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Waiting For the Barbarians

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An old magistrate waiting to retire is serving out his last days on a lazy frontier in South Africa. He has jurisdiction over the garrison. But with the arrival of Colonel Joll from the Third Bureau - the most important division of the Civil Guard - the peaceful life is about to end for the magistrate. The arrival of Joll and his troops is justified by the fact that in the capital there is some concern about the barbarian tribes of the north uniting with those of the west, which may lead to unrest. Joll's methods of interrogation are brutal, his evidence against the native prisoners based on thin air. "Prisoners are prisoners" is enough of an accusation to lead a man or a woman to death.
When the magistrate decides to take a twenty year old girl with whom he had a relationship back to her tribe of barbarians, he is accused of having treasonously conspired with the enemy and the treatment inflicted on him thereafter is no less inhuman than that endured by the barbarians themselves. This is the price the magistrate has to pay for giving up his "alliance with the guardians of the Empire" and setting himself into opposition, thus becoming an enemy of the state.
Mr Coetzee's book shows all the suffering that the apartheid regime used to inflict on native South Africans. Furthermore, it shows that this regime was capable of committing the same atrocities against people of their own kin.

This is one of the deepest and mind seacrhing books I have read. The author touched the soul of man in today's world where good is always in conflict with evil, starting with ourselves and the general society in which we live.It reminded me of Disciples of Fortune by janvier Tisi

Also recommended: THE UNION MOUJIK, AGE OF IRON, BOYHOOD

Waiting for the Barbarians is a fascinating story about a magistrate working for a dysfunctional and corrupt colonial empire that borders on the outskirts of the modern world.. With deep political undertones Coetzee's tale of man against a corrupting society where rebellion and personal redemption are inevitable is what makes this story so full of enlightenment and secured its place as one of the greatest classic stories of the twentieth century. Not easy to relate to, this story nevertheless succinctly confronts the conflicts of positive and negative traits which we all have to confront to become really human in life . This conflict in our souls which are man's unavoidable dilemmas has perhaps been best exposed Coetzee and Dostoyevsky. A highly recommended book.

Also recommended are DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, THE UNION MOUJIK, THE IDIOT, and THE USURPER AND OTHER STORIES

Un livre menant une réflexion extrêmement intéressante sur la place de l'oppresseur, ses collaborateurs et de l'opprimé dans une société injuste. Ecrit dans un magnifique anglais.

PS : Prix Nobel de Littérature

Les conditions d'envoi ont été entièrement respectées. La livraison a été très rapide, le livre parfaitement protégé.

J'ai eu "Waiting for the Barbarians" à étudier en licence 3 d'anglais. Ce n'est pas un livre très compliqué à comprendre par son niveau de langue je pense, mais son histoire est assez spéciale. Le livre parle avant tout de torture et de désire sexuel.

Je pense que, si vous lisez ce livre, c'est une bonne idée de lire des notes sur l'histoire après, car c'est un livre très réfléchi et qui comporte une grosse critique implcite de l'apartheid.

Le livre n'est pas très gros et l'histoire est assez intéressante. Accessible à tous, je le conseillerais davantage à ceux qui connaissent un minimum l'histoire de l'Afrique du Sud.