach a breaking point.
The novel never casts judgment upon the bookkeeper for his decisions and actions, but only lets them be, allowing readers to judge for themselves. It doesn't come with easy answers but, instead, submerges both characters and readers into murky gray areas littered with thorns. The novel's title perfectly encapsulates the story's heart: it's an endurance sprint of reluctant tolerance until said patience erodes. It isn't a spoiler to say this novel doesn't have a traditional happy ending, but it's to be expected. It simply offers all its emotional, familial, psychological, and moral conundrums up to readers, for their mercy and judgment, while latently encouraging them to reflect upon the same.
Overall, Sufferance is a gripping novel that leaves you thinking about it long after it's finished. In place of whizz-bang action or overt dramatics, it presents a thoughtful character study and multifaceted moral challenge rolled into one. If you're looking for an immersive story that relies upon slow-building, subtle tension; realistic and flawed characters; and an intricate plot that raises more questions than answers, then this unique selection is certainly worth exploring.
Content:
Language - Essentially none, save for sporadic, PG-level, blink-and-miss-it profanities.
Violence - Nothing in terms of anything graphic or gory. There is a sense of perilous tension throughout the entire story. General warfare and violence against certain ethnic groups (akin to the treatment of the Jewish community under Nazi reign during WWII) are openly discussed. People are arrested and have their homes forcibly searched. Children lie and deceive, and some adult characters steal or act suspect. We're told the bookkeeper's wife once suffered a persistent illness that's never described. Arguments break out among children and adults. A child claims her household servant mistreats her, but we see no physical evidence of this. A man sees dead bodies that had been executed (off-page) by hanging. Air raids occur and some buildings are destroyed. Some characters are . A character is accused of . A character intentionally feeds a stray dog medication to sedate it and later drowns it as practice for (some description of the animal struggling is mentioned). A character contemplates breaking the law by seeking help from back channel sources. Lastly, a character considers .
Sexual Content - Nothing in terms of any sex scenes or nudity. The girl dons a short, low-cut dress in front of the bookkeeper a few times, claiming her father liked seeing her wearing it. After this, the wife prefers to leave the study door open whenever the bookkeeper is tutoring the girl. When the bookkeeper is ill and resting in bed, the girl dons the same short dress and lipstick and sits by his side, her dress riding up on her thigh. However, never does the bookkeeper behave inappropriately towards the girl. Lastly, the bookkeeper's elder daughter frequents bars, comes home drunk, and keeps company with neer-do-wells. She remarks that her current boyfriend might as well "get what he wants" from her but doesn't elaborate.
May 22, 2024
I’ve been reading a lot of Second World War fiction recently so the premise of Sufferance is familiar. A family takes in a young girl from a wealthy but stigmatised minority, thinking it will be for a short period while her own relatives are absent from their city. However, following a period of conflict, the city is divided and the new regime is making life increasingly difficult. The girl’s relatives do not return and repression against her community increases. The family come under increasing pressure as the daughter’s stay now seems to extend indefinitely and places them in danger.
Sufferance is neither a story of heroism and jeopardy nor of outright cruelty. The family are living with ordinary frustrations – there is friction with the neighbours, they have an ambiguous social status (they inherited their flat from the narrator’s wife’s father but his career is stalled). The wider changes wrought by the regime bring discomforts which escalate into hardships and lead to resentment from his wife and daughters as they have to share the little they have with an additional person.
There are a couple of things that make Sufferance distinctive. There are no names – not of characters or places. There is no sure sense of the historical period – although we do get hints – this is a predominantly Christian country, they have wireless but not television. This means we are freed from thinking that this is something that only happens in that country, to those people, that it couldn’t happen here. (As I’m writing, the shocking report on the UK’s infected blood scandal has just been released and the response of many right-leaning journalists is incredulity – “I thought we were better than that”). The second is that this is a first-person narrative from the father of the family. So everything he tells us is up for question.
The narrator’s account of his own motives fluctuates. He claims compassion for the girl. But then he also says he hopes her wealthy father might be able to help him professionally. Later, the time he spends alone with the girl causes resentment from his family, which hints at another darker motive. The narrator is disingenuous, when things go wrong for those around him, he presents himself as passive, well-meaning but overwhelmed. He is, always, reluctant to step forward, to take responsibility. But, the nagging question is, wouldn’t you be?
There is one big downside to the lack of specifics. We get hints of the characters of the narrator, his wife, his children and the girl. We get a sense of the conflicts between them, and the pressures they all face as a result of that initial choice. However, without the colour of character and place and atmosphere, it is not an immersive story. The narrator is (deliberately) a somewhat colourless and pedantic character, which can lead to a feeling of repitition – the pressure ratchets up, the narrator and his wife discuss their predicament, they find no solution and so feel increasingly trapped, and so on. Everything stays the same, until it doesn’t.
So, Sufferance is an interesting and thought-provoking read, but for me a book to admire rather than to love.
*
I received a copy of Sufferance from the publisher via NetGalley.
Sufferance is neither a story of heroism and jeopardy nor of outright cruelty. The family are living with ordinary frustrations – there is friction with the neighbours, they have an ambiguous social status (they inherited their flat from the narrator’s wife’s father but his career is stalled). The wider changes wrought by the regime bring discomforts which escalate into hardships and lead to resentment from his wife and daughters as they have to share the little they have with an additional person.
There are a couple of things that make Sufferance distinctive. There are no names – not of characters or places. There is no sure sense of the historical period – although we do get hints – this is a predominantly Christian country, they have wireless but not television. This means we are freed from thinking that this is something that only happens in that country, to those people, that it couldn’t happen here. (As I’m writing, the shocking report on the UK’s infected blood scandal has just been released and the response of many right-leaning journalists is incredulity – “I thought we were better than that”). The second is that this is a first-person narrative from the father of the family. So everything he tells us is up for question.
The narrator’s account of his own motives fluctuates. He claims compassion for the girl. But then he also says he hopes her wealthy father might be able to help him professionally. Later, the time he spends alone with the girl causes resentment from his family, which hints at another darker motive. The narrator is disingenuous, when things go wrong for those around him, he presents himself as passive, well-meaning but overwhelmed. He is, always, reluctant to step forward, to take responsibility. But, the nagging question is, wouldn’t you be?
There is one big downside to the lack of specifics. We get hints of the characters of the narrator, his wife, his children and the girl. We get a sense of the conflicts between them, and the pressures they all face as a result of that initial choice. However, without the colour of character and place and atmosphere, it is not an immersive story. The narrator is (deliberately) a somewhat colourless and pedantic character, which can lead to a feeling of repitition – the pressure ratchets up, the narrator and his wife discuss their predicament, they find no solution and so feel increasingly trapped, and so on. Everything stays the same, until it doesn’t.
So, Sufferance is an interesting and thought-provoking read, but for me a book to admire rather than to love.
*
I received a copy of Sufferance from the publisher via NetGalley.
February 8, 2024
No good deed goes unpunished." "Following the sudden unexpected invasion, everything closed for two weeks; schools, offices, banks, and many shops." In the third week, the capital fell and a new regime was installed. The Enemy divided the country into the Western Zone containing the Old City, and the Eastern Zone. A father narrates, in diary style, events that paralleled Eastern Europe during World War II. His family would slowly sink into quicksand as good intentions faded and morals were compromised.
It started with an act of kindness. When the invader requisitioned trains for troop movement, the girl's parents and brother who were visiting in the Western Zone, were unable to board a train back home. Phone lines were cut, postal service suspended. The daughter was left in the care of a "ill-mannered servant" at their wealthy mansion. Our narrator, his wife, and two daughters agreed to host this school acquaintance of the younger daughter until her parents returned.
She was bright and bubbly. "It appeared...that she was completely unconcerned about the fact that the rest of her family were elsewhere and possibly in grave danger...". She was boastful and spoke at length of her family's villa, beside a lake, in the country. "On my salary- I could only provide my daughters with two weeks by the sea.".
Benjamin Franklin famously said, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days." The family was between a rock and a hard place. Unfortunately, the girl belonged to "the protected community" whose rights were slowly being compromised. The girl claimed that her parents would reimburse the family for the outlay of money on her behalf. Perhaps employment opportunities would open up. Open ended kindness was not just rooted in altruism.
Desperate times called for desperate measures as days turned into weeks and months. The girl showed no gratitude. Ration cards issued for nourishing a family of four had to feed five. The girl was manipulative and often had temper tantrums. Neighbors became curious and made veiled threats. Self preservation would lead to a lack of moral judgement as the host family became undone. A highly recommended read of historical/ literary fiction.
Thank you Guernica Editions and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
It started with an act of kindness. When the invader requisitioned trains for troop movement, the girl's parents and brother who were visiting in the Western Zone, were unable to board a train back home. Phone lines were cut, postal service suspended. The daughter was left in the care of a "ill-mannered servant" at their wealthy mansion. Our narrator, his wife, and two daughters agreed to host this school acquaintance of the younger daughter until her parents returned.
She was bright and bubbly. "It appeared...that she was completely unconcerned about the fact that the rest of her family were elsewhere and possibly in grave danger...". She was boastful and spoke at length of her family's villa, beside a lake, in the country. "On my salary- I could only provide my daughters with two weeks by the sea.".
Benjamin Franklin famously said, "Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days." The family was between a rock and a hard place. Unfortunately, the girl belonged to "the protected community" whose rights were slowly being compromised. The girl claimed that her parents would reimburse the family for the outlay of money on her behalf. Perhaps employment opportunities would open up. Open ended kindness was not just rooted in altruism.
Desperate times called for desperate measures as days turned into weeks and months. The girl showed no gratitude. Ration cards issued for nourishing a family of four had to feed five. The girl was manipulative and often had temper tantrums. Neighbors became curious and made veiled threats. Self preservation would lead to a lack of moral judgement as the host family became undone. A highly recommended read of historical/ literary fiction.
Thank you Guernica Editions and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
May 22, 2024
A taut and chilling novel that takes as its basis a country invaded, a family’s act of kindness that is fraught and increasingly complicated. We aren’t told what country this is, or the time period, though there are no cell phones mentioned. But the focus of the invaders becomes a minority ethnic group, the forced disclosure of their assets, the taking of those assets by the state, the forced relocation of that group into a walled part of the old city, the strictures, regulations, their identity cards, hangings of those found to be helping that besieged ethnic minority. It is the start of the Holocaust perhaps, or perhaps it is another Holocaust- which is already happening in less regulated ways in parts of the world, and which seems more and more likely today in others. A family takes in one of their younger daughter’s school friends when her parents are cut off in the part of the country where the invaders now rule. The school friend is from that ethnic minority, from a wealthy family recently moved to the old capitol, but she is no Anne Frank, instead wily and cunning despite her young years, manipulative, selfish, a liar about the glittering life she and her family led before the invasion - she doesn’t grasp what is actually happening. The father, a lowly accountant working for the state, imagines the gratitude of the girl’s parents when they realize what he has done for her- imagines the girl’s father will give him a much better job, will reimburse him for all he is spending to keep the girl safe. Inner dissension roils the family, the older daughter having to give up her room, the demands of the girl that the father tries to accommodate, and when identity cards are required, the noose tightens - his own family is at severe risk, as colleagues of his from that ethnic group begin to disappear. Told in a calm, dispassionate manner, one feels the fear, as well as the very delayed understanding of what is happening, of how easily people succumb, follow the rules, how doing good when confronting evil is not at all easy. Compelling and haunting.
Thanks to Guernica World Editions and Netgalley for the arc.
Thanks to Guernica World Editions and Netgalley for the arc.
July 22, 2024
A compelling idea and Palliser builds the tension well through this story of what it might be like to live in a conquered country as the oppression of a minority proceeds, largely with the acquiescence of the local people and bureaucracy. Of course, we feel we are in Nazi-occupied Europe here as the holocaust rolls out, although the time period, country, conquering power, and minority are not named - a decision that works effectively to strip the story of some of our assumptions based on real events, and so perhaps to focus us more on the nature of those events and the awful hypothetical: how would we act?
That said, for me there is also a weakness in the deliberate stylistic choice to make the narration flat and neutral, a sort of witness statement, and to extend the anonymity to all of the characters - none of whom are named, but referred to as "my wife", "my elder daughter", "the girl", etc. throughout. As well as focusing us on the essentials of the story, this does work to build the mood of a grim, bureaucratic, spirit-crushing society; one thinks of the middle Europe of Kafka. Unfortunately, for me, it also makes the book a more difficult read. The characters come across as lacking any spark of humanity or emotional depth. This isn't helped by the action being quite slow-moving. Again, you can see why Palliser makes this choice, as it gradually turns the screw on the tension and makes the journey of the narrator (from an initial act of kindness to a much darker place) credible. But it's a difficult balancing act to achieve this while not having the book drag and, in places, I felt this wasn't quite carried off.
So, in summary, a thought-provoking read and an interesting story, but strangely lifeless. Perhaps that was the point, but it dimmed the reading experience. Probably 3.5 stars is a fair score - one you could round up or round down, depending on your mood!
