Waiting for the Barbarians

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Summary: THE BRUTALITY OF HEGEMONY IN A NUTSHELL
Review: This is without doubt my favorite Coetsee book. In little over 150 pages he strips bare and lays spread eagle humanity at its worst. He gets right to the heart of the human condition and those things that allow "good people" to suborn man's inhumanity to his brethren. Coetsee draws a clear picture of the reality that when might is right, the weak are always the barbarians. But, of course, barbarity is the prerogative of the strong. This book is Kafka, Dostoevsky, and Camus seasoned with Jorge Luis Borges. Anyone interested in human morality should read this little book - twice if you're not too tired.

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Summary: The Barbarians Are Us
Review: In his book "Waiting For The Barbarians" Coetzee gives us another timeless window into a soul. Here Coetzee depicts the frivolous and capricious nature of the continuing war machine in the backdrop of 1970's South Africa. The book, in its nature was very reminiscent of George Orwell, in such tales as "Shooting An Elephant" where the life of a civil servant and the attrocities he must perform and witness shape the personality and thought patterns of the man.

Here, Coetzee highlights the true cruelty that humanity can inflict upon other humans in its pursuit of whatever seems to be the right thing as determined by those in power at any particular point in time. It need not make sense, it need not be morally defensible, it only need be possible and performable, and it may be done. In the regime at the time, such was the situation, South Africa, like so many other places has been a war torn place for a very long time.

In making his point, Coetzee puts together one of the finest sentences I have ever seen on paper, when he says this as the protagonist walks away from a senseless torture scene, "Let it at least be said, if it ever comes to be said, if there is ever anyone in some remote future interested to know the way we lived, that in this farthest outpost of the Empire of light there existed one man who in his heart was not a barbarian." The poignancy of that statement is deeply moving especially in these times in America. The ability of Coetzee to capture so distinctively and so personally the despair that is illustrated and experienced, and truly suffered by one in the position that his protaganist is in, is the greatness of Coetzee. To be able to transmit that feeling to his readers, as is his style, is his mastery. All sensitive readers should spend the time to consume this mere 157 page book, which gives at least 600 pages of expressiveness. Another fine piece of literature from a modern day master.

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Summary: Dissatisfying
Review: This is a well written book, but for me the story was not strong enough to carry the message. Sure, it offers some interesting insights into the nature of civilisation, power, and ambition, but the total abstraction of the setting robs it of sufficient human interest. The Empire is not set in any place or time, either fictional or historical, and virtually no-one in the book has even a name. The story feels far too much like a vehicle for a message, and even at times just the message itself.

I was also puzzled over the nature of the main character's supposed rebellion, since from the perspectives of both sides he didn't seem to have done anything of consequence. For a more gripping account of power, ambition, and empire, with plenty of human interest, I would recommend "I Claudius".

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Summary: Haunting and memorable
Review: This book was on the reading list for my contemporary fiction class at college and it has been a part of my collection ever since. Coetzee remained in my mind as an author whose work I found moving, profound and questioning, with no easy answers. This book raises issues that have no quick resolution and evokes a sympathy that is hard to place. At least, that was my experience. Check out "Disgrace" also...another amazing novel.

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Summary: gli occhi della ragazza barbara
Review: che bel libro, amici miei! un "deserto dei tartari" senza pietà per la stoltezza degli umani, ma anche un'infinita malinconia. quella delle tracce sulla neve, quella dello sguardo perso della ragazza resa cieca dalle torture, quella delle tavolette con una lingua che nessuno intenderà mai... l'incontro tra lo svuotato governatore del villaggio di confine e la donna cieca è qualcosa che ci accompagnerà per sempre. davvero, ci chiediamo "chi è che vede?" colui che può gettare lo aguardo intorno a sè rimanendo senza risposte, o colei che muta goffa e sgraziata possiede quelle tre quattro idee su come sopravvivere? davvero barbari questi civili, davvero ciechi questi vedenti, davvero folle questa macchina militare priva di senso. la cosa più oscura, pesante, silenzioamente dolorosa del libro è il frequente riemergere del dubbio: cosa è stato fatto alla ragazza? neanche l'essere rinchiuso nella stessa sala della tortura aiuterà il governatore a capire...o meglio lo aiuterà a capire che non capirà mai. lo so che queste righe non aiutano a capire la storia del libro, ma questo non è un libro fatto di storie: è un viaggio al termine della speranza.

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Summary: Powerful yet Simple!
Review: This is the third book I have read by Coetzee and each time I venture into his world, I am surprised at how he is able to represent complicated themes in so simple a story. In this novel, a magistrate rules his town peacefully until Colonal Joll comes and insists that the barbarians are a dangerous group that need to be quelled immediately. He is a wicked man who takes his weakness and manipulates it into cruelty towards others. Slowly, the town becomes equally obsessed with the "enemy" and the need to restore the peace which ironically was theirs for the taking before Joll arrived. Through a series of events, the magistrate is believed to have comitted treason and so undergoes direct persecution from Joll and his men. He is ripped from his place of office, thrown in jail and treated like an animal for almost a full year. It seems to him he is the only one fighting for justice and, more importantly, the only one standing up to Joll's cruelty. Strangely enough, Coetzee only assigns an actual name to Joll. The magistrate is simply "the magistrate," his lover, "the girl," etc.,etc. Other themes I have observed about Coetzee are his protagonists are often in a state of disgrace (the actual title to his most recent work) somewhere or somehow which, in turn, create the conflict of each story. Also, each protagonist is an infidel in one way or another. Married or single, he is free to answer whatever his sexuality requests of him. I have only read three of his books, so these trends may certainly not be consistent throughout all his writing. I just found the trend interesting. At any rate, Waiting for the Barbarians is captivating in its telling and gripping in it's underlying moral. I would highly recommend it be part of your must-read repetoir if it is not already.

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Summary: A fascinating fable
Review: After having read (and liked) Disgrace, I wanted to read more by Coetzee. He is always described as a difficult writer, but that must refer to his subjects, not to his style or book-sctucture which are both beautiful, yet simple. While Disgrace is a somewhat disturbing -yet beautiful- book for its realism, this book is really like a fable (no references to actual places/events). In that, it reminded me of The Knowledge of Angels by Jill Paton Walsch. Both books manage to capture you by the story (you want to know what will happen next) while conveying a message that is much deeper. I warmly recommend it.

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Summary: a brilliant analysis of human nature at its worst
Review: On the surface, Waiting for the Barbarians is a short novel on the life of a magistrate stuck in a remote outpost of an "empire" (the author does not disclose the location of this outpost, nor identify this empire). His life is completely turned upside-down with the arrival of a superior officer who takes a brutal hand to "tame" the already docile native population ("the barbarians").

However Coetzee, without being heavy-handed, peels back the human drama about all the people involved . The overall effect is devastating, and it is oh-too-easy to believe how such a nightmare is probably being re-played in life somewhere in the world everyday.

Waiting for the Barbarians is very similar, almost too similar, to Heart of Darkness (by Joseph Conrad). However, in my opinion, Coetzee's story is much more accessible - it should appeal to a wider audience.

I'm looking forward to reading other works of Coetzee. He is clearly a very talented writer.

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Summary: Joseph Conrad meets Franz Kafka
Review: Though it's less than 160 pages, this book is not light reading. It's an extremely moving and powerful book, a mixture of Conrad and Kafka. It's a dark look into the heart of mankind, a moral and psychological study of an aging magistrate in an African frontier settlement who over time, becomes more and more sympathetic to the indigenous "barbarians" that the colonial empire's forces brutalize. This book resonates with anyone who is concerned about complicity to opression and prejudice justified by political power. His prose is visceral, and you can't help but be upset and moved by the events that take place. This is my first J.M. Coetzee novel, but I'm looking forward to reading more.

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Summary: Complicity and resistance
Review: This superbly written short novel deals with, amongst other issues, the question of complicity with a regime that one is part of but does not actively oppose. What is the moral weight of our actions when we act within a system? Are our actions tainted by being part of that system, even if we do not actively support it, simply by not actively opposing it? As a South African growing up in apartheid South Africa this question has particular relevance, although it is by its nature generalisable. Likewise, questions relating to how oppressive regimes create the needs for oppression, and how racists create justifications for oppresssion are thoughtfully and subtly explored.

This is an excellent book that provokes a lot of thought about the nature of oppression, civilisation, complicity and resistance, good and evil, and oppressive regimes, without being preachy or difficult to read