WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS

by J.M. Coetzee



"I should never have allowed the gates of the town to be opened to people who assert that there are higher considerations than those of decency." Waiting For The Barbarians, p. 79.

"Set in an isolated outpost on the edge of a great Empire, Waiting for the Barbarians is a startling allegory of the war between the oppressor and the oppressed. The Magistrate, the novel's fascinating narrator, has been a loyal servant of the Empire, running the affairs of the frontier settlement, dabbling in antiquarianism, and ignoring constant reports of a threat from the "barbarians" who inhabit the uncharted deserts beyond the village. But when military personnel arrive with captured barbarians, he becomes witness to a cruel and unjust defense of the Empire." (From the front flap of the Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century edition)

Wow. I'm not even sure what to say about this one. It is something of a coincidence that I read this during the current torture controversies, especially concerning the ethical message of who we, the U.S., are as a country. That was on my mind the entire time I was reading and made many of the scenes and discoveries in the text that much more penetrating.

I can't say that I fully understood the more subtle aspects of Waiting for the Barbarians, but it was a stealthily provoking story even if one only skims the surface. I will be contemplating a later visit to the murkier depths.