That said, for me there is also a weakness in the deliberate stylistic choice to make the narration flat and neutral, a sort of witness statement, and to extend the anonymity to all of the characters - none of whom are named, but referred to as "my wife", "my elder daughter", "the girl", etc. throughout. As well as focusing us on the essentials of the story, this does work to build the mood of a grim, bureaucratic, spirit-crushing society; one thinks of the middle Europe of Kafka. Unfortunately, for me, it also makes the book a more difficult read. The characters come across as lacking any spark of humanity or emotional depth. This isn't helped by the action being quite slow-moving. Again, you can see why Palliser makes this choice, as it gradually turns the screw on the tension and makes the journey of the narrator (from an initial act of kindness to a much darker place) credible. But it's a difficult balancing act to achieve this while not having the book drag and, in places, I felt this wasn't quite carried off.
So, in summary, a thought-provoking read and an interesting story, but strangely lifeless. Perhaps that was the point, but it dimmed the reading experience. Probably 3.5 stars is a fair score - one you could round up or round down, depending on your mood!
June 17, 2024
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance review copy.
I own and have read all of Charles Palliser’s previous novels. He is a literary author, beloved of English degree courses, and he draws on literary sources for inspiration. His books are never primarily about the story, but rather are clever exercises in style. And as such they can be alienating whilst being admirable on an intellectual level.
This is exactly how I felt about Sufferance. It is set in an unnamed Eastern European country during a war, in a city partitioned by the invading country. Citizens belonging to a particular unnamed ethnic group, with a reputation for amassing wealth, are progressively singled out for increasing levels of persecution, and are prevented from crossing the border after partition . The unnamed narrator has two unnamed daughters (are you spotting a pattern here?), the younger of which is at school with a girl from said ethnic group whose parents are prevented from returning home; in the hope of a financial reward for looking after her, the narrator decides to take her in. Between the girl’s unpleasant character and the increasing persecution of her ethnic group, this decision leads to ever greater complications and tensions within the family.
The writing style is confusing, alienating and tortuous, mirroring the narrator’s thought processes and changing reactions to unfolding events. We wonder, is he unusually obtuse or in denial? Refusing to see what is happening, or unable to compass it? We are invited to contemplate how the progression of Jewish persecution might have unfolded in incremental degrees under the population’s radar, and to draw parallels with the rise of far right ideologies in our own time.
I didn’t feel this was a particularly insightful addition to the genre; it didn’t make me see anything I wasn’t already aware of. The writing is as good as one would expect from this author, but between feeling it had been done before and having absolutely no sympathy with any of the weak, unpleasant, self-centred characters, this remained an alienating read till the end. For a story of unimaginable horror unfolding by degrees, it completely lacked heart and left me unmoved when it should have been profoundly emotional.
I own and have read all of Charles Palliser’s previous novels. He is a literary author, beloved of English degree courses, and he draws on literary sources for inspiration. His books are never primarily about the story, but rather are clever exercises in style. And as such they can be alienating whilst being admirable on an intellectual level.
This is exactly how I felt about Sufferance. It is set in an unnamed Eastern European country during a war, in a city partitioned by the invading country. Citizens belonging to a particular unnamed ethnic group, with a reputation for amassing wealth, are progressively singled out for increasing levels of persecution, and are prevented from crossing the border after partition . The unnamed narrator has two unnamed daughters (are you spotting a pattern here?), the younger of which is at school with a girl from said ethnic group whose parents are prevented from returning home; in the hope of a financial reward for looking after her, the narrator decides to take her in. Between the girl’s unpleasant character and the increasing persecution of her ethnic group, this decision leads to ever greater complications and tensions within the family.
The writing style is confusing, alienating and tortuous, mirroring the narrator’s thought processes and changing reactions to unfolding events. We wonder, is he unusually obtuse or in denial? Refusing to see what is happening, or unable to compass it? We are invited to contemplate how the progression of Jewish persecution might have unfolded in incremental degrees under the population’s radar, and to draw parallels with the rise of far right ideologies in our own time.
I didn’t feel this was a particularly insightful addition to the genre; it didn’t make me see anything I wasn’t already aware of. The writing is as good as one would expect from this author, but between feeling it had been done before and having absolutely no sympathy with any of the weak, unpleasant, self-centred characters, this remained an alienating read till the end. For a story of unimaginable horror unfolding by degrees, it completely lacked heart and left me unmoved when it should have been profoundly emotional.
