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Waiting for the Barbarians

J.M. Coetzee

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Waiting for the Barbarians

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Moral reckoning at the fringes of an Empire.

"Waiting for the Barbarians" is as timely as it is timeless, confronting themes of power, colonialism, and the human condition. If you're drawn to stories that challenge the notion of 'civilization' and expose the complexities of domination and resistance, you'll find Coetzee's sparse yet potent prose a gateway to profound reflections on personal responsibility within societal constructs. This novel isn't just read; it's an experience that incites introspection long after the last page.

  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction (1980)
  • Philip K. Dick Award Nominee (1983)
  • CNA Literary Award (1980)
  • Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (1981)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

Waiting for the Barbarians

Regular price
Unit price
per
Compare to estimated retail price: S$17.67  
Condition guide
ISBN: 9780099465935
Author: J.M. Coetzee
Publisher: Vintage
Date of Publication: 2004-09-02
Format: Paperback
Related Collections: Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction
Related Topics: Literature, Classics, War
Goodreads rating: 3.93
(rated by 34810 readers)

Description

For decades the Magistrate has been a loyal servant of the Empire, running the affairs of a tiny frontier settlement and ignoring the impending war with the barbarians. When interrogation experts arrive, however, he witnesses the Empire's cruel and unjust treatment of prisoners of war. Jolted into sympathy for their victims, he commits a quixotic act of rebellion that brands him an enemy of the state. J. M. Coetzee's prize-winning novel is a startling allegory of the war between oppressor and oppressed. The Magistrate is not simply a man living through a crisis of conscience in an obscure place in remote times; his situation is that of all men living in unbearable complicity with regimes that ignore justice and decency.
 

Moral reckoning at the fringes of an Empire.

"Waiting for the Barbarians" is as timely as it is timeless, confronting themes of power, colonialism, and the human condition. If you're drawn to stories that challenge the notion of 'civilization' and expose the complexities of domination and resistance, you'll find Coetzee's sparse yet potent prose a gateway to profound reflections on personal responsibility within societal constructs. This novel isn't just read; it's an experience that incites introspection long after the last page.

  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction (1980)
  • Philip K. Dick Award Nominee (1983)
  • CNA Literary Award (1980)
  • Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (1981)
Note: While we do our best to ensure the accuracy of cover images, ISBNs may at times be reused for different editions of the same title which may hence appear as a different cover.

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