Description
In this haunting political allegory, a magistrate in a remote frontier town witnesses the brutal interrogation and torture of prisoners from the neighboring barbarian tribes and begins to question the military's justifications for such violence. As he attempts to defend the captives and challenge the army's authority, he discovers that dissent itself becomes a dangerous act in a state consumed by fear and paranoia. Through sparse, evocative prose, J.M. Coetzee explores the moral complexities of complicity, the corruption of power, and the dehumanizing effects of war on both oppressor and oppressed. The magistrate's descent from respected official to accused traitor becomes a profound meditation on conscience, justice, and the price of resistance in an authoritarian regime. A masterwork of literary fiction that resonates far beyond its colonial setting, this novel examines the universal tensions between individual morality and state power.
Available Editions
paperback
Penguin Books
Published Jan 1, 1999
152 pages
ISBN: 9780140283358
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Details
First Published
1980
Language
eng
Content Warnings
Content and trigger warnings for Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee.