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Suffer Not The Mole People
What does it take to forsake all that’s familiar: lives, language, customs, culture, family, history to pick up stakes and flee to a new world where much is promised but nothing guaranteed?
This is the frightful challenge facing the Kaczmarek family in 19th century Silesia, Poland. Where does an individual and a family find the courage to face such a wrenching ordeal? Will the dreams, the fears, the hopes and misgivings pull them together or tear them apart? Will they overcome their doubts or succumb to the depredations of their Prussian overlords? What kind of people would trade the security of the known for the tentative promises of freedom and opportunity?
And what is the essence of this United States of America that beckoned them and still beckons others from all the ends of the earth to its promised shores?
Follow them here on their onerous journey over land and sea and heartache as they dare to seek freedom and fortune far from the meager comforts of home.
This is the frightful challenge facing the Kaczmarek family in 19th century Silesia, Poland. Where does an individual and a family find the courage to face such a wrenching ordeal? Will the dreams, the fears, the hopes and misgivings pull them together or tear them apart? Will they overcome their doubts or succumb to the depredations of their Prussian overlords? What kind of people would trade the security of the known for the tentative promises of freedom and opportunity?
And what is the essence of this United States of America that beckoned them and still beckons others from all the ends of the earth to its promised shores?
Follow them here on their onerous journey over land and sea and heartache as they dare to seek freedom and fortune far from the meager comforts of home.
Paperback
Published October 1, 2020
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4 people want to read
About the author
Jan Notzon
8 books208 followersI used to ply the acting trade but retired to devote myself full-time to writing. I've written several plays and published seven novels, The Dogs...Barking, And Ye Shall Be As Gods, The Id Paradox, Song for the Forsaken, Suffer Not The Mole People, ONLY THE DEAD (Know the End of War) and To Sing Like a Mockingbird are available in all mediums.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 23, 2025
The USA has acted like a beacon for centuries for people yearning for freedom, fame, or fortune. It has represented an opportunity for many immigrants to find refuge for their families and a chance at a new start, but it isn't a challenge taken lightly, completed easily, nor without its troubles. For one Polish family, we see the courage it takes to travel hundreds of miles, far from friends, relatives, their language, and culture, all in the desperate hope of a better life. We witness the highs and lows of that journey throughout this emotive story. Such an emotional read that wonderfully encapsulates the reality of uprooting a family and transplanting elsewhere. #suffernothemolepeople #jannotzon
December 13, 2021
The author succeeds in making you care about his characters and wanting to know what happens next to them. His evocation of nineteenth century Poland is credible and coherent. He has created a universe in which the themes of family, tolerance and freedom are explored well.
July 26, 2025
“When we left, we didn’t just leave a place—we left ourselves behind.”
At its core, Suffer Not the Mole People is a deeply personal story about what it costs—mentally, emotionally, spiritually—to uproot your life in search of something better. It’s not just historical fiction; it’s psychological fiction in the truest sense. This is a novel about survival, yes, but more than that—it’s about the enduring trauma of leaving behind your homeland, your culture, your sense of self.
The story centers on a Polish family emigrating to Texas in the late 19th century, but the emotions it captures feel timeless. There’s the ever-present fear of the unknown, the heartbreak of watching the life you once knew fade into memory, and the weight of trying to build a future in a place that doesn’t always welcome you.
What struck me most wasn’t the external conflict—it was the internal one. Notzon explores the way trauma lingers through generations. The characters carry invisible burdens: guilt, displacement, isolation, and a desperate desire to belong while holding onto who they were. And when the world around them demands assimilation, silence, or obedience, the psychological pressure becomes unbearable.
There’s a raw vulnerability in these pages—moments when hope glimmers and then falters. But there’s strength too. The kind of quiet, enduring strength required to leave everything behind in hopes your children might have more.
This isn’t a fast-paced read, but it’s an important one. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to leave home behind forever, this book gets to the bone of it.
“Hope is a heavy thing to carry when you’re the one who has to pass it down.”
Suffer Not the Mole People is a haunting, deeply human novel that explores what it means to leave everything behind—and the emotional legacy such a choice carries. Jan Notzon doesn’t sugarcoat the immigrant experience. He allows space for the fear, the grief, the shame of feeling like a stranger in your new home—and the silent pride in surviving it all anyway.
This story may be historical in setting, but its emotional truth feels current. For anyone who has lived between cultures, questioned their place, or carried the burden of unspoken trauma, this book speaks volumes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5) – Emotionally resonant, historically grounded, and psychologically rich.
