Waiting for the Barbarians Audiobook By J. M. Coetzee cover art

Waiting for the Barbarians

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Waiting for the Barbarians

By: J. M. Coetzee
Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
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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.

©1980 J. M. Coetzee (P)2019 Audible, Ltd Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political War & Military War
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A good book, well written and interesting on colonialism, despair and the Empires representatives management of its own ageing and sexual desires.
Thought provoking on "the Barbarians". In the context of the book, who are really the barbarians? Aren't the Barbarians pretty much the Empire that treats natives as animals and less?
I recommend this book, but it's really not a joyful reading....but it will stick with you for some time.

Well written book on colonialism and sexuality

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The majority of the book is about a weird relationship between the main character and a tortured woman.
The narrator's voice is what kept me in. Great performance in my opinion.

Mostly about being a horny old man

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Though a difficult read due to the disturbing content at times, I found this book curiously and frighteningly relevant to the current political times in which we are living, especially in the USA. It is a book well worth reading in that it prompts us to look inside ourselves to examine how fear of the unknown can drive us to act as human beings and also to remind us of how resilient we can be in difficult times.

An Interesting Read For The Current Times

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Andrew Wincott’s performance is well modulated for this evocative novel. He gets everything right: voices, accents, the narrative.

Impressive performance by Andrew Wincott

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Great story, has all of life’s struggles, and coming to terms with oneself and those insignificant people with significant power.
I should have read it myself.

Read it your self

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