Sufferance is compulsive reading. It is shocking, gripping. The key is the narrator, the reader's own shadow, and a man who turns out to be unreliable. He is weak and clings to an ambition that becomes daily more unrealistic. This is a story that floats in Everywhere/Nowhere territory, with a few locational clues but ultimately universal--a parable for our times, a cautioning horror story, like the frog in the slow boiler, unaware until its final moments.
--Amanda Hale, author of MAD HATTER
A sinister undertone lurks throughout the narrative, and a real sense of doom overshadows. In the father, Palliser has created a rare character who in turns can be sympathetic and contemptible. His story races to an ending that leaves the reader stunned. This novel will evoke a full range of emotions. An impressive novel not to be missed.
--Historical Novels Review
Palliser skilfully creates a sense of mounting dread and paranoia in a disturbing Kafka-esque parable.
--Neil Armstrong, Mail on Sunday
Sufferance could well become a contemporary classic.
--Peter Carty, The Spectator
The publication is good timing: Palliser's novel shares some superficial similarities with last year's Booker winner, Prophet Song - a family in crisis navigating an authoritarian regime - but is a more well developed and satisfying work. The slow escalation of pressure on its characters up to an extraordinary ending shows the hand of an expert novelist.
--John Self, The Guardian
When so much has been said about the Holocaust, a novel that provides a new perspective is to be welcomed. In Sufferance, Charles Palliser has made that terrible event horrifying but also universalised it and by doing so suggested that it could happen again in any country. The novel conveys the psychological claustrophobia of a family and its unwelcome guest as the murderous trap closes on them, tearing the family apart even as it faces the approaching terror.
--Carol Lee, author of CROOKED ANGELS
"Palliser manages to keep up the tension as his narrative drives to its tragic, unsettling end. A cynical story about how, in the absence of moral courage, terror and self-preservation can also be powerful motivators." --
Kirkus "Palliser's novel shares some superficial similarities with last year's Booker winner, Prophet Song - a family in crisis navigating an authoritarian regime - but is a more well developed and satisfying work." -- The Guardian
"A sinister undertone lurks throughout the narrative, and a real sense of doom overshadows. In the father, Palliser has created a rare character who in turns can be sympathetic and contemptible. His story races to an ending that leaves the reader stunned. This novel will evoke a full range of emotions. An impressive novel not to be missed." -- Historical Novels Review
Sufferance could well become a contemporary classic. -- Spectator
"The simple prose with which the story unfolds only adds to the sinister feel of this skillfully crafted, dark little tale." --
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