August 31, 2024
The Review
A genuinely haunting, compelling read, author Charles Palliser does an incredible job of capturing the tone and the atmosphere of a war-torn, occupied country. The honest yet chilling experiences and trauma that can come from living under such conditions and the lengths people are willing to go to survive were able to shine in this novel’s narrative. Yet, the psychological thriller aspects of this story, as one man faced the mind games and mental experiences of both a war survivor and a man, pushed to the edge, made this story one that couldn’t be put down.
The heart of the narrative lived through the strong themes that the author explored and the depth of these characters that were effortlessly brought to life. The exploration of the fruitless, seemingly worthless nature of heroism without reward speaks to the motivations that often serve mankind and holds a mirror to the darkest parts of ourselves in the process. This can be seen clearly in the narrator’s tale, showing the true motivations for helping this young girl and the mind games that develop from that point.
The Verdict
Chilling, haunting, and enthralling, author Charles Palliser’s “Sufferance” is a must-read psychological thriller meets historical fiction novel. The thoughtful approach and contemplation of mankind’s motivations for acts of “heroism” and the downward spiral that can transpire when one’s motivations aren’t pure were perfectly illustrated throughout this novel, and the psychological aspect of this story will stay with readers as they return to this story time and time again.
A genuinely haunting, compelling read, author Charles Palliser does an incredible job of capturing the tone and the atmosphere of a war-torn, occupied country. The honest yet chilling experiences and trauma that can come from living under such conditions and the lengths people are willing to go to survive were able to shine in this novel’s narrative. Yet, the psychological thriller aspects of this story, as one man faced the mind games and mental experiences of both a war survivor and a man, pushed to the edge, made this story one that couldn’t be put down.
The heart of the narrative lived through the strong themes that the author explored and the depth of these characters that were effortlessly brought to life. The exploration of the fruitless, seemingly worthless nature of heroism without reward speaks to the motivations that often serve mankind and holds a mirror to the darkest parts of ourselves in the process. This can be seen clearly in the narrator’s tale, showing the true motivations for helping this young girl and the mind games that develop from that point.
The Verdict
Chilling, haunting, and enthralling, author Charles Palliser’s “Sufferance” is a must-read psychological thriller meets historical fiction novel. The thoughtful approach and contemplation of mankind’s motivations for acts of “heroism” and the downward spiral that can transpire when one’s motivations aren’t pure were perfectly illustrated throughout this novel, and the psychological aspect of this story will stay with readers as they return to this story time and time again.
September 12, 2024
Sufferance by Charles Palliser is a powerful novel of survival and secrets, with one of its most striking features being the narration. The characters are not named, which creates a sense of anonymity; thus, when reading, one feels he or she is reading a kind of private diary. This peculiar approach enhances the emotional impact of the book and adds to the tension.
This book is not an easy read, given that the themes in themselves are seriously heavy and the actual parallel events happening in the world outside. There are dilemmas of trust, survival, and morality that are existent in the characters. The slow-paced storyline that has been depicted with strong emphasis on internal and external conflicts makes for an uncomfortable read; at the same time, it makes this book a potent one.
Sufferance is not light reading; it's powerful and emotive about fear, sacrifice, and the realities of the world.
🐾
Rated 4🌟
Melina L.
This book is not an easy read, given that the themes in themselves are seriously heavy and the actual parallel events happening in the world outside. There are dilemmas of trust, survival, and morality that are existent in the characters. The slow-paced storyline that has been depicted with strong emphasis on internal and external conflicts makes for an uncomfortable read; at the same time, it makes this book a potent one.
Sufferance is not light reading; it's powerful and emotive about fear, sacrifice, and the realities of the world.
🐾
Rated 4🌟
Melina L.
June 15, 2024
A chilling book. A father narrates the experience of his family in war time. We are not told the place or time but it is clear that this takes place within an occupied country during the Second World War. A very ordinary family. An act of kindness (not entirely altruistic) which leads with stark inevitability to a horrifying conclusion. A very plausible imagining of how the thin veneer of civilisation can vanish in the face of the dehumanisation of war. None of the characters are named which contributes to the sense of detachment through which the father unemotionally tells the story of how he grapples with a series of problems as the war begins to impinge directly on his family. Having read the book, I was interested to find what the author had said about it: https://www.crimetime.co.uk/sufferanc...
Thanks to Guernica and Netgalley for the ARC.
Thanks to Guernica and Netgalley for the ARC.
May 15, 2024
The details don't matter - they're recognizable enough, after all. An unnamed man recounts the tale of an unspecified war and oppressive regime, and of the girl he and his family try to hide from the Enemy - and all the unraveling effects of that, and each subsequent, decision. It's a stifling, brutal, tightly-packed story that unfolds slowly but ruthlessly, the tension mounting with a sense of claustrophobic inevitability, spiraling toward a gut punch of an ending. I've long been a fan of Charles Palliser's work, and Sufferance is admittedly very little like his earlier books - but it shares with them Palliser's gift for making every word matter, crafting prose that can sidle under your skin and slip a knife between your ribs.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy.
Thank you to the publisher for the advance review copy.
April 25, 2024
Charles Palliser’s new novel, Sufferance, is a heart-wrenching story about the power of human compassion in the face of evil on the one side, and the unexpected and dreadful decisions people make in times of oppression, occupation, and violence on the other--taking the reader to a shocking end. This deeply unsettling psychological drama is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the trials and tribulations of the human heart. At times, the novel is challenging, straddling the line between a journalistic report and a fictional narrative, but definitely a worthwhile read for those who persevere.
January 4, 2025
I cannot add too much new to the many excellent reviews appearing here. I did initially find the anonymity of the characters off putting but then realized that the author is taking every reader into the consciousness of the narrator and forcing the reader to reflect on their possible choices in such a situation. The parallels to Nazi Germany are clear, but I also felt the "East" and "West" zones suggested the later divided Germany and the Soviet "occupiers.
I'm not familiar with "the Quincunx" but gather it is very different from this work. I will certainly give the first of the five volumes a look.
I'm not familiar with "the Quincunx" but gather it is very different from this work. I will certainly give the first of the five volumes a look.
June 29, 2025
A timely read given the state of affairs in the US and while a specific country or war or timeframe was not specifically stated, it did a good job depicting the hate mongering and blame of minority ethnic/religious groups, the slow erosion of civil liberties and greed by a governmental entity (under the guise of “protection”), and the resulting fear, moral conflicts, and moral decay, (which really did happen in Europe in WW-2) in what would otherwise be considered an average family in the book.
April 15, 2024
Not so much a book whose time has come as a time whose book has come, Sufferance takes the world of the Holocaust and shows us how easily it could become ours. Palliser's Kafkaesque world of unnamed yet recognizable people, places and actions, with its story of how a normal if venal man becomes a monster, shows us how easily Never Again can easily become an empty if oft repeated phrase.
May 10, 2024
How could people live in an oppressive regime?
This is about the gradual imposition of rules that are easy enough to engender compliance in the beginning but later become more onerous. And then people feel isolated with no friends or family to provide advice and aid. This about a generic country but clearly it is about the people during the third Reich.
This is about the gradual imposition of rules that are easy enough to engender compliance in the beginning but later become more onerous. And then people feel isolated with no friends or family to provide advice and aid. This about a generic country but clearly it is about the people during the third Reich.
July 20, 2024
Chilling, brilliant, dark
Charles Palliser, in superb, sparing prose, delivers a captivating account of a family entangled in world heading towards Dystopia. Not only is this 1984 meets The Handmaid's Tale, Sufferance also breaks literary ground in style and structure with stunning effect.
Charles Palliser, in superb, sparing prose, delivers a captivating account of a family entangled in world heading towards Dystopia. Not only is this 1984 meets The Handmaid's Tale, Sufferance also breaks literary ground in style and structure with stunning effect.
April 27, 2025
Wow. This was worth reading for the skill of the writing alone. The pace and intrigue were both just exactly right. The subject matter is actually a trope and this book flips it, with LOTS of unanswered questions and what an ending! Well done. Recommend
September 24, 2025
Outoa, että varsin synkästä ihmiskuvasta, kovin dystooppisesta maailmasta ja todella ahdistavasta tarinasta syntyy vetävä romaani, mutta niinpä vain sellaisen Charles Palliser on onnistunut luomaan. Albert Camus kohtaa Franz Kafkan. Ei varmaankaan kaikkien makuun.
July 24, 2024
3 and a half stars.
This was a page turner for me. Intense and thought provoking.
This was a page turner for me. Intense and thought provoking.
November 18, 2024
Hard dark brief novel... frightening to its core. The reality of what can, and has happened, mirror our current state of government. Expertly written as always by Charles Palliser.
Read
January 31, 2025I couldn’t put it down, a simple suffocating novel
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