At its core, Suffer Not the Mole People is a deeply personal story about what it costs—mentally, emotionally, spiritually—to uproot your life in search of something better. It’s not just historical fiction; it’s psychological fiction in the truest sense. This is a novel about survival, yes, but more than that—it’s about the enduring trauma of leaving behind your homeland, your culture, your sense of self.
The story centers on a Polish family emigrating to Texas in the late 19th century, but the emotions it captures feel timeless. There’s the ever-present fear of the unknown, the heartbreak of watching the life you once knew fade into memory, and the weight of trying to build a future in a place that doesn’t always welcome you.
What struck me most wasn’t the external conflict—it was the internal one. Notzon explores the way trauma lingers through generations. The characters carry invisible burdens: guilt, displacement, isolation, and a desperate desire to belong while holding onto who they were. And when the world around them demands assimilation, silence, or obedience, the psychological pressure becomes unbearable.
There’s a raw vulnerability in these pages—moments when hope glimmers and then falters. But there’s strength too. The kind of quiet, enduring strength required to leave everything behind in hopes your children might have more.
This isn’t a fast-paced read, but it’s an important one. If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to leave home behind forever, this book gets to the bone of it.
“Hope is a heavy thing to carry when you’re the one who has to pass it down.”
Suffer Not the Mole People is a haunting, deeply human novel that explores what it means to leave everything behind—and the emotional legacy such a choice carries. Jan Notzon doesn’t sugarcoat the immigrant experience. He allows space for the fear, the grief, the shame of feeling like a stranger in your new home—and the silent pride in surviving it all anyway.
This story may be historical in setting, but its emotional truth feels current. For anyone who has lived between cultures, questioned their place, or carried the burden of unspoken trauma, this book speaks volumes.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4/5) – Emotionally resonant, historically grounded, and psychologically rich.
October 30, 2023
Grand Read
Jan Notzon writes a family drama with Suffer Not the Mole People. I am a big fan of Jan Notzon and read whatever this author writes. This author has a grand imagination, and talent for showing the story. The setting is 19th Century Poland, and the Kaczmarek family, and they are dealing with the idea to flee to another world, or stay, being true to their customs, culture and their family history. They are in the midst of a life that is no longer ideal, and yet fleeing to another place, they are leaving behind so much, and looking forward to something totally unknown. America. Their dreams and hopes are those little things that they are trying to hold on to, while trying to figure out their best move, even if both choices may be detrimental or promising. What a marvelous story. This story was absolutely incredible. An emotional rollercoaster. Un-put-downable! This journey was very unpredictable. What an inspirational title. A reader can get lost in the story. Suffer Not the Mole People is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.
Jan Notzon writes a family drama with Suffer Not the Mole People. I am a big fan of Jan Notzon and read whatever this author writes. This author has a grand imagination, and talent for showing the story. The setting is 19th Century Poland, and the Kaczmarek family, and they are dealing with the idea to flee to another world, or stay, being true to their customs, culture and their family history. They are in the midst of a life that is no longer ideal, and yet fleeing to another place, they are leaving behind so much, and looking forward to something totally unknown. America. Their dreams and hopes are those little things that they are trying to hold on to, while trying to figure out their best move, even if both choices may be detrimental or promising. What a marvelous story. This story was absolutely incredible. An emotional rollercoaster. Un-put-downable! This journey was very unpredictable. What an inspirational title. A reader can get lost in the story. Suffer Not the Mole People is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.
December 12, 2020
This is an exceptionally detailed story about Polish tenant farmers fleeing the hardships and injustice of their Prussian overseers and conqueror's. The road to freedom and the promised land U.S.A. is fraught with danger, and unknown hurdles which these people must overcome to stay alive, and protect their children and loved ones.
Arriving at the German port of Bremen was thought to be the end of the great adventure, but a sea voyage which Jan Notzon relates with great knowledge and detail, turns out to be a very daunting and heart breaking event. The eventual arrival on the island of Galveston Texas is a huge milestone in these people's lives, so a sequel from Jan would be very welcome as I'm sure so many adventures and life changing events lie ahead. I would highly recommend this book, especially for anyone who's ancestors took this great voyage to the New World during these very terrible times.
Arriving at the German port of Bremen was thought to be the end of the great adventure, but a sea voyage which Jan Notzon relates with great knowledge and detail, turns out to be a very daunting and heart breaking event. The eventual arrival on the island of Galveston Texas is a huge milestone in these people's lives, so a sequel from Jan would be very welcome as I'm sure so many adventures and life changing events lie ahead. I would highly recommend this book, especially for anyone who's ancestors took this great voyage to the New World during these very terrible times.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews