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丿乇 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 亘乇亘乇賴丕
讴賵鬲夭蹖 丿乇 丕蹖賳 讴鬲丕亘 倬賳噩乇賴鈥屫й� 丿蹖诏乇 亘賴 乇賵丕賳 丕賳爻丕賳蹖 賲蹖鈥屭簇й屫� 賵 亘賴 诏賵賳賴鈥屫й� 蹖丕丿丌賵乇 噩乇噩 丕賵乇賵賱貙 毓賵丕賱賲 乇賵丨蹖 蹖讴 賲賯丕賲 乇爻賲蹖 乇丕 讴賴 丿乇 蹖讴 丕賲倬乇丕胤賵乇蹖 禺蹖丕賱蹖 賲賵丕噩賴 亘丕 丕賳噩丕賲 賵馗丕蹖賮蹖 亘蹖鈥屫必呚з嗁� 丕爻鬲貙 鬲賵氐蹖賮 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�. 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丕賵 鬲賵氐蹖賮 爻乇卮鬲 賮乇蹖亘鈥屭┴ж必з嗁� 賵 胤賲毓鈥屭┴ж必з嗁団€� 噩賳诏蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 毓賱蹖賴 (亘乇亘乇賴丕) 讴賴 丿乇 賵丕賯毓 讴爻蹖 噩夭 亘賵賲蹖丕賳 爻丕讴賳 丕胤乇丕賮 賳蹖爻鬲賳丿貙 噩乇蹖丕賳 丿丕乇丿 賵 賳卮丕賳 賲蹖鈥屫囏� 丌丿賲蹖丕賳貙 丌賳鈥屭з� 讴賴 賯丿乇鬲卮 乇丕 丿丕卮鬲賴 亘丕卮賳丿貙 丿乇 乇爻蹖丿賳 亘賴 丌賳鈥屭嗁� 禺賵丿 亘乇 丨賯 賵 丿乇爻鬲 賲蹖鈥屫з嗁嗀� 鬲丕 趩賴 丕賳丿丕夭賴 丌賲丕丿賴鈥� 爻鬲賲 亘乇 丿蹖诏乇 丕賳爻丕賳鈥屬囏й屬嗀�. 鬲賵丕賳丕蹖蹖 讴賵鬲夭蹖 丿乇 賵氐賮 跇乇賮鈥屬嗂必з嗁団€� 賳賵賲蹖丿蹖 賵 丿乇賲丕賳丿诏蹖 賯賴乇賲丕賳 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿乇 賲賵丕噩賴賴 亘丕 卮乇丕蹖胤蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 鬲賵丕賳 鬲睾蹖蹖乇 蹖丕 鬲毓丿蹖賱 丌賳 乇丕 丿乇 禺賵丿 賳賲蹖鈥屰屫жㄘ�.
238 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 1980
1,059 people are currently reading
30.1k people want to read
About the author
J.M. Coetzee
197听books5,100听followersJ. M. Coetzee is a South African writer, essayist, and translator, widely regarded as one of the most influential authors of contemporary literature. His works, often characterized by their austere prose and profound moral and philosophical depth, explore themes of colonialism, identity, power, and human suffering. Born and raised in South Africa, he later became an Australian citizen and has lived in Adelaide since 2002.
Coetzee鈥檚 breakthrough novel, Waiting for the Barbarians (1980), established him as a major literary voice, while Life & Times of Michael K (1983) won him the first of his two Booker Prizes. His best-known work, Disgrace (1999), a stark and unsettling examination of post-apartheid South Africa, secured his second Booker Prize, making him the first author to win the award twice. His other notable novels include Foe, Age of Iron, The Master of Petersburg, Elizabeth Costello, and The Childhood of Jesus, many of which incorporate allegorical and metafictional elements.
Beyond fiction, Coetzee has written numerous essays and literary critiques, contributing significantly to discussions on literature, ethics, and history. His autobiographical trilogy鈥擝oyhood, Youth, and Summertime鈥攂lends memoir with fiction, offering a fragmented yet insightful reflection on his own life. His literary achievements were recognized with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.
A deeply private individual, Coetzee avoids public life and rarely gives interviews, preferring to let his work speak for itself.
Coetzee鈥檚 breakthrough novel, Waiting for the Barbarians (1980), established him as a major literary voice, while Life & Times of Michael K (1983) won him the first of his two Booker Prizes. His best-known work, Disgrace (1999), a stark and unsettling examination of post-apartheid South Africa, secured his second Booker Prize, making him the first author to win the award twice. His other notable novels include Foe, Age of Iron, The Master of Petersburg, Elizabeth Costello, and The Childhood of Jesus, many of which incorporate allegorical and metafictional elements.
Beyond fiction, Coetzee has written numerous essays and literary critiques, contributing significantly to discussions on literature, ethics, and history. His autobiographical trilogy鈥擝oyhood, Youth, and Summertime鈥攂lends memoir with fiction, offering a fragmented yet insightful reflection on his own life. His literary achievements were recognized with the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.
A deeply private individual, Coetzee avoids public life and rarely gives interviews, preferring to let his work speak for itself.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,817 reviews
July 22, 2021
Waiting for the Barbarians is brief but it is like a candle lit at both ends - burning bright and chasing the dark away. The history of civilization is inside.
As a child loses its innocence growing up so civilization deprives human beings of their innate naturalness.
Where civilization entailed the corruption of barbarian virtues and the creation of dependent people, I decided, I was opposed to civilization.
As a child loses its innocence growing up so civilization deprives human beings of their innate naturalness.
January 17, 2023
KAFKA TRA I BOSCIMANI
Accogliendo i barbari.
Qual 猫 compito della letteratura, rassicurarci o metterci paura?
Con questo libro, Coetzee risponde senza dubbio adottando la seconda ipotesi.
Elizabeth Costello, nel romanzo omonimo, si descrive cos矛, come se dovesse pubblicare un annuncio personale:
Divorziata, bianca, altezza 1.70, sessantenne, in corsa verso la morte che le corre incontro allo stesso passo, cerco dio, immortale, in qualunque forma terrestre, per fini per i quali non bastano le parole.
Coetzee 猫 ormai settantenne, credo sia pi霉 alto di 1.70, se sia divorziato non saprei, ma immagino di s矛.
E, soprattutto, suppongo che quale sia la risposta, lui la conservi nascosta, lontano dai riflettori e dalla curiosit脿 pubblica.
A parte queste differenze, penso, che le parole di Elizabeth Costello descrivano a meraviglia lo stesso Coetzee.
Aspettando i tartari, il deserto dei barbari.
Alla Mostra del Cinema di Venezia 2019 (edizione #76) era in concorso l鈥檃dattamento cinematografico di questo magnifico romanzo di Coetzee del 1980, con lo stesso Coetzee unico scrittore impegnato a sceneggiare (errore, secondo me). La regia affidata al talentuosissimo colombiano Ciro Guerra alla sua prima prova fuori dei confini patrii.
Collaboratori al top (per esempio, Chris Menges alla fotografia, il nostro Jacopo Quadri al montaggio鈥�). A me ha dato la sensazione di quelle super band di rocker che mettono in gioco e condividono pi霉 mestiere che anima. Nel senso che il risultato filmico ha aspetti belli e interessanti, ma tutto sommato non mi pare vada oltre la sufficienza.
L鈥檈rrore maggiore 猫 l鈥檈ccesso di manicheismo, dichiarato da subito. Appena entra in scena Johnny Depp, che 猫 il colonnello poliziotto mandato a mettere ordine nella situazione di quella zona di confine (situazione che andrebbe benissimo se non fosse proprio il colonnello a attizzare, e scatenare, i presunti barbari che prima del suo arrivo vivevamo in pace senza problemi), si ha da una parte il cattivo dichiarato e sbandierato, il Male, vestito di blu notte, con occhiali da sole anche in interno, verga frustino in mano; e dall鈥檃ltra il magistrato, vestito di chiaro, con l鈥檈spressione angelica di Mark Rylance, che in questa occasione sembra aver seguito corsi di recitazione da Ges霉 Cristo (tra l鈥檃ltro, si inginocchia, lava e cura piedi). Esagerato. Si perde la sottigliezza, le sfumature, nel romanzo il magistrato non 猫 cos矛 santificato.
C鈥櫭� anche qualche momento di stanca, di noia, di ritmo lento.
Ma i costumi sono efficaci, le scenografie affascinanti, i paesaggi magnifici: Guerra sceglie di mostrare il Marocco (dintorni di Ouarzazade) come se fosse la Mongolia, il confine cinese. E per accentuare questa scelta trasforma i barbari, che nel romanzo si presumono essere africani, in gente dagli zigomi forti e gli occhi a mandorla. Tartari.
In effetti il capolavoro di Zurlini ritorna in mente e nelle citazioni ogni istante. E alla fine viene voglia di dire: ridatemi Il deserto dei Tartari!
Accogliendo i barbari.
Qual 猫 compito della letteratura, rassicurarci o metterci paura?
Con questo libro, Coetzee risponde senza dubbio adottando la seconda ipotesi.
Elizabeth Costello, nel romanzo omonimo, si descrive cos矛, come se dovesse pubblicare un annuncio personale:
Divorziata, bianca, altezza 1.70, sessantenne, in corsa verso la morte che le corre incontro allo stesso passo, cerco dio, immortale, in qualunque forma terrestre, per fini per i quali non bastano le parole.
Coetzee 猫 ormai settantenne, credo sia pi霉 alto di 1.70, se sia divorziato non saprei, ma immagino di s矛.
E, soprattutto, suppongo che quale sia la risposta, lui la conservi nascosta, lontano dai riflettori e dalla curiosit脿 pubblica.
A parte queste differenze, penso, che le parole di Elizabeth Costello descrivano a meraviglia lo stesso Coetzee.
Aspettando i tartari, il deserto dei barbari.
Alla Mostra del Cinema di Venezia 2019 (edizione #76) era in concorso l鈥檃dattamento cinematografico di questo magnifico romanzo di Coetzee del 1980, con lo stesso Coetzee unico scrittore impegnato a sceneggiare (errore, secondo me). La regia affidata al talentuosissimo colombiano Ciro Guerra alla sua prima prova fuori dei confini patrii.
Collaboratori al top (per esempio, Chris Menges alla fotografia, il nostro Jacopo Quadri al montaggio鈥�). A me ha dato la sensazione di quelle super band di rocker che mettono in gioco e condividono pi霉 mestiere che anima. Nel senso che il risultato filmico ha aspetti belli e interessanti, ma tutto sommato non mi pare vada oltre la sufficienza.
L鈥檈rrore maggiore 猫 l鈥檈ccesso di manicheismo, dichiarato da subito. Appena entra in scena Johnny Depp, che 猫 il colonnello poliziotto mandato a mettere ordine nella situazione di quella zona di confine (situazione che andrebbe benissimo se non fosse proprio il colonnello a attizzare, e scatenare, i presunti barbari che prima del suo arrivo vivevamo in pace senza problemi), si ha da una parte il cattivo dichiarato e sbandierato, il Male, vestito di blu notte, con occhiali da sole anche in interno, verga frustino in mano; e dall鈥檃ltra il magistrato, vestito di chiaro, con l鈥檈spressione angelica di Mark Rylance, che in questa occasione sembra aver seguito corsi di recitazione da Ges霉 Cristo (tra l鈥檃ltro, si inginocchia, lava e cura piedi). Esagerato. Si perde la sottigliezza, le sfumature, nel romanzo il magistrato non 猫 cos矛 santificato.
C鈥櫭� anche qualche momento di stanca, di noia, di ritmo lento.
Ma i costumi sono efficaci, le scenografie affascinanti, i paesaggi magnifici: Guerra sceglie di mostrare il Marocco (dintorni di Ouarzazade) come se fosse la Mongolia, il confine cinese. E per accentuare questa scelta trasforma i barbari, che nel romanzo si presumono essere africani, in gente dagli zigomi forti e gli occhi a mandorla. Tartari.
In effetti il capolavoro di Zurlini ritorna in mente e nelle citazioni ogni istante. E alla fine viene voglia di dire: ridatemi Il deserto dei Tartari!
November 22, 2024
賮賷 賳賵毓賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲亘 賲賷賳賮毓卮 鬲丨賰賲 毓賱賷賴丕 亘賲丿賷 廿爻鬲賲鬲丕毓賰 亘賯乇丕賷鬲賴丕 賯丿 賲丕 亘鬲丨賰賲 毓賱賷賴丕 亘兀賴賲賷丞 賲丨鬲賵丕賴丕 賵丕賱賮賰乇丞 丕賱賱賷 亘鬲鬲賳丕賵賱賴丕..
賮賷 廿賳鬲馗丕乇 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賲賳 丕賱賳賵毓 丿丞..賰鬲丕亘 賲賲賰賳 賷賰賵賳 賲卮 賲賲鬲毓 亘爻 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲亘 丕賱賱賷 氐毓亘 鬲鬲賳爻賷..
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘鬲鬲賰賱賲 毓賳 廿夭丕賷 兀賷 爻賱胤丞 毓爻賰乇賷丞 亘鬲賯丿乇 鬲禺賱賯 毓丿賵 賵賴賲賷 賱賱鬲賳賰賷賱 亘丕賱卮毓亘 賲賳 賳丕丨賷丞 賵賱囟賲丕賳 廿爻鬲賲乇丕乇賴丕 賮賷 丕賱丨賰賲 賲賳 賳丕丨賷丞 鬲丕賳賷丞 亘丨噩丞 丕賱丨賮丕馗 毓賱賷 廿爻鬲賯乇丕乇 丕賱亘賱丕丿!
"賮賰乇丞 賵丕丨丿丞 鬲卮睾賱 丕賱毓賯賱 丕賱禺賮賷 賱賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞:賰賷賮 賱丕 鬲賳鬲賴賷貙賰賷賮 賱丕 鬲賲賵鬲貙賰賷賮 鬲胤賷賱 毓賲乇賴丕.."
丕賱爻丐丕賱 亘賯賷 賴賱 亘賵噩賵丿賰 囟賲賳 賴匕賴 丕賱爻賱胤丞 賲毓賳丕賴 廿賳賰 鬲賱睾賷 囟賲賷乇賰責 賴賱 賲賳 丨賯賰 鬲丿丕賮毓 毓賳 賲馗賱賵賲 兀賵 鬲丨丕賵賱 鬲毓賵賷囟賴 亘兀賷 氐賵乇丞 賲賳 丕賱氐賵乇 丨鬲賷 賱賵 廿賳鬲 賵丕孬賯 賲賳 毓丿丕賱丞 賯囟賷鬲賰責
賴賱 丕賱爻賱胤丞 丨鬲爻賲丨 賱賰 賵賱丕 丨鬲鬲丨賵賱 賮賷 賷賵賲 賵賱賷賱丞 廿賱賷 毓丿賵 賵 爻噩賷賳責!
丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賰丕賳 賲賳 丕賱匕賰丕亍 廿賳賴 賰丕鬲亘 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賮賷 夭賲賳 睾賷乇 賲毓賱賵賲 賵賲賰丕賳 睾賷乇 賲丨丿丿 丨鬲賷 丕賱丕卮禺丕氐 賲毓馗賲賴賲 賲賳 睾賷乇 兀爻賲丕亍 毓卮丕賳 丕賱丕丨丿丕孬 賴賳丕 賲卮 亘爻 鬲賳賮毓 賱賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賱賰賳 賱賱兀爻賮 廿丨賳丕 亘賳卮賵賮 夭賷賴丕 毓賱賷 兀乇囟 丕賱賵丕賯毓 賮賷 亘賱丕丿 賰鬲賷乇..
賰賵賷鬲夭賷 賰丕鬲亘 賲賳 丕賱毓賷丕乇 丕賱鬲賯賷賱 賵丕禺丿 丕賱亘賵賰乇 賲乇鬲賷賳 賵賰賲丕賳 賵丕禺丿 賳賵亘賱 ..兀賵賱 賯乇丕亍丞 賱賴..氐丨賷丨 賲卮 賲賲鬲毓丞..亘爻 兀賰賷丿 賲卮 丨鬲賰賵賳 丕賱兀禺賷乇丞..
"丕賱兀爻賴賱 兀賳 鬲氐乇禺 ..丕賱兀爻賴賱 兀賳 鬲鬲毓乇囟 賱賱囟乇亘 賵鬲氐亘丨 卮賴賷丿丕賸.. 丕賱兀爻賴賱 兀賳 兀丿賮賳 賵兀賳 賷賵囟毓 乇兀爻賷 毓賱賷 賰鬲賱丞 賲賳 丨噩乇 賲賳 兀賳 兀丿丕賮毓 毓賳 賯囟賷丞 丕賱毓丿丕賱丞 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賱亘乇丕亘乇丞!"
賮賷 廿賳鬲馗丕乇 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賲賳 丕賱賳賵毓 丿丞..賰鬲丕亘 賲賲賰賳 賷賰賵賳 賲卮 賲賲鬲毓 亘爻 賲賳 丕賱賰鬲亘 丕賱賱賷 氐毓亘 鬲鬲賳爻賷..
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 亘鬲鬲賰賱賲 毓賳 廿夭丕賷 兀賷 爻賱胤丞 毓爻賰乇賷丞 亘鬲賯丿乇 鬲禺賱賯 毓丿賵 賵賴賲賷 賱賱鬲賳賰賷賱 亘丕賱卮毓亘 賲賳 賳丕丨賷丞 賵賱囟賲丕賳 廿爻鬲賲乇丕乇賴丕 賮賷 丕賱丨賰賲 賲賳 賳丕丨賷丞 鬲丕賳賷丞 亘丨噩丞 丕賱丨賮丕馗 毓賱賷 廿爻鬲賯乇丕乇 丕賱亘賱丕丿!
"賮賰乇丞 賵丕丨丿丞 鬲卮睾賱 丕賱毓賯賱 丕賱禺賮賷 賱賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞:賰賷賮 賱丕 鬲賳鬲賴賷貙賰賷賮 賱丕 鬲賲賵鬲貙賰賷賮 鬲胤賷賱 毓賲乇賴丕.."
丕賱爻丐丕賱 亘賯賷 賴賱 亘賵噩賵丿賰 囟賲賳 賴匕賴 丕賱爻賱胤丞 賲毓賳丕賴 廿賳賰 鬲賱睾賷 囟賲賷乇賰責 賴賱 賲賳 丨賯賰 鬲丿丕賮毓 毓賳 賲馗賱賵賲 兀賵 鬲丨丕賵賱 鬲毓賵賷囟賴 亘兀賷 氐賵乇丞 賲賳 丕賱氐賵乇 丨鬲賷 賱賵 廿賳鬲 賵丕孬賯 賲賳 毓丿丕賱丞 賯囟賷鬲賰責
賴賱 丕賱爻賱胤丞 丨鬲爻賲丨 賱賰 賵賱丕 丨鬲鬲丨賵賱 賮賷 賷賵賲 賵賱賷賱丞 廿賱賷 毓丿賵 賵 爻噩賷賳責!
丕賱賰丕鬲亘 賰丕賳 賲賳 丕賱匕賰丕亍 廿賳賴 賰丕鬲亘 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賮賷 夭賲賳 睾賷乇 賲毓賱賵賲 賵賲賰丕賳 睾賷乇 賲丨丿丿 丨鬲賷 丕賱丕卮禺丕氐 賲毓馗賲賴賲 賲賳 睾賷乇 兀爻賲丕亍 毓卮丕賳 丕賱丕丨丿丕孬 賴賳丕 賲卮 亘爻 鬲賳賮毓 賱賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賱賰賳 賱賱兀爻賮 廿丨賳丕 亘賳卮賵賮 夭賷賴丕 毓賱賷 兀乇囟 丕賱賵丕賯毓 賮賷 亘賱丕丿 賰鬲賷乇..
賰賵賷鬲夭賷 賰丕鬲亘 賲賳 丕賱毓賷丕乇 丕賱鬲賯賷賱 賵丕禺丿 丕賱亘賵賰乇 賲乇鬲賷賳 賵賰賲丕賳 賵丕禺丿 賳賵亘賱 ..兀賵賱 賯乇丕亍丞 賱賴..氐丨賷丨 賲卮 賲賲鬲毓丞..亘爻 兀賰賷丿 賲卮 丨鬲賰賵賳 丕賱兀禺賷乇丞..
"丕賱兀爻賴賱 兀賳 鬲氐乇禺 ..丕賱兀爻賴賱 兀賳 鬲鬲毓乇囟 賱賱囟乇亘 賵鬲氐亘丨 卮賴賷丿丕賸.. 丕賱兀爻賴賱 兀賳 兀丿賮賳 賵兀賳 賷賵囟毓 乇兀爻賷 毓賱賷 賰鬲賱丞 賲賳 丨噩乇 賲賳 兀賳 兀丿丕賮毓 毓賳 賯囟賷丞 丕賱毓丿丕賱丞 亘丕賱賳爻亘丞 賱賱亘乇丕亘乇丞!"
July 28, 2015
It is impossible to read this and not be reminded of an almost genetically programmed inferiority complex, the burden of history only the descendants of the colonized have to bear. Despite those smug pronouncements of the 21st century being an era of a fair and equitable world and the hard battles won in favor of interracial harmony, there's the fact of your friend barely suppressing a squawk of alarm when you express your admiration for Idris Elba - no female I am acquainted with in real life has learned to wean herself away from the fixation with a white complexion. Scrub your skin raw till it bleeds but never fall behind in the race to make it whiter because that's the color the world approves of. You can fawn over Simon Baker's blonde, light-eyed glory but not over Elba's hulking, ruggedly handsome perfection; heaven forbid you prefer the latter over the former. The 21st century is yet to cast its magic spell over the standards of physical beauty.
So if I, a citizen of a purportedly newer and better social order, can still feel the rippling aftershocks of the catastrophe called Imperialism from across the barrier of decades and centuries, what would a man like Coetzee have experienced, stranded in the middle of the suffocating sociopolitical stasis of Apartheid? Moral anguish? A bitter impotence? A premonitory sense of doom? Anger?
Fiction, I believe, must have been his preferred method of exorcizing these demons. And purge these emotions he did through the composition of this slim little novel which can be aptly described as a most heart-wrenching lament on the condition of the world of his times.
An anonymous magistrate stationed at a farthest corner of an unspecified Empire witnesses the death throes of its reign while recovering his own humanity at the loss of his position of power and influence. In the beginning he is convinced of his righteousness as a dutiful servant of the Empire who oversees the welfare his subjects with moderation but with the arrival of a bluntly tyrannical figure of authority whose methods differ vastly from his, he begins to question his own collusion in the maintenance of an unnatural order. Unable to stand as a mute witness to the horrendous abuse inflicted on innocent 'natives' on the false suspicion of their complicity with 'barbarians' or armed rebels who threaten the stability of the Empire, he clashes with the aforementioned administrator who undoubtedly represents the true face of any oppressor when divested of its sheen of sophistication. And thus begins his fall from grace culminating in a kind of metaphorical rebirth through extreme physical abasement.
In the fashion of Coetzee's signature didacticism the novel is rife with allegorical implications but as much as these can be deeply thought-provoking, sometimes they also resemble conveniently inserted contrivances. Like the pseudo-erotic entanglement that develops between the ageing magistrate and a young 'barbarian' girl who is left maimed and partially blinded after a violent bout of interrogation is amply demonstrative of a colonizer-colonized arrangement - the one bereft of power to drive the relationship in a desired direction becomes dependent on the volatile benevolence of the other party. Or the mounting paranoia about the anticipated attack of the 'barbarians' who, much like Godot, fail to appear and remain a myth till the end although emerging as the key factor hastening the impending demise of Empire. All the layers of meaning and symbolism could send a dedicated literature student into paroxysms of pleasure no doubt.
Wary as I am of Coetzee's often stilted world-building, my 5-star rating was an inevitability given my obsession with narratives containing a discernible vein of literary activism in harmony with notions of social justice. Here he also seems to have successfully reined in his pesky habit of turning his characters into sockpuppet-ish mouthpieces to tout his own passage-length worldviews. The narrator does occasionally morph into a pedagogue but his inner monologues never seem out of place given his unique circumstances. Besides it takes courage to acknowledge the fact of white man's guilt in a world which is yet to discard the rhetoric of 'white man's burden'.
So if I, a citizen of a purportedly newer and better social order, can still feel the rippling aftershocks of the catastrophe called Imperialism from across the barrier of decades and centuries, what would a man like Coetzee have experienced, stranded in the middle of the suffocating sociopolitical stasis of Apartheid? Moral anguish? A bitter impotence? A premonitory sense of doom? Anger?
Fiction, I believe, must have been his preferred method of exorcizing these demons. And purge these emotions he did through the composition of this slim little novel which can be aptly described as a most heart-wrenching lament on the condition of the world of his times.
It may be true that the world as it stands is no illusion, no evil dream of a night. It may be that we wake up to it ineluctably, that we can neither forget it nor dispense with it. But I find it as hard as ever to believe that the end is near.
An anonymous magistrate stationed at a farthest corner of an unspecified Empire witnesses the death throes of its reign while recovering his own humanity at the loss of his position of power and influence. In the beginning he is convinced of his righteousness as a dutiful servant of the Empire who oversees the welfare his subjects with moderation but with the arrival of a bluntly tyrannical figure of authority whose methods differ vastly from his, he begins to question his own collusion in the maintenance of an unnatural order. Unable to stand as a mute witness to the horrendous abuse inflicted on innocent 'natives' on the false suspicion of their complicity with 'barbarians' or armed rebels who threaten the stability of the Empire, he clashes with the aforementioned administrator who undoubtedly represents the true face of any oppressor when divested of its sheen of sophistication. And thus begins his fall from grace culminating in a kind of metaphorical rebirth through extreme physical abasement.
I was the lie that Empire tells itself when times are easy, he the truth that Empire tells when harsh winds blow. Two sides of imperial rule, no more, no less.
In the fashion of Coetzee's signature didacticism the novel is rife with allegorical implications but as much as these can be deeply thought-provoking, sometimes they also resemble conveniently inserted contrivances. Like the pseudo-erotic entanglement that develops between the ageing magistrate and a young 'barbarian' girl who is left maimed and partially blinded after a violent bout of interrogation is amply demonstrative of a colonizer-colonized arrangement - the one bereft of power to drive the relationship in a desired direction becomes dependent on the volatile benevolence of the other party. Or the mounting paranoia about the anticipated attack of the 'barbarians' who, much like Godot, fail to appear and remain a myth till the end although emerging as the key factor hastening the impending demise of Empire. All the layers of meaning and symbolism could send a dedicated literature student into paroxysms of pleasure no doubt.
With the buck before me suspended in immobility, there seems to be time for all things, time even to turn my gaze inward and see what it is that has robbed the hunt of its savour: the sense that this has become no longer a morning's hunting but an occasion on which either the proud ram bleeds to death on the ice or the old hunter misses his aim; that for the duration of its frozen moment the stars are locked in a configuration in which events are not themselves but stand for other things.
Wary as I am of Coetzee's often stilted world-building, my 5-star rating was an inevitability given my obsession with narratives containing a discernible vein of literary activism in harmony with notions of social justice. Here he also seems to have successfully reined in his pesky habit of turning his characters into sockpuppet-ish mouthpieces to tout his own passage-length worldviews. The narrator does occasionally morph into a pedagogue but his inner monologues never seem out of place given his unique circumstances. Besides it takes courage to acknowledge the fact of white man's guilt in a world which is yet to discard the rhetoric of 'white man's burden'.
December 7, 2021
(Book 287 from 1001 books) - Waiting For The Barbarians, J.M. Coetzee
Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel by the South African-born Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee. First published in 1980.
The story is narrated in the first person by the unnamed magistrate of a small colonial town that exists as the territorial frontier of "the Empire".
The Magistrate's rather peaceful existence comes to an end with the Empire's declaration of a state of emergency and with the deployment of the Third Bureau鈥攕pecial forces of the Empire鈥攄ue to rumours that the area's indigenous people, called "barbarians" by the colonists, might be preparing to attack the town.
Consequently, the Third Bureau conducts an expedition into the land beyond the frontier. Led by a sinister Colonel Joll, the Third Bureau captures a number of barbarians, brings them back to town, tortures them, kills some of them, and leaves for the capital in order to prepare a larger campaign.
In the meantime, the Magistrate begins to question the legitimacy of imperialism and personally nurses a barbarian girl who was left crippled and partly blinded by the Third Bureau's torturers.
The Magistrate has an intimate yet uncertain relationship with the girl. Eventually, he decides to take her back to her people.
After a life-threatening trip through the barren land, during which they have sex, he succeeds in returning her鈥攆inally asking, to no avail, if she will stay with him鈥攁nd returns to his own town. The Third Bureau soldiers have reappeared there and now arrest the Magistrate for having deserted his post and consorting with "the enemy".
Without much possibility of a trial during such emergency circumstances, the Magistrate remains in a locked cellar for an indefinite period, experiencing for the first time a near-complete lack of basic freedoms.
He finally acquires a key that allows him to leave the makeshift jail, but finds that he has no place to escape to and only spends his time outside the jail scavenging for scraps of food. ...
丿乇 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 亘乇亘乇賴丕 - 噩蹖.丕賲 讴賵鬲爻蹖 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲蹖賴丕: (丕賱亘乇夭貙 丕跇丿賴丕蹖 胤賱丕蹖蹖貨 噩蹖丨賵賳貨 賳卮乇 賯氐賴貨 倬賱讴貨 賳卮乇 賲乇讴夭)貨 鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 爻賵賲 賲丕賴 爻倬鬲丕賲亘乇 爻丕賱2009賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
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鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 25/11/1399賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 15/09/1400賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel by the South African-born Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee. First published in 1980.
The story is narrated in the first person by the unnamed magistrate of a small colonial town that exists as the territorial frontier of "the Empire".
The Magistrate's rather peaceful existence comes to an end with the Empire's declaration of a state of emergency and with the deployment of the Third Bureau鈥攕pecial forces of the Empire鈥攄ue to rumours that the area's indigenous people, called "barbarians" by the colonists, might be preparing to attack the town.
Consequently, the Third Bureau conducts an expedition into the land beyond the frontier. Led by a sinister Colonel Joll, the Third Bureau captures a number of barbarians, brings them back to town, tortures them, kills some of them, and leaves for the capital in order to prepare a larger campaign.
In the meantime, the Magistrate begins to question the legitimacy of imperialism and personally nurses a barbarian girl who was left crippled and partly blinded by the Third Bureau's torturers.
The Magistrate has an intimate yet uncertain relationship with the girl. Eventually, he decides to take her back to her people.
After a life-threatening trip through the barren land, during which they have sex, he succeeds in returning her鈥攆inally asking, to no avail, if she will stay with him鈥攁nd returns to his own town. The Third Bureau soldiers have reappeared there and now arrest the Magistrate for having deserted his post and consorting with "the enemy".
Without much possibility of a trial during such emergency circumstances, the Magistrate remains in a locked cellar for an indefinite period, experiencing for the first time a near-complete lack of basic freedoms.
He finally acquires a key that allows him to leave the makeshift jail, but finds that he has no place to escape to and only spends his time outside the jail scavenging for scraps of food. ...
丿乇 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 亘乇亘乇賴丕 - 噩蹖.丕賲 讴賵鬲爻蹖 丕賳鬲卮丕乇丕鬲蹖賴丕: (丕賱亘乇夭貙 丕跇丿賴丕蹖 胤賱丕蹖蹖貨 噩蹖丨賵賳貨 賳卮乇 賯氐賴貨 倬賱讴貨 賳卮乇 賲乇讴夭)貨 鬲丕乇蹖禺 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 禺賵丕賳卮: 亘蹖爻鬲 賵 爻賵賲 賲丕賴 爻倬鬲丕賲亘乇 爻丕賱2009賲蹖賱丕丿蹖
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毓賳賵丕賳: 丿乇 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 亘乇亘乇賴丕貨 賳賵蹖爻賳丿賴: 噩蹖.丕賲 讴賵鬲夭蹖貨 亘乇诏乇丿丕賳: 賲丨爻賳 賲蹖賳賵禺乇丿貨 賲卮禺氐丕鬲 賳卮乇 鬲賴乇丕賳貙 賳卮乇 賲乇讴夭貙 爻丕賱1386貙 丿乇232氐貙 卮丕亘讴9789643059378貨
诏丕賴 亘丕賵乇 賲蹖讴賳賲貙 亘乇亘乇貙 賴賲丕賳 亘丕乇亘乇 丕爻鬲貙 亘賵賲蹖丕賳 爻丕讴賳 賵 鬲丕乇蹖禺蹖 爻乇夭賲蹖賳 禺賵蹖卮貨 讴賴 鬲丕 趩賲丿丕賳 亘賴 丿爻鬲賴丕 倬蹖丿丕 卮丿賳丿貙 卮丕蹖丿 亘乇丕蹖 賲賴賲丕賳 賳賵丕夭蹖 亘賵丿貙 讴賴 亘乇丕蹖 賳禺爻鬲蹖賳 亘丕乇 禺賵丕爻鬲賳丿貙 亘賴 丕夭 乇丕賴 乇爻蹖丿诏丕賳 蹖丕乇蹖 乇爻丕賳賳丿貨 丌賳趩賴 鬲丕 丕蹖賳噩丕 賳賵卮鬲賲 乇亘胤蹖 亘賴 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 讴鬲丕亘 賳丿丕卮鬲貙 丕賲丕 亘賴 毓賳賵丕賳 讴鬲丕亘 趩乇丕責
卮禺氐蹖鬲 丕氐賱蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳貙 蹖讴 賯丕囟蹖 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 亘賴 賳賵毓蹖 亘丕 禺賵丿貙 丿乇 噩賳诏 丕爻鬲貙 賳賴 夭賳 賵 賳賴 亘趩賴 丿丕乇丿貨 丕蹖卮丕賳貙 乇賵丕蹖鬲诏乇 丕賳爻丕賳蹖 丿乇 馗丕賴乇 亘丕夭賳丿賴貙 賵 丿乇 賳賴丕賳 倬蹖乇賵夭 丕爻鬲貨 賲蹖丕賳丿蹖卮丿: 讴爻蹖 亘賴 蹖讴 倬蹖乇賲乇丿 鬲賵噩賴 賳賲蹖讴賳丿貙 芦丿乇 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 亘乇亘乇賴丕禄貙 乇賵丕蹖鬲 丕賳鬲馗丕乇 賳賴賮鬲賴 丿乇 丿乇賵賳 丕賳爻丕賳 賳蹖夭 賴爻鬲貙 賴賲丕賳 讴賴 诏賵蹖賳丿: 芦卮丕蹖丿 賲毓噩夭賴 丕蹖 乇禺 丿賴丿禄貨 诏賲丕賳賴 夭丿賳 賴丕 賵 鬲賱賴 倬丕鬲蹖貙 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿禺鬲乇蹖 芦亘乇亘乇禄 賵 賳丕亘蹖賳丕貙 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丿卮賲賳丕賳 丕賲倬乇丕胤賵乇蹖 丕爻鬲貨 丿丕爻鬲丕賳 丕夭 夭丕賵蹖賴 丿蹖丿 丕賵賱 卮禺氐貙 賵 丿乇 夭賲丕賳 丨丕賱貙 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 賲讴丕賳鈥屬囏ж� 丕賮乇丕丿貙 賵 夭賲丕賳貙 賮丕賯丿 賳丕賲 蹖丕 鬲毓乇蹖賮 賲卮禺氐 賴爻鬲賳丿貙 丕蹖賳 賵蹖跇诏蹖賴丕 賲賵噩亘 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 丿丕爻鬲丕賳貙 噩賴丕賳鈥屫促呝堎� 亘丕卮丿貨 芦讴賵鬲夭蹖禄貙 卮蹖賵賴鈥� 蹖 乇賵丕蹖鬲 賲賳丕爻亘蹖 乇丕貙 亘乇丕蹖 賮囟丕爻丕夭蹖 鬲賳卮貙 馗賱賲 賵 丕爻鬲亘丿丕丿貙 賵 丌孬丕乇 丕噩鬲賲丕毓蹖 賲禺乇亘 丌賳貙 亘賴 讴丕乇 诏乇賮鬲賴 丕爻鬲貨 乇丕賵蹖貙 賵 卮禺氐蹖鬲 賲乇讴夭蹖 丿丕爻鬲丕賳貙 丿丕丿乇爻貙 蹖丕 卮賴乇丿丕乇 蹖讴 卮賴乇 賲乇夭蹖貙 丕夭 蹖讴 丕賲倬乇丕鬲賵乇蹖 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 丿乇 丌爻鬲丕賳賴 蹖 亘丕夭賳卮爻鬲诏蹖貙 賯乇丕乇 丿丕乇丿貙 丕蹖賳 卮禺氐蹖鬲貙 丿賵 賳賯卮 乇丕貙 亘乇丕蹖 禺賵丕賳卮讴乇 丕蹖賮丕 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� 賳禺爻鬲 丕蹖賳讴賴: 趩卮賲蹖 丕爻鬲 讴賴 禺賵丕賳卮诏乇 賴賲賴 蹖 乇賵蹖丿丕丿賴丕 乇丕貙 亘丕 丌賳 賲蹖鈥屫ㄛ屬嗀� 賵 丿賵賲 氐丿丕蹖蹖 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 賳賯胤賴 賳馗乇丕鬲 禺賵丿 乇丕貙 亘乇丕蹖 禺賵丕賳卮诏乇 亘丕夭诏賵 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀�
爻乇賴賳诏 芦噩賵賱禄貨 鬲賳賴丕 卮禺氐蹖 丕爻鬲貙 讴賴 丿丕乇丕蹖 賳丕賲 丕爻鬲貙 丕賵 亘賴 賳賲丕蹖賳丿诏蹖 丕夭 倬丕蹖鬲禺鬲 丕賲倬乇丕鬲賵乇蹖貙 亘賴 卮賴乇 賵丕乇丿 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 鬲丕 卮丕蹖毓丕鬲貙 賲亘賳蹖 亘乇 丨賲賱賴鈥� 蹖 賯亘蹖賱賴鈥� 丕蹖 亘賵賲蹖貙 賵 芦亘丿賵蹖禄貙 讴賴 亘丕 毓賳賵丕賳 芦亘乇亘乇賴丕禄貙 卮賳丕禺鬲賴 賲蹖鈥屫促堎嗀� 賵 丿乇 賲賳丕胤賯 賲乇夭蹖貙 夭賳丿诏蹖 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 亘乇乇爻蹖 讴賳丿貨 丕賵 亘乇丕蹖 讴爻亘 丕胤賱丕毓丕鬲貙 趩賳丿 夭賳丿丕賳蹖貙 丕夭 丕賮乇丕丿 亘賵賲蹖 乇丕貙 卮讴賳噩賴鈥� 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀� 乇賵卮蹖 讴賴貙 亘賴 賳馗乇 卮賴乇丿丕乇貙 夭蹖乇 倬乇爻卮 丕爻鬲貙 乇賵蹖丿丕丿賴丕蹖蹖 丕夭 丕蹖賳诏賵賳賴 亘丕毓孬 賲蹖鈥屫促堎嗀� 卮賴乇丿丕乇 亘賴 丨賯丕賳蹖鬲貙 賵 讴丕乇丌賲丿蹖 爻蹖爻鬲賲 丨賯賵賯蹖 丕賲倬乇丕鬲賵乇蹖貙 卮讴 讴賳丿貙 丿乇 丨丕賱蹖讴賴 倬蹖卮鬲乇貙 禺賵丿 乇丕 賵賮丕丿丕乇貙 賵 賲胤蹖毓 丕賲倬乇丕鬲賵乇蹖貙 賲蹖鈥屫з嗀池� 卮賴乇丿丕乇貙 亘丕 丿禺鬲乇蹖 丕夭 芦亘乇亘乇賴丕禄貙 讴賴 丿乇 卮賴乇 亘丕賯蹖鈥屬呚з嗀� 丕爻鬲貙 賵 夭蹖乇 卮讴賳噩賴 鈥屬囏ж� 丌爻蹖亘 亘爻蹖丕乇蹖 丿蹖丿賴貙 乇賵亘乇賵 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 丕夭 爻賵蹖蹖 賳爻亘鬲 亘賴 丕賵貙 毓賱丕賯賲賳丿 丕爻鬲貙 賵 丕夭 胤乇賮蹖貙 丨爻 賲爻卅賵賱蹖鬲 丿乇 賯亘丕賱 丿禺鬲乇貙 賵 賯亘蹖賱賴鈥� 丕卮貙 讴賴 亘蹖鈥屫必呚з嗁� 賲賵乇丿 馗賱賲貙 賯乇丕乇 賲蹖鈥屭屫辟嗀� 丿丕乇丿貙 亘賳丕亘乇丕蹖賳 禺賵丿 乇丕貙 亘賴 禺胤乇 賲蹖鈥屫з嗀ж藏� 鬲丕 丕夭 丕賵貙 倬乇爻鬲丕乇蹖貙 賵 賳诏賴亘丕賳蹖 讴賳丿貙 賵 丕賵 乇丕貙 亘賴 賲乇丿賲丕賳卮 亘乇诏乇丿丕賳丿貨 丿乇 丕丿丕賲賴貙 乇禺丿丕丿賴丕蹖蹖 乇賵蹖 賲蹖鈥屫囐嗀� 讴賴 賳賯卮 賲賳賮蹖 丨讴賵賲鬲貙 丿乇 鬲丨乇蹖讴 丕丨爻丕爻丕鬲 賲乇丿賲丕賳 卮賴乇貙 賳爻亘鬲 亘賴 蹖讴 鬲賴丿蹖丿 亘蹖鈥屫ж池ж� 乇丕貙 亘賴 鬲氐賵蹖乇 賲蹖鈥屭┴簇�
鬲丕乇蹖禺 亘賴賳诏丕賲 乇爻丕賳蹖 25/11/1399賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 15/09/1400賴噩乇蹖 禺賵乇卮蹖丿蹖貨 丕. 卮乇亘蹖丕賳蹖
January 28, 2021
Who is the real barbarian, the colonizer or the less developed colonized? I guess this was the main theme of the book for me.
Waiting for the Barbarian is a very powerful book but I enjoyed Disgrace by the same author more .
I observed that there are a few common themes in both books such as:
- the "disgrace of getting old". Both main characters are past their youth and are horrified by the way their body is getting older
- violence and rape
- a father witnesses atrocities being done to their daughter and is unable to intervene and save her
- moral questionable relationships that manage to get the main character into trouble and influence his destiny.
Waiting for the Barbarian is a very powerful book but I enjoyed Disgrace by the same author more .
I observed that there are a few common themes in both books such as:
- the "disgrace of getting old". Both main characters are past their youth and are horrified by the way their body is getting older
- violence and rape
- a father witnesses atrocities being done to their daughter and is unable to intervene and save her
- moral questionable relationships that manage to get the main character into trouble and influence his destiny.
June 14, 2024
Romanul lui Coetzee mi s-a p膬rut la fel de bun ca 葯i la prima lectur膬.
脦ntr-un fort de la marginea Imperiului, via葲a curge lini葯tit. Sigur, exist膬 o vag膬 temere legat膬 de ni葯te presupu葯i 鈥瀊arbari鈥�. Nimeni nu i-a z膬rit 卯nc膬, nimeni nu a fost atacat de ei, dar credin葲a 卯n viclenia 葯i cruzimea lor persist膬 卯n min葲ile cet膬葲enilor.
Barbarii devin 鈥瀝eali鈥�, abia din momentul 卯n care fortul este inspectat de colonelul Joll, o brut膬, 葯i autorit膬葲ile hot膬r膬sc c膬 a venit vremea unui r膬zboi total. Barbarii trebuie s膬 dispar膬 de pe fa葲a p膬m卯ntului. Trupele pornesc 卯n expedi葲ii, str膬bat 葲inuturi aride 葯i se 卯ntorc cu o m卯n膬 de prizonieri 卯n zdren葲e. Captivii nu par deloc ni葯te r膬zboinici, nu au 卯nf膬葲i葯area unor barbari veritabili. Asta nu-l 卯mpiedic膬 pe colonelul Joll s膬-i tortureze 葯i s膬-i ucid膬, pentru a stabili 鈥瀉dev膬rul鈥� voit de el. 葮i p卯n膬 la urm膬, adev膬rul devine 卯ns膬葯i tortura.
Invoc卯nd un pericol 鈥瀒minent鈥�, Joll instituie un regim de teroare. Cet膬葲enii asist膬 pasiv la aceste groz膬vii. Singurul om care 卯ndr膬zne葯te s膬-l 卯nfrunte pe colonel e Magistratul, un b膬rbat 鈥灻畁tre dou膬 v卯rste鈥�, cel care administrase p卯n膬 atunci fortul 葯i aplicase, cu pruden葲膬 葯i bun sim葲, Legea. Fire葯te, Magistratul nu e un sf卯nt, e un om ca oricare altul, cu p膬cate 葯i sl膬biciuni. Va fi supus la cazne 卯nfior膬toate, va ajunge la limita rezisten葲ei, se va umili 卯n fa葲a lui Mandel, unul dintre tor葲ionari, va cere 卯ndurare...
脦n definitiv, barbarii s卯nt doar pretextul de a institui o dictatur膬 a bunului plac, a instinctelor agresive 葯i a lipsei de ra葲iune: 鈥濻olda葲ii ajung s膬 tiranizeze 卯ntregul ora葯鈥� (p.166). Iar fantasma barbarilor va justifica minciuna, despotismul 葯i violen葲a nes膬buit膬.
脦ntr-un fort de la marginea Imperiului, via葲a curge lini葯tit. Sigur, exist膬 o vag膬 temere legat膬 de ni葯te presupu葯i 鈥瀊arbari鈥�. Nimeni nu i-a z膬rit 卯nc膬, nimeni nu a fost atacat de ei, dar credin葲a 卯n viclenia 葯i cruzimea lor persist膬 卯n min葲ile cet膬葲enilor.
Barbarii devin 鈥瀝eali鈥�, abia din momentul 卯n care fortul este inspectat de colonelul Joll, o brut膬, 葯i autorit膬葲ile hot膬r膬sc c膬 a venit vremea unui r膬zboi total. Barbarii trebuie s膬 dispar膬 de pe fa葲a p膬m卯ntului. Trupele pornesc 卯n expedi葲ii, str膬bat 葲inuturi aride 葯i se 卯ntorc cu o m卯n膬 de prizonieri 卯n zdren葲e. Captivii nu par deloc ni葯te r膬zboinici, nu au 卯nf膬葲i葯area unor barbari veritabili. Asta nu-l 卯mpiedic膬 pe colonelul Joll s膬-i tortureze 葯i s膬-i ucid膬, pentru a stabili 鈥瀉dev膬rul鈥� voit de el. 葮i p卯n膬 la urm膬, adev膬rul devine 卯ns膬葯i tortura.
Invoc卯nd un pericol 鈥瀒minent鈥�, Joll instituie un regim de teroare. Cet膬葲enii asist膬 pasiv la aceste groz膬vii. Singurul om care 卯ndr膬zne葯te s膬-l 卯nfrunte pe colonel e Magistratul, un b膬rbat 鈥灻畁tre dou膬 v卯rste鈥�, cel care administrase p卯n膬 atunci fortul 葯i aplicase, cu pruden葲膬 葯i bun sim葲, Legea. Fire葯te, Magistratul nu e un sf卯nt, e un om ca oricare altul, cu p膬cate 葯i sl膬biciuni. Va fi supus la cazne 卯nfior膬toate, va ajunge la limita rezisten葲ei, se va umili 卯n fa葲a lui Mandel, unul dintre tor葲ionari, va cere 卯ndurare...
脦n definitiv, barbarii s卯nt doar pretextul de a institui o dictatur膬 a bunului plac, a instinctelor agresive 葯i a lipsei de ra葲iune: 鈥濻olda葲ii ajung s膬 tiranizeze 卯ntregul ora葯鈥� (p.166). Iar fantasma barbarilor va justifica minciuna, despotismul 葯i violen葲a nes膬buit膬.
November 25, 2024
JM Coetzee offers a bizarre story with his novel Waiting for the Barbarians. We don't know where or when it takes place, and it doesn't matter. The narrator is the magistrate of a border town folded in on itself. Beyond the walls, in the mountainous desert, arid and cold, hide barbarians. We don't know much about them except that all this territory once belonged to them long ago. We fear them, but we don't know why. Probably because the Empire has decided so, we need a common enemy, so we invent this threat. However, the few barbarians we saw lived miserably in huts near the lake and the river. Be that as it may, the reader mainly witnesses the growing unease in the small community and the joyful arrival of an armed company sent as reinforcements. But the narrator sees this arrival with an evil eye.
Many compare Waiting for the Barbarians with the desert of the Tartars by Dino Buzzati. Yes, there are similarities. For example, this fortress is a bastion of civilization on the borders of nowhere. But, while Buzzati's hero loses his mind, believing he is fulfilling his absurd duty to stand up to an invisible enemy (perhaps even disappeared?), Coetzee must wage war against his own. It is because the Empire fears these barbarians who are at its gates.
Moreover, the new armed company from the capital disperses small groups of these barbarians, takes some prisoners, and tortures them. The magistrate opposes it, takes pity on them, and, above all, comes to their aid. Moreover, he collects one of them at his home. This gesture earned him the soldiers' animosity and the incomprehension of the civilians, who broke away from him. Why does he like them? Is he in league with them? Fear, always fear, governs people's minds, so we go after the barbarians more; we provoke them.
Coetzee offers us a reflection on the human condition. In the name of civilization, several protagonists commit the worst atrocities. That's saying a lot. But, finally, the armed company is defeated and scattered, and the rare soldiers drop their weapons. The civilians are now defenseless. And the magistrate is now too old and isolated to do anything about it. All that remains is to wait for the barbarians. As their advance threatens the city, passions run wild, and we tear each other apart. For the civilians who can flee, for the others, it is forfeiture. We realize how fragile civilization is. It's quite a reversal: the barbarians and the natives regain their rights in their ancestral lands. Many see it as an allegory; we can compare this situation with the segregationist regime that prevailed in South Africa, ensuring the supremacy of Afrikaans over blacks. In Waiting for the Barbarians, we can say that the author was correct because Apartheid was abolished eleven years later.
Many compare Waiting for the Barbarians with the desert of the Tartars by Dino Buzzati. Yes, there are similarities. For example, this fortress is a bastion of civilization on the borders of nowhere. But, while Buzzati's hero loses his mind, believing he is fulfilling his absurd duty to stand up to an invisible enemy (perhaps even disappeared?), Coetzee must wage war against his own. It is because the Empire fears these barbarians who are at its gates.
Moreover, the new armed company from the capital disperses small groups of these barbarians, takes some prisoners, and tortures them. The magistrate opposes it, takes pity on them, and, above all, comes to their aid. Moreover, he collects one of them at his home. This gesture earned him the soldiers' animosity and the incomprehension of the civilians, who broke away from him. Why does he like them? Is he in league with them? Fear, always fear, governs people's minds, so we go after the barbarians more; we provoke them.
Coetzee offers us a reflection on the human condition. In the name of civilization, several protagonists commit the worst atrocities. That's saying a lot. But, finally, the armed company is defeated and scattered, and the rare soldiers drop their weapons. The civilians are now defenseless. And the magistrate is now too old and isolated to do anything about it. All that remains is to wait for the barbarians. As their advance threatens the city, passions run wild, and we tear each other apart. For the civilians who can flee, for the others, it is forfeiture. We realize how fragile civilization is. It's quite a reversal: the barbarians and the natives regain their rights in their ancestral lands. Many see it as an allegory; we can compare this situation with the segregationist regime that prevailed in South Africa, ensuring the supremacy of Afrikaans over blacks. In Waiting for the Barbarians, we can say that the author was correct because Apartheid was abolished eleven years later.
March 3, 2020
"They do not care that once the ground is cleared the wind begins to eat at the soil and the desert advances. Thus the expeditionary force against the barbarians prepared for its campaign, ravaging the earth, wasting our patrimony."
Is this--my 5th one read--THE quintessential Coetzee? (I may or not be nodding my head.)
Earlier than "Life & Times of Micheal K.", it is here that we see the true beginnings of Coetzee's motifs, as well as the accomplished writer's poetics. A man whose fortune is reversed; a war-torn stage; a modern Holocaust; sadistic regimes. "Waiting for the Barbarians" is the Schindler legend reproduced: it evokes the same tension of living lives in a death camp, all the while keeping the First Person POV pulsating with life, afire, though always dwindling between morality and evil, between life & death.
Not so strange that of "Waiting for the Barbarians" Graham Greene wrote "A remarkable & original book." His spectacular "The Quiet American", also a novella robust with pathos and adventure, is emulated here as the Magistrate, torn apart over his conscience and his duties to the Empire, finds solace in one of the enemy. Because the voice of the protagonist is so damn credible, full of contradictions and deep thoughts it is that verisimilitude is fully achieved. We get both a man in complete "Hamlet" gear (perhaps as ill equipped as Coetzee's Slow Man, or his doe-eyed, hare-lipped Michael K. to the ravishes of a deeply-apathetic world) & a lesson in (far-flung, private, hidden) history.
It's pretty obvious to see why this deserves a very-coveted place in the canon, in literature. Here: a prime example of Post Colonial Lit. And also, let's not forget, a prime reason Coetzee got his Nobel Prize.
Is this--my 5th one read--THE quintessential Coetzee? (I may or not be nodding my head.)
Earlier than "Life & Times of Micheal K.", it is here that we see the true beginnings of Coetzee's motifs, as well as the accomplished writer's poetics. A man whose fortune is reversed; a war-torn stage; a modern Holocaust; sadistic regimes. "Waiting for the Barbarians" is the Schindler legend reproduced: it evokes the same tension of living lives in a death camp, all the while keeping the First Person POV pulsating with life, afire, though always dwindling between morality and evil, between life & death.
Not so strange that of "Waiting for the Barbarians" Graham Greene wrote "A remarkable & original book." His spectacular "The Quiet American", also a novella robust with pathos and adventure, is emulated here as the Magistrate, torn apart over his conscience and his duties to the Empire, finds solace in one of the enemy. Because the voice of the protagonist is so damn credible, full of contradictions and deep thoughts it is that verisimilitude is fully achieved. We get both a man in complete "Hamlet" gear (perhaps as ill equipped as Coetzee's Slow Man, or his doe-eyed, hare-lipped Michael K. to the ravishes of a deeply-apathetic world) & a lesson in (far-flung, private, hidden) history.
It's pretty obvious to see why this deserves a very-coveted place in the canon, in literature. Here: a prime example of Post Colonial Lit. And also, let's not forget, a prime reason Coetzee got his Nobel Prize.
November 9, 2017
賴匕丕 賴賵 賲丕 鬲賯丿賲賴 丕賱丨囟丕乇丕鬲 丕賱睾乇亘賷丞貙 亘毓丿 丕賳 賷兀鬲賷 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賱賱鬲噩丕乇丞 賲毓 丕賱賲爻鬲賵胤賳丞 丕賵 丕賱亘賱丿丞 丕賱丨丿賵丿賷丞 賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賲丕. 鬲噩丿賴賲 賳丕卅賲賷賳 賮賷 丕賱亘乇賰 賵賮賽賷 丕賱胤乇賯丕鬲 賵丕賱賲噩丕乇賷乇 亘毓丿 賱賷賱丞 爻賰乇 賵禺賲乇.
賱賲 鬲賰賳 丕賱亘賱丿丞 鬲鬲毓乇囟 丕賱賶 丕賻賷 禺胤乇貙 賮丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賱丕 賷乇丕賴賲 丕丨丿 丕賱丕 賮賷 賲賵爻賲 賲毓賷賳 賷鬲丕噩乇賵賳 賵賷賳賮賯賵賳 丕賲賵丕賱賴賲 毓賱賶 丕賱禺賲乇 孬賲 賷睾丕丿乇賵賳.
丨鬲賶 噩丕亍 丕賱毓爻賰乇 賵鬲丨鬲 卮毓丕乇丕鬲 丨亘 丕賱賵胤賳 賵丕賱禺胤乇 丕賱賲丨賷胤 亘丕賱賵胤賳 賷亘丿兀賵賳 丨賲賱丞 鬲毓賯亘 賱賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賵兀爻乇賴賲 賵鬲毓匕賷亘賴賲.
賴賰匕丕 賴賲 丕賱毓爻賰乇 賮賷 賰賱 賲賰丕賳 賵夭賲丕賳 賷毓乇賮賵賳 賰賱 卮賷亍 賵賷賮賴賲賵賳 亘賰賱 卮賷亍 賵丕賱賲丿賳賷 丨鬲賶 賱賵 賰丕賳 賯丕囟賷丕 賵賷丿賷乇 亘賱丿丞 亘丿賵賳 丕賻賷 賲卮丕賰賱貙 賷氐亘丨 禺丕卅賳丕 賵毓賲賷賱丕 賱賱亘乇丕亘乇丞.
賮賱爻賮丞 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賷賯丿賲賴丕 賴匕丕 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賮賷 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 亘兀爻賱賵亘 乇丕卅毓 賵賳馗乇鬲賴 賱賱丨賷丕丞 賷賯丿賲賴丕 賲賳 禺賱丕賱 賴匕丕 丕賱賯丕囟賷 丕賱匕賷 賷毓卮賯 亘賱丿鬲賴 賵賱賻賲 賷鬲禺賱賶 毓賳賴丕 丨鬲賶 亘毓丿 賴乇亘 丕賱毓爻賰乇 賵爻乇賯鬲賴賲 賱禺賷乇丕鬲 丕賱亘賱丿丞.
賲乇丕毓丕鬲賴 丕賱賳賮爻賷丞 乇賴賷亘丞 禺賱丕賱 丕賱鬲毓乇囟 賱賱鬲毓匕賷亘 賵丕賱丕鬲賴丕賲 亘丕賱禺賷丕賳賴 賵丕賱毓賲丕賱丞. 賵賰丕賳 亘丕賳鬲馗丕乇 丕賱賲丨丕賰賲丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱賲 賵賱賳 鬲丨氐賱 賱丕賳賴丕 賯囟賷丞 毓爻賰乇 賵丕賱賵胤賳賷丞 賵丕賱丕賳鬲賲丕亍 賱賱賵胤賳 賴賵 丕賱丕鬲賴丕賲 丕賱匕賷 賷賯賵賱賵賳 丕賳賴 鬲噩丕賵夭賴 賵賱賰賳 丿賵賳 丿賱賷賱.
丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 睾丕賲囟丞 賵丕賱丕爻賱賵亘 丕賱爻乇丿賷 兀囟丕賮 毓賱賷賴丕 睾賲賵囟丕 丕賰孬乇 亘丕爻鬲孬賳丕亍 丕賱賯丕囟賷 丕賱匕賷 鬲噩乇賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 毓賱賶 賱爻丕賳賴.
兀锟斤拷亘亘鬲赖丕
賱賲 鬲賰賳 丕賱亘賱丿丞 鬲鬲毓乇囟 丕賱賶 丕賻賷 禺胤乇貙 賮丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賱丕 賷乇丕賴賲 丕丨丿 丕賱丕 賮賷 賲賵爻賲 賲毓賷賳 賷鬲丕噩乇賵賳 賵賷賳賮賯賵賳 丕賲賵丕賱賴賲 毓賱賶 丕賱禺賲乇 孬賲 賷睾丕丿乇賵賳.
丨鬲賶 噩丕亍 丕賱毓爻賰乇 賵鬲丨鬲 卮毓丕乇丕鬲 丨亘 丕賱賵胤賳 賵丕賱禺胤乇 丕賱賲丨賷胤 亘丕賱賵胤賳 賷亘丿兀賵賳 丨賲賱丞 鬲毓賯亘 賱賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賵兀爻乇賴賲 賵鬲毓匕賷亘賴賲.
賴賰匕丕 賴賲 丕賱毓爻賰乇 賮賷 賰賱 賲賰丕賳 賵夭賲丕賳 賷毓乇賮賵賳 賰賱 卮賷亍 賵賷賮賴賲賵賳 亘賰賱 卮賷亍 賵丕賱賲丿賳賷 丨鬲賶 賱賵 賰丕賳 賯丕囟賷丕 賵賷丿賷乇 亘賱丿丞 亘丿賵賳 丕賻賷 賲卮丕賰賱貙 賷氐亘丨 禺丕卅賳丕 賵毓賲賷賱丕 賱賱亘乇丕亘乇丞.
賮賱爻賮丞 丕賱丨賷丕丞 賷賯丿賲賴丕 賴匕丕 丕賱賲丐賱賮 賮賷 乇賵丕賷鬲賴 亘兀爻賱賵亘 乇丕卅毓 賵賳馗乇鬲賴 賱賱丨賷丕丞 賷賯丿賲賴丕 賲賳 禺賱丕賱 賴匕丕 丕賱賯丕囟賷 丕賱匕賷 賷毓卮賯 亘賱丿鬲賴 賵賱賻賲 賷鬲禺賱賶 毓賳賴丕 丨鬲賶 亘毓丿 賴乇亘 丕賱毓爻賰乇 賵爻乇賯鬲賴賲 賱禺賷乇丕鬲 丕賱亘賱丿丞.
賲乇丕毓丕鬲賴 丕賱賳賮爻賷丞 乇賴賷亘丞 禺賱丕賱 丕賱鬲毓乇囟 賱賱鬲毓匕賷亘 賵丕賱丕鬲賴丕賲 亘丕賱禺賷丕賳賴 賵丕賱毓賲丕賱丞. 賵賰丕賳 亘丕賳鬲馗丕乇 丕賱賲丨丕賰賲丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱賲 賵賱賳 鬲丨氐賱 賱丕賳賴丕 賯囟賷丞 毓爻賰乇 賵丕賱賵胤賳賷丞 賵丕賱丕賳鬲賲丕亍 賱賱賵胤賳 賴賵 丕賱丕鬲賴丕賲 丕賱匕賷 賷賯賵賱賵賳 丕賳賴 鬲噩丕賵夭賴 賵賱賰賳 丿賵賳 丿賱賷賱.
丕賱卮禺氐賷丕鬲 賮賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 睾丕賲囟丞 賵丕賱丕爻賱賵亘 丕賱爻乇丿賷 兀囟丕賮 毓賱賷賴丕 睾賲賵囟丕 丕賰孬乇 亘丕爻鬲孬賳丕亍 丕賱賯丕囟賷 丕賱匕賷 鬲噩乇賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 毓賱賶 賱爻丕賳賴.
兀锟斤拷亘亘鬲赖丕
February 22, 2019
After the shock of the recent Paris attacks I don鈥檛 know precisely why it made me recall 鈥檚 that I read a few years ago. Yesterday it was a terrorist attack and perhaps no direct result of imperialism, but maybe the fears that the recent events provoked in me are somewhat akin to those suffered in this tiny frontier settlement with the arrival of interrogation experts. Today we don鈥檛 know how to defend ourselves against such tragedy, how can we escape or where next will it hit? As we feel its aftershocks how can we not taste the same bitter impotence of those stranded in other periods of darkness that derive simply from the worst parts of human nature; or how can we not feel a premonition of doom that there is not much that can be done.
Waiting for the Barbarians is superb and a relatively easy book to read despite its deeper meanings. Coetzee states simply 鈥淧ain is truth; all else is subject to doubt.鈥� He is probably right.
There is much more in this brief 150 pages book:
Not much more that I can say鈥� Just read Waiting for the Barbarians, and appreciate Coetzee at his best.
____
Waiting for the Barbarians is superb and a relatively easy book to read despite its deeper meanings. Coetzee states simply 鈥淧ain is truth; all else is subject to doubt.鈥� He is probably right.
There is much more in this brief 150 pages book:
鈥淵ou think you know what is just and what is not. I understand. We all think we know." I had no doubt, myself, then, that at each moment each one of us, man, woman, child, perhaps even the poor old horse turning the mill-wheel, knew what was just: all creatures come into the world bringing with them the memory of justice. "But we live in a world of laws," I said to my poor prisoner, "a world of the second-best. There is nothing we can do about that. We are fallen creatures. All we can do is to uphold the laws, all of us, without allowing the memory of justice to fade.鈥�
Not much more that I can say鈥� Just read Waiting for the Barbarians, and appreciate Coetzee at his best.
____
October 3, 2022
Hace unos d铆as vi una muy recomendable pel铆cula titulada The Report. En ella se cuenta la historia de la redacci贸n del informe que el Senado estadounidense realiz贸 sobre el programa de "Interrogaci贸n y Detenci贸n" de la CIA tras el 11-S. En dicho informe se hizo constar que unos psic贸logos sin experiencia en interrogatorios ni en terrorismo idearon un protocolo de interrogatorio basado en la tortura. Las premisas de dicho protocolo coinciden con las del personaje de la novela de Coetzee (1980), el Coronel Joll:
鈥溾€� una situaci贸n en la que investigo para dar con la verdad, en la que tengo que presionar para encontrarla. Al principio solo obtengo mentiras, as铆 es, primero solo mentiras, entonces hay que presionar; despu茅s m谩s mentiras, entonces hay que presionar m谩s; luego el desmoronamiento, tras este seguimos presionando, y por fin la verdad. As铆 es como se obtiene la verdad.鈥�Los interrogatorios de la CIA, de la misma forma que los de la novela, fueron del todo ineficaces, y en ambos casos consta que los interrogados terminaban confesando, si es que contaban algo, cualquier cosa con tal de detener la tortura, con el consiguiente y posterior consumo de recursos en la comprobaci贸n y seguimiento de las pistas falsas. Lo m谩s terrible de todo, si es que algo puede ser m谩s terrible, es que informes parecidos realizados con anterioridad hab铆an llegado a las mismas conclusiones y no se tuvieron en cuenta. Los psic贸logos se embolsaron 81 millones de d贸lares por el asesoramiento.
Uno llega a preguntarse si un elemento esencial de estos b谩rbaros interrogatorios no es otro que el placer que los torturadores obtienen de los mismos, algo que tambi茅n insin煤a Coetzee en su novela.
鈥淎l observarle me pregunto qu茅 sentir铆a la primera vez que lo invitaron como aprendiz a retorcer los alicates o apretar las tuercas o hacer lo que tengan por costumbre: 驴se estremeci贸 siquiera ligeramente al saber que en ese mismo instante estaba traspasando el l铆mite de lo prohibido?鈥�Otro punto importante que aborda Coetzee es la utilizaci贸n del miedo como arma del Poder para su subsistencia, un miedo que infunde directamente mediante la represi贸n e indirectamente mediante la demonizaci贸n de un supuesto enemigo exterior, que ni siquiera tiene por qu茅 existir o ser una amenaza, y para el cual ellos se reivindican como la 煤nica protecci贸n posible.
鈥淣o existe a lo largo de la frontera mujer que no haya visto en sue帽os la mano morena de un b谩rbaro surgiendo bajo su cama para agarrarle el tobillo. Ni tampoco hombre que no se haya atemorizado con visiones de los b谩rbaros celebrando org铆as en su hogar, rompiendo los platos, incendiando las cortinas y violando a sus hijas.鈥�Y paralelamente a todo ello, est谩n las reflexiones de un miembro civil de ese poder, un miembro bien intencionado, amable, que se enfrenta a la dura represi贸n del ej茅rcito y que termina siendo consciente de su antigua participaci贸n en el juego del poder.
鈥淵o era la mentira que un Imperio se cuenta a s铆 mismo en los buenos tiempos, 茅l la verdad que un Imperio cuenta cuando corren malos vientos. Dos caras de la dominaci贸n imperial, ni m谩s ni menos.鈥�Un magistrado que es testigo de los injustos desmanes que comete el poder y al que tarda en enfrentarse, con el consiguiente sentimiento de culpa, para terminar sufri茅ndolo en sus propias carnes.
鈥淒esde entonces nunca volvi贸 a ser enteramente humana, dej贸 de ser hermana de todos nosotros. Se rompieron ciertos v铆nculos, su coraz贸n no pudo volver a abrigar ciertos sentimientos. Yo tambi茅n, si vivo lo bastante en esta celda con los esp铆ritus no s贸lo del padre y de la hija sino adem谩s con los del hombre que ni siquiera a la luz de la l谩mpara se quitaba sus discos negros de los ojos y del subordinado cuyo trabajo consist铆a en mantener la parrilla encendida, me contagiar茅 y me convertir茅 en un ser que no cree en nada.鈥�Toda esta reflexi贸n est谩 realmente bien, con momentos de gran dramatismo que se leen sin respirar. Pero despu茅s hay otra parte de la novela, bastante extensa, con cavilaciones sobre el deseo, la vejez, las cosas importantes de la vida鈥�, muy al margen de todo lo anterior, que se me hicieron pesadas. Tampoco me gust贸 como concluye la historia y el optimismo que ella refleja, ni el buenismo excesivo de esa declaraci贸n del protagonista, 鈥淐reo en la paz, y tal vez incluso en la paz a cualquier precio鈥�, que es justo la actitud que el poder necesita y a la que le puede poner un precio demasiado alto.
February 23, 2019
Pain is truth?
Maybe, according to the obscure man in power who thinks people lie until they are broken by torture. However, the truth he gets is not factual truth, but rather psychological nakedness. And it is not the pain, but the fear that guides the narrative. Fear of pain, fear of change, fear of the Barbarians.
Each dictatorship built on injustice needs Barbarians for protection. Or fear of barbarians, to be more precise. As long as they lurk in the desert, brutal laws seem to make sense.
The need for a wall is an effective way of staying in power - more so than the alternative of actually having a wall, or of building a relationship to the Barbarians.
Apart from and this probably is the scariest description of the human condition I know.
It doesn't need a realistic setting to be true. Fear and pain are there already. The rest is doubtful in any case.
Maybe, according to the obscure man in power who thinks people lie until they are broken by torture. However, the truth he gets is not factual truth, but rather psychological nakedness. And it is not the pain, but the fear that guides the narrative. Fear of pain, fear of change, fear of the Barbarians.
Each dictatorship built on injustice needs Barbarians for protection. Or fear of barbarians, to be more precise. As long as they lurk in the desert, brutal laws seem to make sense.
The need for a wall is an effective way of staying in power - more so than the alternative of actually having a wall, or of building a relationship to the Barbarians.
Apart from and this probably is the scariest description of the human condition I know.
It doesn't need a realistic setting to be true. Fear and pain are there already. The rest is doubtful in any case.
August 29, 2024
The air is full of sighs and cries.
He is a country magistrate; a supervisor and collector of taxes; an official in the service of the Empire, biding his time, waiting to retire.
But when the news arrives that there is unrest among the barbarians and that traders have been attacked and plundered, he finds himself reluctantly entangled in the Empire鈥檚 unjust games.
But can he stand witness to the atrocities committed in the name of 鈥楥ivilization鈥� and do nothing?
I am the same man I always was; but time has broken, something has fallen in upon me from the sky, at random, from nowhere.
But what do these 鈥楤arbarians鈥� really want? Do they want to kill and plunder? Do they want to destroy? Or do they want their lands back? Do they want to be free to move about with their flocks from pasture to pasture as they used to?
How do you eradicate contempt, especially when that contempt is founded on nothing more substantial than differences in table manners, variations in the structure of the eyelid? Shall I tell you what I sometimes wish? I wish that these barbarians would rise up and teach us a lesson, so that we would learn to respect them.
When arrests are made and interrogations and tortures begin, so begin the Magistrate鈥檚 doubts and uncertainties; what is right? What is wrong; what is fair and what is unjust? And soon he finds himself asking: What is civilization? And who are the real Barbarians?
The crime that is latent in us we must inflict on ourselves鈥ot on others.
He is a country magistrate; a supervisor and collector of taxes; an official in the service of the Empire, biding his time, waiting to retire.
But when the news arrives that there is unrest among the barbarians and that traders have been attacked and plundered, he finds himself reluctantly entangled in the Empire鈥檚 unjust games.
But can he stand witness to the atrocities committed in the name of 鈥楥ivilization鈥� and do nothing?
I am the same man I always was; but time has broken, something has fallen in upon me from the sky, at random, from nowhere.
But what do these 鈥楤arbarians鈥� really want? Do they want to kill and plunder? Do they want to destroy? Or do they want their lands back? Do they want to be free to move about with their flocks from pasture to pasture as they used to?
How do you eradicate contempt, especially when that contempt is founded on nothing more substantial than differences in table manners, variations in the structure of the eyelid? Shall I tell you what I sometimes wish? I wish that these barbarians would rise up and teach us a lesson, so that we would learn to respect them.
When arrests are made and interrogations and tortures begin, so begin the Magistrate鈥檚 doubts and uncertainties; what is right? What is wrong; what is fair and what is unjust? And soon he finds himself asking: What is civilization? And who are the real Barbarians?
The crime that is latent in us we must inflict on ourselves鈥ot on others.
February 2, 2019
丕賮鬲毓丕賱 丕賱丨賰賵賲丕鬲 賱賱兀禺胤丕乇 賱賱丿禺賵賱 賮賷 丨乇賵亘 囟丿 兀毓丿丕亍 賵賴賲賷賷賳... 賮賰乇丞 賵丕賯毓賷丞 噩丿丕
丕賱乇丕賵賷 賯丕囟賷 賮賷 亘賱丿丞 賮賷 丕賱賵丕丨丕鬲 毓賱賶 丨丿賵丿 丕賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賲丕, 賷毓丕乇囟 賯丕卅丿 丕賱噩賷卮 丕賱賯丕丿賲 賱賲丨丕乇亘丞 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 丕賱賲爻丕賱賲賷賳 丕賱賲賯賷賲賷賳 禺丕乇噩 丕賱丨丿賵丿 亘丿毓賵賶 丕賳 丕賱丕賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賲賴丿丿丞 亘賴噩賵賲 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賵兀賳賴賲 禺胤乇 毓賱賶 丕賱兀賲賳
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲毓乇囟 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賯囟丕賷丕.. 丨賯賷賯丞 丕賱爻賱胤丞, 丕賱鬲毓匕賷亘, 丕賱丕丨鬲賯丕乇 賵賳馗乇丞 丕賱賲爻鬲毓賲賽乇 丕賱丿賵賳賷丞 賱爻賰丕賳 丕賱兀乇囟 丕賱兀氐賱賷賷賳, 丕賱毓丿丕賱丞 賵丕賱賯丕賳賵賳 丕賱賱賷 賲丕 賰丕賳 賱賴賲 兀賷 賯賷賲丞 賮賷 賲賵丕噩賴丞 爻賱胤丞 丕賱賯賵丞 賵丕賱亘胤卮
丕賱爻乇丿 乇丕卅毓 賵丕賱兀爻賱賵亘 賷毓鬲賲丿 毓賱賶 丕賱丨賵丕乇 丕賱丿丕禺賱賷 賱亘胤賱 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵鬲兀賲賱賴 賮賷賲丕 賷丿賵乇 賮賷 賳賮爻賴 賵賮賷賲丕 賷噩乇賷 賲賳 兀丨丿丕孬
毓賳賵丕賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賯鬲亘爻 賲賳 毓賳賵丕賳 賯氐賷丿丞 賱賱卮丕毓乇 賰賵賳爻鬲賳鬲賷賳 賰賮丕賮賷, 賷賯賵賱 賮賷 賳賴丕賷丞 丕賱賯氐賷丿丞:
... .. 賱賲 賷兀鬲 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞
賱兀賳 兀賳丕爻丕 賯丿賲賵丕 賲賳 丕賱丨丿賵丿
賵賯丕賱賵丕 兀賳 賱賷爻 孬賲丞 亘乇丕亘乇丞
賵丕賱丌賳, 賲丕匕丕 賳賮毓賱 亘丿賵賳 亘乇丕亘乇丞責
賱賯丿 賰丕賳 賴丐賱丕亍 丨賱丕 賲賳 丕賱丨賱賵賱
丕賱乇丕賵賷 賯丕囟賷 賮賷 亘賱丿丞 賮賷 丕賱賵丕丨丕鬲 毓賱賶 丨丿賵丿 丕賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賲丕, 賷毓丕乇囟 賯丕卅丿 丕賱噩賷卮 丕賱賯丕丿賲 賱賲丨丕乇亘丞 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 丕賱賲爻丕賱賲賷賳 丕賱賲賯賷賲賷賳 禺丕乇噩 丕賱丨丿賵丿 亘丿毓賵賶 丕賳 丕賱丕賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賲賴丿丿丞 亘賴噩賵賲 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賵兀賳賴賲 禺胤乇 毓賱賶 丕賱兀賲賳
丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 鬲毓乇囟 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賲賳 丕賱賯囟丕賷丕.. 丨賯賷賯丞 丕賱爻賱胤丞, 丕賱鬲毓匕賷亘, 丕賱丕丨鬲賯丕乇 賵賳馗乇丞 丕賱賲爻鬲毓賲賽乇 丕賱丿賵賳賷丞 賱爻賰丕賳 丕賱兀乇囟 丕賱兀氐賱賷賷賳, 丕賱毓丿丕賱丞 賵丕賱賯丕賳賵賳 丕賱賱賷 賲丕 賰丕賳 賱賴賲 兀賷 賯賷賲丞 賮賷 賲賵丕噩賴丞 爻賱胤丞 丕賱賯賵丞 賵丕賱亘胤卮
丕賱爻乇丿 乇丕卅毓 賵丕賱兀爻賱賵亘 賷毓鬲賲丿 毓賱賶 丕賱丨賵丕乇 丕賱丿丕禺賱賷 賱亘胤賱 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賵鬲兀賲賱賴 賮賷賲丕 賷丿賵乇 賮賷 賳賮爻賴 賵賮賷賲丕 賷噩乇賷 賲賳 兀丨丿丕孬
毓賳賵丕賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賯鬲亘爻 賲賳 毓賳賵丕賳 賯氐賷丿丞 賱賱卮丕毓乇 賰賵賳爻鬲賳鬲賷賳 賰賮丕賮賷, 賷賯賵賱 賮賷 賳賴丕賷丞 丕賱賯氐賷丿丞:
... .. 賱賲 賷兀鬲 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞
賱兀賳 兀賳丕爻丕 賯丿賲賵丕 賲賳 丕賱丨丿賵丿
賵賯丕賱賵丕 兀賳 賱賷爻 孬賲丞 亘乇丕亘乇丞
賵丕賱丌賳, 賲丕匕丕 賳賮毓賱 亘丿賵賳 亘乇丕亘乇丞責
賱賯丿 賰丕賳 賴丐賱丕亍 丨賱丕 賲賳 丕賱丨賱賵賱
January 15, 2009
I鈥檓 going to write two Waiting for the Barbarians reviews. The first, in italics, is the one that someone seems to expect, the second is the one I would normally write. Take your pick!
Waiting for the Barbarians always reminds me of this time I was on a cross-country flight from DC to Oakland. This 400 pound Samoan guy in a black silk suit sat across the aisle from me. He feverishly wrote in his journal the entire flight, whispering things like 鈥渉oly fuck!鈥� and 鈥測es, shit, I鈥檝e got it!鈥� to himself over and over again until the flight attendants asked him to stop before they had to kick his fat ass off the plane for scaring the shit out of the old ladies who thought he might be a terrorist and didn鈥檛 realize his sumo knot wasn鈥檛 the same as a turban. By the way, a Samoan once almost sodomized me (it was an honest misunderstanding) in the Thai embassy in Paris. I鈥檇 tell you about that but I don鈥檛 want to get too far away from the book. Finally curiosity got the best of me and I leaned over and asked the Samoan what he was doing. He looked me up and down, well, as much up and down as you can look while the object of your attention is sitting in an airline seat, and said, 鈥淔uck you.鈥�
I said, 鈥淔uck you back, asshole. Who do you think you are, Joll or Mandel?鈥�
He froze and responded, 鈥淲hat the fuck did you say?鈥� So I repeated what I said. Then he said, 鈥淪o you鈥檝e read Waiting for the Barbarians? What did you think?鈥�
I told him I thought it was pretty good.
He said, 鈥淔uck that pretty good shit. I wrote my dissertation on that book.鈥�
I immediately regretted asking because everybody knows that anybody talking about his dissertation is boring as shit, but I had just pissed, and I couldn鈥檛 pretend I had to go again, so I politely listened.
He continued, 鈥淩emember that show called Designing Women? That one with Delta Burke, the lady who married that guy from the show where he drove around in an RV and helped people? Listen! Designing Women IS Waiting for the Barbarians. Delta Burke, or Suzanne Sugarbaker, is the Empire. And remember her sister? Julia Sugarbaker? The one Dixie Carter played? She was the magistrate, the one they put in jail. Julia was always trying to be reasonable and keep the peace and Suzanne kept messing things up. Holy fuck, my dissertation chair creamed his pants when he read my final draft. He said it was the best literary analysis he had ever read, especially since I focused on the temporal nature of government and the ever-shifting role of fortune by focusing on the way that Charlene was first played by Jean Smart and then replaced by Jan Hooks.鈥�
I was in awe. 鈥淢an, I used to watch that show all the time. I think my first masturbatory fantasies were about Delta Burke. I still like big girls.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 with ya, brother.鈥� We high-fived across the aisle and he went back to writing. He never told me what he was writing about.
Ok, here鈥檚 my real review鈥�
Waiting for the Barbarians was my introduction to Coetzee, and I鈥檓 glad for goodreaders for pointing me in the direction of a guy who can flat-out write. Now, there are a slew of good reviews of this book (Tadpole鈥檚, Donald鈥檚) so rather than copy my esteemed peers I鈥檒l add a few elements I felt were particularly important.
First, I admire Coetzee鈥檚 handling of the psychology of isolation and persecution. At no point does the author paint the magistrate as a noble hero; a lesser author, I think, would have played up that angle to the text鈥檚 detriment. The passages about the magistrate alone, in the granary, are quite powerful.
Second, I admire the author鈥檚 description of the breakdown of the body. He does a fantastic job of describing how quickly one can fade while at the same time acknowledging the toughness of the desire to keep breathing.
I had a hard time, and this is my fault, with the desire to overlay South African history (about which I know next to nothing) over my interpretation of the text. My gut tells me that Coetzee wanted to transcend South African, and even governmental, overtones and delve deeper into the darkest parts of human nature. He does a fine job in a quick 150 pages. Maybe I鈥檒l read Disgrace in the future as well.
Waiting for the Barbarians always reminds me of this time I was on a cross-country flight from DC to Oakland. This 400 pound Samoan guy in a black silk suit sat across the aisle from me. He feverishly wrote in his journal the entire flight, whispering things like 鈥渉oly fuck!鈥� and 鈥測es, shit, I鈥檝e got it!鈥� to himself over and over again until the flight attendants asked him to stop before they had to kick his fat ass off the plane for scaring the shit out of the old ladies who thought he might be a terrorist and didn鈥檛 realize his sumo knot wasn鈥檛 the same as a turban. By the way, a Samoan once almost sodomized me (it was an honest misunderstanding) in the Thai embassy in Paris. I鈥檇 tell you about that but I don鈥檛 want to get too far away from the book. Finally curiosity got the best of me and I leaned over and asked the Samoan what he was doing. He looked me up and down, well, as much up and down as you can look while the object of your attention is sitting in an airline seat, and said, 鈥淔uck you.鈥�
I said, 鈥淔uck you back, asshole. Who do you think you are, Joll or Mandel?鈥�
He froze and responded, 鈥淲hat the fuck did you say?鈥� So I repeated what I said. Then he said, 鈥淪o you鈥檝e read Waiting for the Barbarians? What did you think?鈥�
I told him I thought it was pretty good.
He said, 鈥淔uck that pretty good shit. I wrote my dissertation on that book.鈥�
I immediately regretted asking because everybody knows that anybody talking about his dissertation is boring as shit, but I had just pissed, and I couldn鈥檛 pretend I had to go again, so I politely listened.
He continued, 鈥淩emember that show called Designing Women? That one with Delta Burke, the lady who married that guy from the show where he drove around in an RV and helped people? Listen! Designing Women IS Waiting for the Barbarians. Delta Burke, or Suzanne Sugarbaker, is the Empire. And remember her sister? Julia Sugarbaker? The one Dixie Carter played? She was the magistrate, the one they put in jail. Julia was always trying to be reasonable and keep the peace and Suzanne kept messing things up. Holy fuck, my dissertation chair creamed his pants when he read my final draft. He said it was the best literary analysis he had ever read, especially since I focused on the temporal nature of government and the ever-shifting role of fortune by focusing on the way that Charlene was first played by Jean Smart and then replaced by Jan Hooks.鈥�
I was in awe. 鈥淢an, I used to watch that show all the time. I think my first masturbatory fantasies were about Delta Burke. I still like big girls.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 with ya, brother.鈥� We high-fived across the aisle and he went back to writing. He never told me what he was writing about.
Ok, here鈥檚 my real review鈥�
Waiting for the Barbarians was my introduction to Coetzee, and I鈥檓 glad for goodreaders for pointing me in the direction of a guy who can flat-out write. Now, there are a slew of good reviews of this book (Tadpole鈥檚, Donald鈥檚) so rather than copy my esteemed peers I鈥檒l add a few elements I felt were particularly important.
First, I admire Coetzee鈥檚 handling of the psychology of isolation and persecution. At no point does the author paint the magistrate as a noble hero; a lesser author, I think, would have played up that angle to the text鈥檚 detriment. The passages about the magistrate alone, in the granary, are quite powerful.
Second, I admire the author鈥檚 description of the breakdown of the body. He does a fantastic job of describing how quickly one can fade while at the same time acknowledging the toughness of the desire to keep breathing.
I had a hard time, and this is my fault, with the desire to overlay South African history (about which I know next to nothing) over my interpretation of the text. My gut tells me that Coetzee wanted to transcend South African, and even governmental, overtones and delve deeper into the darkest parts of human nature. He does a fine job in a quick 150 pages. Maybe I鈥檒l read Disgrace in the future as well.
June 28, 2020
A novel as thin and tight and sharp as razor wire. WFTB was an allegorical nightmare filled with both moral clarity and an intense and heavy sadness. It is interesting to read this at the same time as . It also reminds me again and again of Mayer's fantastic book . How can Coetzee have written so clearly in 1980 about our modern culture of torture, Empire, degradation and fear? Again, just an amazing book.
November 6, 2022
亘丕賳鬲馗丕乇 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞
毓賳 氐賳丕毓丞 丕賱睾賵賱 賳鬲丨丿孬貙 丨賷賳賲丕 賷爻鬲丨孬 丕賱卮毓亘 噩購賱賾 賲禺賷賱鬲賴 賮賷禺賱賯 賱賳賮爻賴 睾賵賱丕賸, 孬賲 賷睾匕賷賴 賮囟賱丞 禺賵賮賴 丨鬲賶 賷鬲囟禺賲 丕賱睾賵賱 賵賷賱鬲賴賲 氐丕賳毓賴. 毓賳 賴賵爻 丕賱噩賲賵毓 賳鬲賰賱賲貙 毓賳 兀賳 賷毓鬲夭賱 丕賱卮毓亘 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇 賵賷鬲亘毓 賲丕 賷賯丕賱 賱賴 賵賷爻賲毓賴 丿賵賳 丕賱鬲賵賯賮 賴賳賷賴丞 賱廿毓丕丿丞 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇 賮賷睾丿賵 賲胤乇賯丞 胤賷毓丞 亘賷丿 丕賱賲丨乇囟賷賳貙 賷賴卮賲 乇兀爻賴 毓賱賶 乇兀爻 睾賷乇賴貙 賵賲丕 賲賳 乇丕亘丨 賴賳丕賱賰. 賳賳丕賯卮 賮賰乇丞 丕賱毓丿丕賱丞貙 兀賷賲賰賳 鬲胤亘賷賯賴丕 毓賱賶 丕賱兀乇囟責 兀賲丕 丕賱囟賲賷乇 賵賲丕 兀丿乇丕賰 賲丕賱囟賲賷乇責 匕賱賰 丕賱賳賵丕丨 丕賱匕賷 賱丕 賷賳賯胤毓貙 賮賷禺賷乇賰 賲丕 亘賷賳 丕賱氐乇丕毓 丕賱賱丕賳賴丕卅賷 賲毓賴 兀賵 兀賳 鬲乇丿賷 賳賮爻賰 賱鬲禺乇爻 廿賱丨丕丨賴.
賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賳賵毓 丕賱匕賷 兀氐賳賮賴 囟賲賳 (賱賱毓馗丞 賱丕 賱賱鬲爻賱賷丞)貙 丨賷孬 兀賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賱賷爻鬲 亘鬲賱賰 丕賱丿乇噩丞 賲賳 丕賱鬲卮賵賷賯貙 睾賷乇 兀賳 丕賱胤乇丨 丕賱賲丨賰賲 賷丿賮毓賰 廿賱賶 丕賱鬲賮賰乇 賲賱賷丕賸. 匕賰乇賳賷 丕賱賳氐 亘丕賱毓賲賶 賱爻丕乇丕賲丕噩賵貙 廿匕 賱丕 鬲賵噩丿 兀爻賲丕亍貙 賱丕 夭賲丕賳 賵賱丕 賲賰丕賳. 賰賲丕 兀賳 丕賱賮賰乇丞 賰賵賳賷丞 賱丕 鬲禺氐 兀賲賾丞 亘毓賷賳賴丕 賵賱丕 丨賯亘丞 亘匕丕鬲賴丕. 兀囟賮 廿賱賶 兀賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷鬲賷賾賳 賷賰卮賮丕賳 噩賵丕賳亘丕賸 賯丕鬲賲丞 賵丿賳賷卅丞 賲賲丕 賷禺亘卅賴 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 鬲丨鬲 賯賳丕毓 丕賱丨囟丕乇丞.
賷毓賷卮 丕賱丨丕賰賲 丕賱賰賴賱 賮賷 賲賳胤賯丞 丨丿賵丿賷丞 賲鬲丕禺賲丞 賱賲賵胤賳 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞, 賯胤毓丞 兀禺乇賶 丕賱鬲賯賲鬲賴丕 丕賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賲賳 兀乇囟 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞. 賷毓賷卮 丕賱賳丕爻 賮賷 乇睾丿 丨鬲賶 賷賯乇乇 丕賱賲賰鬲亘 丕賱孬丕賱孬 兀賳 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賴賲 丕賱毓丿賵, 賵兀賳賴賲 賷鬲乇亘氐賵賳 亘丕賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞. 毓賳丿賴丕 鬲賳賯賱亘 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 廿賱賶 爻噩賳 賰亘賷乇, 賵丕賱丨賷丕丞 廿賱賶 噩丨賷賲 賲賯賷賲. 賵丨丿賴 丕賱賰賴賱 賷賲賱賰 鬲賮賰賷乇丕賸 賲爻鬲賯賱丕賸 賵囟賲賷乇丕賸 賳賯賷丕賸. 賱匕丕 賷丿賮毓 丕賱孬賲賳 睾丕賱賷丕賸. 賰賲丕 賴賵 丕賱丨丕賱 賲毓 丕賱兀毓賲丕賱 丕賱兀丿亘賷丞 丕賱禺丕賱丿丞, 鬲噩丿 丕賱賳氐 賲賴賷卅丕賸 賱賱毓丿賷丿 賲賳 丕賱鬲賮爻賷乇丕鬲. 賴賱 丕賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賮賷 丕賱賳氐 賰賳丕賷丞 毓賳 丕賱廿賲亘乇賷丕賱賷丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 鬲禺賱賯 兀毓丿丕亍賸 鬲禺賵賮 亘賴丕 卮毓賵亘賴賲 賵廿賳 賰丕賳 兀賵賱卅賰 丕賱兀毓丿丕亍 賱丕 賷賲賱賰賵賳 爻賵賶 丕賱毓氐賷 賵丕賱禺賳丕噩乇責 兀賲 兀賳 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賴賲 丕賱卮賷丕胤賷賳 丕賱鬲賷 鬲禺賱賯賴丕 賲禺丕賵賮賳丕 賵鬲鬲爻亘亘 賮賷 爻賯賵胤賳丕責 賴賱 賷購毓亘賾乇 鬲毓賱賯 丕賱丨丕賰賲 亘丕賱賮鬲丕丞 丕賱亘乇亘乇賷丞 毓賳 賲禺賱亘 丕賱囟賲賷乇 丕賱匕賷 賲丕 賷賳賮賰 賷禺賲卮 乇賵丨賴, 兀賲 兀賳賴 賷氐賵乇 丕賱乇睾亘丕鬲 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 鬲購賮爻乇責
丕丨鬲乇鬲 賰孬賷乇丕賸 賮賷 鬲賯賷賷賲 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賲賳 丨賷孬 毓丿丿 丕賱賳噩賵賲. 賷爻鬲丨賯 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賱賯丕亍 賲賵囟賵毓賴 賵胤乇丨賴貙 廿賱賶 噩丕賳亘 丕賱賱睾丞 丕賱卮丕毓乇賷丞 丕賱亘爻賷胤丞. 賷賳賯氐 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 卮賷亍 賲賳 丕賱廿賲鬲丕毓貙 卮賷亍 賲賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賷丿賮毓賰 賱鬲賯賱賷亘 丕賱氐賮丨丕鬲 亘爻乇毓丞. 賵亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 兀賳賴丕 乇賵丕賷丞 賯氐賷乇丞 賳賵毓丕賸 廿賱丕 兀賳賴丕 丕爻鬲睾乇賯鬲 賲賳賷 賵賯鬲丕賸 賱賷爻 亘丕賱賴賷賳. 賷丿賱 賴匕丕 毓賱賶 毓賲賯賴丕 賵亘賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲 毓賱賶 賯賱丞 丕賲鬲丕毓賴丕.
爻丐丕賱 兀禺賷乇 賲賳 賵丨賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞: 廿匕丕 兀賳鬲 丕睾鬲氐亘鬲 丨賯 廿賳爻丕賳, 賮兀賳賶 賱賰 兀賳 鬲賳氐賮賴 丿賵賳 廿毓丕丿丞 丨賯賴責
毓賳 氐賳丕毓丞 丕賱睾賵賱 賳鬲丨丿孬貙 丨賷賳賲丕 賷爻鬲丨孬 丕賱卮毓亘 噩購賱賾 賲禺賷賱鬲賴 賮賷禺賱賯 賱賳賮爻賴 睾賵賱丕賸, 孬賲 賷睾匕賷賴 賮囟賱丞 禺賵賮賴 丨鬲賶 賷鬲囟禺賲 丕賱睾賵賱 賵賷賱鬲賴賲 氐丕賳毓賴. 毓賳 賴賵爻 丕賱噩賲賵毓 賳鬲賰賱賲貙 毓賳 兀賳 賷毓鬲夭賱 丕賱卮毓亘 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇 賵賷鬲亘毓 賲丕 賷賯丕賱 賱賴 賵賷爻賲毓賴 丿賵賳 丕賱鬲賵賯賮 賴賳賷賴丞 賱廿毓丕丿丞 丕賱鬲賮賰賷乇 賮賷睾丿賵 賲胤乇賯丞 胤賷毓丞 亘賷丿 丕賱賲丨乇囟賷賳貙 賷賴卮賲 乇兀爻賴 毓賱賶 乇兀爻 睾賷乇賴貙 賵賲丕 賲賳 乇丕亘丨 賴賳丕賱賰. 賳賳丕賯卮 賮賰乇丞 丕賱毓丿丕賱丞貙 兀賷賲賰賳 鬲胤亘賷賯賴丕 毓賱賶 丕賱兀乇囟責 兀賲丕 丕賱囟賲賷乇 賵賲丕 兀丿乇丕賰 賲丕賱囟賲賷乇責 匕賱賰 丕賱賳賵丕丨 丕賱匕賷 賱丕 賷賳賯胤毓貙 賮賷禺賷乇賰 賲丕 亘賷賳 丕賱氐乇丕毓 丕賱賱丕賳賴丕卅賷 賲毓賴 兀賵 兀賳 鬲乇丿賷 賳賮爻賰 賱鬲禺乇爻 廿賱丨丕丨賴.
賴匕賴 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞 賲賳 丕賱賳賵毓 丕賱匕賷 兀氐賳賮賴 囟賲賳 (賱賱毓馗丞 賱丕 賱賱鬲爻賱賷丞)貙 丨賷孬 兀賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賱賷爻鬲 亘鬲賱賰 丕賱丿乇噩丞 賲賳 丕賱鬲卮賵賷賯貙 睾賷乇 兀賳 丕賱胤乇丨 丕賱賲丨賰賲 賷丿賮毓賰 廿賱賶 丕賱鬲賮賰乇 賲賱賷丕賸. 匕賰乇賳賷 丕賱賳氐 亘丕賱毓賲賶 賱爻丕乇丕賲丕噩賵貙 廿匕 賱丕 鬲賵噩丿 兀爻賲丕亍貙 賱丕 夭賲丕賳 賵賱丕 賲賰丕賳. 賰賲丕 兀賳 丕賱賮賰乇丞 賰賵賳賷丞 賱丕 鬲禺氐 兀賲賾丞 亘毓賷賳賴丕 賵賱丕 丨賯亘丞 亘匕丕鬲賴丕. 兀囟賮 廿賱賶 兀賳 丕賱乇賵丕賷鬲賷賾賳 賷賰卮賮丕賳 噩賵丕賳亘丕賸 賯丕鬲賲丞 賵丿賳賷卅丞 賲賲丕 賷禺亘卅賴 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳 鬲丨鬲 賯賳丕毓 丕賱丨囟丕乇丞.
賷毓賷卮 丕賱丨丕賰賲 丕賱賰賴賱 賮賷 賲賳胤賯丞 丨丿賵丿賷丞 賲鬲丕禺賲丞 賱賲賵胤賳 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞, 賯胤毓丞 兀禺乇賶 丕賱鬲賯賲鬲賴丕 丕賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賲賳 兀乇囟 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞. 賷毓賷卮 丕賱賳丕爻 賮賷 乇睾丿 丨鬲賶 賷賯乇乇 丕賱賲賰鬲亘 丕賱孬丕賱孬 兀賳 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賴賲 丕賱毓丿賵, 賵兀賳賴賲 賷鬲乇亘氐賵賳 亘丕賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞. 毓賳丿賴丕 鬲賳賯賱亘 丕賱賲丿賷賳丞 廿賱賶 爻噩賳 賰亘賷乇, 賵丕賱丨賷丕丞 廿賱賶 噩丨賷賲 賲賯賷賲. 賵丨丿賴 丕賱賰賴賱 賷賲賱賰 鬲賮賰賷乇丕賸 賲爻鬲賯賱丕賸 賵囟賲賷乇丕賸 賳賯賷丕賸. 賱匕丕 賷丿賮毓 丕賱孬賲賳 睾丕賱賷丕賸. 賰賲丕 賴賵 丕賱丨丕賱 賲毓 丕賱兀毓賲丕賱 丕賱兀丿亘賷丞 丕賱禺丕賱丿丞, 鬲噩丿 丕賱賳氐 賲賴賷卅丕賸 賱賱毓丿賷丿 賲賳 丕賱鬲賮爻賷乇丕鬲. 賴賱 丕賱廿賲亘乇丕胤賵乇賷丞 賮賷 丕賱賳氐 賰賳丕賷丞 毓賳 丕賱廿賲亘乇賷丕賱賷丕鬲 丕賱鬲賷 鬲禺賱賯 兀毓丿丕亍賸 鬲禺賵賮 亘賴丕 卮毓賵亘賴賲 賵廿賳 賰丕賳 兀賵賱卅賰 丕賱兀毓丿丕亍 賱丕 賷賲賱賰賵賳 爻賵賶 丕賱毓氐賷 賵丕賱禺賳丕噩乇責 兀賲 兀賳 丕賱亘乇丕亘乇丞 賴賲 丕賱卮賷丕胤賷賳 丕賱鬲賷 鬲禺賱賯賴丕 賲禺丕賵賮賳丕 賵鬲鬲爻亘亘 賮賷 爻賯賵胤賳丕責 賴賱 賷購毓亘賾乇 鬲毓賱賯 丕賱丨丕賰賲 亘丕賱賮鬲丕丞 丕賱亘乇亘乇賷丞 毓賳 賲禺賱亘 丕賱囟賲賷乇 丕賱匕賷 賲丕 賷賳賮賰 賷禺賲卮 乇賵丨賴, 兀賲 兀賳賴 賷氐賵乇 丕賱乇睾亘丕鬲 丕賱廿賳爻丕賳賷丞 丕賱鬲賷 賱丕 鬲購賮爻乇責
丕丨鬲乇鬲 賰孬賷乇丕賸 賮賷 鬲賯賷賷賲 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 賲賳 丨賷孬 毓丿丿 丕賱賳噩賵賲. 賷爻鬲丨賯 丕賱賰孬賷乇 賱賯丕亍 賲賵囟賵毓賴 賵胤乇丨賴貙 廿賱賶 噩丕賳亘 丕賱賱睾丞 丕賱卮丕毓乇賷丞 丕賱亘爻賷胤丞. 賷賳賯氐 丕賱賰鬲丕亘 卮賷亍 賲賳 丕賱廿賲鬲丕毓貙 卮賷亍 賲賳 丕賱兀丨丿丕孬 賷丿賮毓賰 賱鬲賯賱賷亘 丕賱氐賮丨丕鬲 亘爻乇毓丞. 賵亘丕賱乇睾賲 賲賳 兀賳賴丕 乇賵丕賷丞 賯氐賷乇丞 賳賵毓丕賸 廿賱丕 兀賳賴丕 丕爻鬲睾乇賯鬲 賲賳賷 賵賯鬲丕賸 賱賷爻 亘丕賱賴賷賳. 賷丿賱 賴匕丕 毓賱賶 毓賲賯賴丕 賵亘賳賮爻 丕賱賵賯鬲 毓賱賶 賯賱丞 丕賲鬲丕毓賴丕.
爻丐丕賱 兀禺賷乇 賲賳 賵丨賷 丕賱乇賵丕賷丞: 廿匕丕 兀賳鬲 丕睾鬲氐亘鬲 丨賯 廿賳爻丕賳, 賮兀賳賶 賱賰 兀賳 鬲賳氐賮賴 丿賵賳 廿毓丕丿丞 丨賯賴責
September 12, 2016
Coetzee has written a great little novel for us all. You should read it.
A novel to be read by every generation. An allegory of every empire (including those past, those current and those to come). Empires need enemies in order to maintain control. Hence the 'infidels, savages, Jews, Muslims, barbarians and terrorists' that we civilized empires constantly hold up as threats to our very existence.
And how do empires respond to real or imagined barbarians? By behaving like barbarians, by becoming barbarians.
Think Guantanamo. As an executive with Canada's refugee program, I was once given access to a rather lengthy document provided as a guideline to US officials involved questioning captured suspected 'enemies'. It was a guideline to being 'barbarian'. Guantanamo still exists.
Indeed, when reading the book, I had to go back and check the publication date (1980) to assure myself that it was not written as a condemnation of G.W.Bush and his War on Terror. Of course it isn't. I suspect that it has a lot more to do with South Africa and it's horror of apartheid. Here the memory of Steve Biko and his fellow apartheid colleagues comes to mind.
Basically, this story is about the wrongness of empire. Empire leads to a need for 'them' and 'us', usually in the form of racism, the lowest humanity can go. This in turn leads to the adoption of methods for which the enemy is condemned. Inhumanity breeds inhumanity.
Those who support the empire, such as the Magistrate in this story, are often blissfully, perhaps willingly, unaware of the evil of the empire. They support the empire unquestionably ... until, perhaps, their humanity comes through. One can always hope.
Were the Barbarians really a threat? It is doubtful. They only appear as prisoners who are subsequently tortured. The Empire needs enemies. Think of the British Empire. They had constant little wars against anyone who spoke against them in the colonies. The mess and the tactics we see in Syria, Iraq, Egypt etc. today all copy those of the British Empire. The American Empire carries that British legacy forward. Indeed, think of an American president since the end of World War II who has not sent US forces to fight the undemocratic barbarians out there. (We can give Jimmy Carter a break here.). It's time to admit that empire leads to evil. Even the best of us get sucked into the vortex of this evil.
Coetzee has given us a strong message. A copy should come in every newborn's gift package. A great way to learn to read.
A novel to be read by every generation. An allegory of every empire (including those past, those current and those to come). Empires need enemies in order to maintain control. Hence the 'infidels, savages, Jews, Muslims, barbarians and terrorists' that we civilized empires constantly hold up as threats to our very existence.
And how do empires respond to real or imagined barbarians? By behaving like barbarians, by becoming barbarians.
Think Guantanamo. As an executive with Canada's refugee program, I was once given access to a rather lengthy document provided as a guideline to US officials involved questioning captured suspected 'enemies'. It was a guideline to being 'barbarian'. Guantanamo still exists.
Indeed, when reading the book, I had to go back and check the publication date (1980) to assure myself that it was not written as a condemnation of G.W.Bush and his War on Terror. Of course it isn't. I suspect that it has a lot more to do with South Africa and it's horror of apartheid. Here the memory of Steve Biko and his fellow apartheid colleagues comes to mind.
Basically, this story is about the wrongness of empire. Empire leads to a need for 'them' and 'us', usually in the form of racism, the lowest humanity can go. This in turn leads to the adoption of methods for which the enemy is condemned. Inhumanity breeds inhumanity.
Those who support the empire, such as the Magistrate in this story, are often blissfully, perhaps willingly, unaware of the evil of the empire. They support the empire unquestionably ... until, perhaps, their humanity comes through. One can always hope.
Were the Barbarians really a threat? It is doubtful. They only appear as prisoners who are subsequently tortured. The Empire needs enemies. Think of the British Empire. They had constant little wars against anyone who spoke against them in the colonies. The mess and the tactics we see in Syria, Iraq, Egypt etc. today all copy those of the British Empire. The American Empire carries that British legacy forward. Indeed, think of an American president since the end of World War II who has not sent US forces to fight the undemocratic barbarians out there. (We can give Jimmy Carter a break here.). It's time to admit that empire leads to evil. Even the best of us get sucked into the vortex of this evil.
Coetzee has given us a strong message. A copy should come in every newborn's gift package. A great way to learn to read.
February 26, 2021
乇賵丕賷丞 乇丕卅毓丞貙 毓賲賷賯丞 賵賲丐孬乇丞 鬲爻鬲丨賯 兀賳 鬲購賯乇兀.
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鈥溫ベ� 賲卮丕賴丿 丕賱賯爻賵丞 鬲賮爻丿 賯賱賵亘 丕賱兀亘乇賷丕亍!鈥�.
鈥溬呚� 賮丕卅丿丞 賵囟毓 兀噩賴夭丞 丕賱廿賳匕丕乇 亘丕賱禺胤乇 毓賳丿賲丕 賷賰賵賳 丕賱賲噩乇賲賵賳 賵丕賱丨乇爻 丕賱賲丿賳賷 賴賲 丕賱兀卮禺丕氐 兀賳賮爻賴賲責鈥�.
鈥溫Ｘ� 賰丕賮丞 丕賱賲禺賱賵賯丕鬲 廿賱賶 丕賱毓丕賱賲 丨丕賲賱丞 賲毓賴丕 匕賰乇賶 丕賱毓丿丕賱丞. 賵賱賰賳賳丕 賳毓賷卮 賮賷 毓丕賱賲 賲賳 丕賱賯賵丕賳賷賳. 毓丕賱賲 兀賮囟賱 賲賳 丕賱丿乇噩丞 丕賱孬丕賳賷丞. 賱賷爻 亘賲賯丿賵乇賳丕 毓賲賱 兀賷 卮賷亍 亘卮兀賳賴. 賳丨賳 賲禺賱賵賯丕鬲 禺乇亘丞. 賰賱 賲丕 賳賯丿乇 毓賱賷賴 噩賲賷毓賸丕 賴賵 丿毓賲 丕賱賯賵丕賳賷賳貙 丿賵賳 兀賳 賳爻賲丨 亘鬲賱丕卮賷 匕賰乇 丕賱毓丿丕賱丞鈥�.
鈥溫官嗀呚� 賷毓丕賳賷 亘毓囟 丕賱賳丕爻 馗賱賲賸丕 賮廿賳賴 賯丿乇 兀賵賱卅賰 丕賱匕賷賳 賷卮賴丿賵賳 賲毓丕賳丕鬲賴賲 兀賳 賷毓丕賳賵丕 丕賱禺夭賷 賲賳賴."
鈥溫з勜辟娰呚� 丕賱賰丕賲賳丞 賮賷 丿賵丕禺賱賳丕貙 賷鬲賵噩亘 毓賱賷賳丕 廿賳夭丕賱賴丕 毓賱賶 兀賳賮爻賳丕貙 賵賱賷爻 毓賱賶 丌禺乇賷賳鈥�.
噩. 賲. 賰賵鬲夭賷.
May 9, 2019
Waiting for the Barbarians, my first novel by the 2003 recipient Nobel Prize in Literature, was a distinguished piece of fiction, one of urgency and profundity, written with a lingering Faulkneresque prose. The story of an imaginary Empire, set in an unspecified place and time, yet recognizable as a version of his country of birth, South Africa, allows Coetzee some esthetic distance from his subject, for even while remaining locked with the history of his moment, he isn't completely at the mercy of its local chaos and ugliness. The result is a realistic and stark political fable, that strongly seeps into one's consciousness.
At the Empire's edge live barbarian tribes, who visit the border towns only for trade or medicine. The Magistrate of one of these towns (the unnamed central character) is moderately corrupt yet not brutal man who surveys his realm with a good heart, fills out the pages in an unbroken present tense. From the outset the Magistrate is confronted by a Colonel, an uneasy bureaucrat sent by the the Third Bureau which states the the barbarians are preparing to mutiny. And we also realize that this is to be a novel not about nuances of character but about a clash of moral styles, a drama of representative ways of governing. After the Barbarians are rounded up, broken by torture, and then released, an impassive girl remains and is taken to the Magistrate. He takes on the role of caring for her, but in a sort of way that dominates her weaknesses. The novel then, has arguably it's best moments, when he decides to return her to the tribe, and thus sets off on horseback on a dangerous journey into distant regions, where the coldness, hunger pains, and fear are described with such dazzling vividness, before upping the tension levels to it's finale.
A powerful, and ultimately rewarding novel, beautifully told, but also harrowing in places, that does deal with some pretty unsavoury topics, one being rape, but on a deeper level Coetzee's novel simply examines the nature of civilisation, the complexities of the human condition which lead to violence, and how little we truly understand one another, or even try to. Just going by this novel alone, I can see why the Nobel committee had him in their sights.
At the Empire's edge live barbarian tribes, who visit the border towns only for trade or medicine. The Magistrate of one of these towns (the unnamed central character) is moderately corrupt yet not brutal man who surveys his realm with a good heart, fills out the pages in an unbroken present tense. From the outset the Magistrate is confronted by a Colonel, an uneasy bureaucrat sent by the the Third Bureau which states the the barbarians are preparing to mutiny. And we also realize that this is to be a novel not about nuances of character but about a clash of moral styles, a drama of representative ways of governing. After the Barbarians are rounded up, broken by torture, and then released, an impassive girl remains and is taken to the Magistrate. He takes on the role of caring for her, but in a sort of way that dominates her weaknesses. The novel then, has arguably it's best moments, when he decides to return her to the tribe, and thus sets off on horseback on a dangerous journey into distant regions, where the coldness, hunger pains, and fear are described with such dazzling vividness, before upping the tension levels to it's finale.
A powerful, and ultimately rewarding novel, beautifully told, but also harrowing in places, that does deal with some pretty unsavoury topics, one being rape, but on a deeper level Coetzee's novel simply examines the nature of civilisation, the complexities of the human condition which lead to violence, and how little we truly understand one another, or even try to. Just going by this novel alone, I can see why the Nobel committee had him in their sights.
February 10, 2020
脟izdi臒i hayali co臒rafyayla, okuyucuya d眉nyan谋n herhangi bir yerinde herhangi bir "枚teki"ni rahat莽a resmettiren 莽arp谋c谋, kuvvetli bir roman Barbarlar谋 Beklerken. G眉c眉n, erkin, ufac谋k bir bak谋艧 a莽谋s谋 de臒i艧ikli臒iyle nas谋l da yerle bir olabilece臒ini ne g眉zel anlatm谋艧.
spoiler:
Barbarlara kar艧谋 sava艧 a莽maya gidenlerin, d枚n眉艧 yolunda bir s眉r眉 kay谋pla eve d枚n眉p, asl谋nda hi莽 sava艧a girmediklerini sadece onlar谋 izlerken bir s眉r眉 sebeple asker kaybettiklerini anlatt谋klar谋 b枚l眉m benim i莽in roman谋n en zirve noktas谋yd谋.
Tavsiye ediyorum.
spoiler:
Barbarlara kar艧谋 sava艧 a莽maya gidenlerin, d枚n眉艧 yolunda bir s眉r眉 kay谋pla eve d枚n眉p, asl谋nda hi莽 sava艧a girmediklerini sadece onlar谋 izlerken bir s眉r眉 sebeple asker kaybettiklerini anlatt谋klar谋 b枚l眉m benim i莽in roman谋n en zirve noktas谋yd谋.
Tavsiye ediyorum.
May 7, 2025
鈥淭hese are the only prisoners we have taken for a very long time," I say. Normally we would not have any barbarians at all to show you. This so called banditry does not amount to much. They steal a few sheep or cut out a pack animal from a train. Sometimes we raid them in return. They are mainly destitute tribespeople with tiny flocks of their own, living along the river. The old man says they were coming to see the doctor. No one would have brought an old man and a sick boy along on a raiding party."
鈥淚 try to subdue my irritation at his cryptic silences, at the paltry theatrical mystery of dark glasses hiding healthy eyes. He walks with his hands clasped before him. "Nevertheless," he says, "I ought to question them. This evening, if it is convenient. I will take my assistant along. Also I will need someone to help me with the language. The guard, perhaps. Does he speak it?"
鈥淚 am aware of the source of my elation: my alliance with the guardians of the Empire is over, I had set myself in opposition. The bond is broken, I am a free man. Who would not smile? But what a dangerous joy! It should not be so easy to attain salvation. Have I not simply been provoked into a reaction by one of the new barbarians usurping my desk and pawing at my papers? As for this liberty which I am in the process of throwing away, what value does it have to me?鈥�
"What is that noise?" I ask when the guard brings my food. They are tearing down the houses built against the south wall of the barracks, he tells me: they are going to extend the barracks and build proper cells. "Ah yes," I say: "time for the black flower of civilization to bloom." He does not understand.鈥�
"I am waiting for you to prosecute me! When are you going to do it? When are you going to bring me to trial? When am I going to have a chance to defend myself?" I am in a fury. None of the speechlessness I felt in front of the crowd afflicts me. If I were to confront these men now, in public, in a fair trial, I would find the words to shame them.鈥�
**
In this 1980 novel 2003 Nobel Prize winner J M Coetzee writes about a frontier Magistrate of the Empire who is visited by the Colonel, an imperial censor investigating the rumors of barbarians who are indigenous nomads. There is thought to be a rebellion brewing in the colony. Although there is no evidence to speak of in the region the Magistrate is compelled to show the Colonel a prison where a small boy and his sick grandfather are held for cattle theft. They are tortured, the old man dying and the boy forced to aid in the reconnaissance of outlying areas of illusory insurrection.
This is a stunning and frightening book about the conceits that civilization can attain. Although the local Magistrate has warned the Colonel of his ignorance and tries to persuade him from his folly it is of no use, he has a job to do for the Empire. On a horse back pulled carriage he proceeds into the wilderness while the Magistrate dreams of prisoners bodies turning into bees. As the Magistrate bids him farewell the farmers bend to their work and wave him goodbye. Coetze describes ruins of past civilizations he has had dug up by detainees on two day sentences or by conscripted labor.
They discover ancient writings on wooden tablets and the Magistrate tries to piece them together and figure out what has been written. He spends nights in the excavated ruins trying to discern what the ghosts of people before him are saying. The Colonel returns with scores of natives from the frontier with claims they are rebels, some women, children and infants. The Magistrate is vocal in his denunciation of their treatment but has no success in affecting the results. Coetze wrote the book during apartheid in South Africa, where he lived and it is clear where the ideas came from.
The Magistrate encounters a young native woman who is begging in the square, whom the Colonel had marched back to town and released. Citing vagrancy laws he takes her into his home behind the walled compound, after offering to have her returned to where she was abducted from, while aware of his complicity in her plight. Blind and crippled from the torture the Magistrate washes her feet, while studying the wounds of her torment. He becomes closer to her and gives her work as a kitchen maid. The Magistrate speaks the local language, the origin of which Coetzee has not made clear.
The woman is a daughter of another man who died during questioning. The brutality is difficult to imagine, let alone bear. She sleeps in his bed but there is no sexual relationship for months. He convinces her to return to her family and tribe and she agrees. In the winter they cross the barren desert, the steppe and to the snowy mountains with several soldiers and a guide, almost dying along the way, until they find the native people described as rebels by the Empire, who are nomadic shepherds. He offers her the choice between the wilderness and civilization but she doesn鈥檛 want to go back.
When the Magistrate returns to the imperial outpost he is brought before a military tribunal for collaboration with the enemy. There鈥檚 a confusion in the mind of Coetze鈥檚 narrator about the woman he has befriended and had a contradictory relationship with, one that reflects the basic question of his presence, a colonist confronted with a dilemma. The novel isn鈥檛 grounded geographically or temporally, it could be in Asia, Africa or America. Written as a first person narrative it can be trying but it is understandable why Coetzee chose this, in order to delve deeply into the Magistrate鈥檚 mind.
In addition to being a Nobel laureate, Coetzee has won the Booker twice, the Jerusalem Prize, the Tait Black Memorial, the Commonwealth Writers Prize twice, one handed to him personally by Queen Elizabeth, the French Prix Etrange and the South African Order of Mapungubwe for good measure. The language is stirring and sublime. Coetzee clearly knows the subject he is approaching. Of course the barbarians are everyone who decides to colonize and impose their will for personal gain in the name of Empire. The writer is a strong critic of conquest during its long history of manifestations.
鈥淚 try to subdue my irritation at his cryptic silences, at the paltry theatrical mystery of dark glasses hiding healthy eyes. He walks with his hands clasped before him. "Nevertheless," he says, "I ought to question them. This evening, if it is convenient. I will take my assistant along. Also I will need someone to help me with the language. The guard, perhaps. Does he speak it?"
鈥淚 am aware of the source of my elation: my alliance with the guardians of the Empire is over, I had set myself in opposition. The bond is broken, I am a free man. Who would not smile? But what a dangerous joy! It should not be so easy to attain salvation. Have I not simply been provoked into a reaction by one of the new barbarians usurping my desk and pawing at my papers? As for this liberty which I am in the process of throwing away, what value does it have to me?鈥�
"What is that noise?" I ask when the guard brings my food. They are tearing down the houses built against the south wall of the barracks, he tells me: they are going to extend the barracks and build proper cells. "Ah yes," I say: "time for the black flower of civilization to bloom." He does not understand.鈥�
"I am waiting for you to prosecute me! When are you going to do it? When are you going to bring me to trial? When am I going to have a chance to defend myself?" I am in a fury. None of the speechlessness I felt in front of the crowd afflicts me. If I were to confront these men now, in public, in a fair trial, I would find the words to shame them.鈥�
**
In this 1980 novel 2003 Nobel Prize winner J M Coetzee writes about a frontier Magistrate of the Empire who is visited by the Colonel, an imperial censor investigating the rumors of barbarians who are indigenous nomads. There is thought to be a rebellion brewing in the colony. Although there is no evidence to speak of in the region the Magistrate is compelled to show the Colonel a prison where a small boy and his sick grandfather are held for cattle theft. They are tortured, the old man dying and the boy forced to aid in the reconnaissance of outlying areas of illusory insurrection.
This is a stunning and frightening book about the conceits that civilization can attain. Although the local Magistrate has warned the Colonel of his ignorance and tries to persuade him from his folly it is of no use, he has a job to do for the Empire. On a horse back pulled carriage he proceeds into the wilderness while the Magistrate dreams of prisoners bodies turning into bees. As the Magistrate bids him farewell the farmers bend to their work and wave him goodbye. Coetze describes ruins of past civilizations he has had dug up by detainees on two day sentences or by conscripted labor.
They discover ancient writings on wooden tablets and the Magistrate tries to piece them together and figure out what has been written. He spends nights in the excavated ruins trying to discern what the ghosts of people before him are saying. The Colonel returns with scores of natives from the frontier with claims they are rebels, some women, children and infants. The Magistrate is vocal in his denunciation of their treatment but has no success in affecting the results. Coetze wrote the book during apartheid in South Africa, where he lived and it is clear where the ideas came from.
The Magistrate encounters a young native woman who is begging in the square, whom the Colonel had marched back to town and released. Citing vagrancy laws he takes her into his home behind the walled compound, after offering to have her returned to where she was abducted from, while aware of his complicity in her plight. Blind and crippled from the torture the Magistrate washes her feet, while studying the wounds of her torment. He becomes closer to her and gives her work as a kitchen maid. The Magistrate speaks the local language, the origin of which Coetzee has not made clear.
The woman is a daughter of another man who died during questioning. The brutality is difficult to imagine, let alone bear. She sleeps in his bed but there is no sexual relationship for months. He convinces her to return to her family and tribe and she agrees. In the winter they cross the barren desert, the steppe and to the snowy mountains with several soldiers and a guide, almost dying along the way, until they find the native people described as rebels by the Empire, who are nomadic shepherds. He offers her the choice between the wilderness and civilization but she doesn鈥檛 want to go back.
When the Magistrate returns to the imperial outpost he is brought before a military tribunal for collaboration with the enemy. There鈥檚 a confusion in the mind of Coetze鈥檚 narrator about the woman he has befriended and had a contradictory relationship with, one that reflects the basic question of his presence, a colonist confronted with a dilemma. The novel isn鈥檛 grounded geographically or temporally, it could be in Asia, Africa or America. Written as a first person narrative it can be trying but it is understandable why Coetzee chose this, in order to delve deeply into the Magistrate鈥檚 mind.
In addition to being a Nobel laureate, Coetzee has won the Booker twice, the Jerusalem Prize, the Tait Black Memorial, the Commonwealth Writers Prize twice, one handed to him personally by Queen Elizabeth, the French Prix Etrange and the South African Order of Mapungubwe for good measure. The language is stirring and sublime. Coetzee clearly knows the subject he is approaching. Of course the barbarians are everyone who decides to colonize and impose their will for personal gain in the name of Empire. The writer is a strong critic of conquest during its long history of manifestations.
August 6, 2019
Incisive and gripping, told in prose that reads to me like a cold clear stream: always moving, with occasional surprising depths of insight. I found to be especially profound his insights into empire and its dissolutions, which seem quite relevant today (in America). I won't rehash the plot, but suffice it to say that I loved the almost fairy-tale aspect of it--the setting that was nowhere and everywhere, no time and yet somehow timeless. A real work of art.
March 8, 2022
Ummm, so apparently this has been made into a film, to be released later this year? Hmmm. Not what I was expecting to pop up while watching a Youtube clip from All This, and Heaven Too. Of course it would star Johnny Depp, probably only because he wanted to wear those sunglasses. I did like Robert Pattinson in The Lighthouse so that's fine, I guess. How am I supposed to feel about this and why am I only discovering this now? I just don't quite see--how--why. JM Coetzee is the last author on earth whose books I expect to be adapted to film. Then again, there was that adaptation of that I never watched.
If I ever watch it (Johnny Depp would be the reason I don't watch it), I would watch it just for the scenery (it was filmed in Morocco!) as that is one aspect of the book (completely beside the point, I realize) I particularly enjoyed. Sigh, here I go, Dear Diarying on 欧宝娱乐 again.
If I ever watch it (Johnny Depp would be the reason I don't watch it), I would watch it just for the scenery (it was filmed in Morocco!) as that is one aspect of the book (completely beside the point, I realize) I particularly enjoyed. Sigh, here I go, Dear Diarying on 欧宝娱乐 again.
December 1, 2020
Coetzee (1940-), en Esperando los B谩rbaros (1980), nos habla de dos mundos antag贸nicos: el imperio colonial occidental conquistador y el 芦b谩rbaro禄 (tribus n贸madas en este caso), y lo hace mostr谩ndonos el punto de vista de un hombre (administrador de un fuerte fronterizo) que pertenece al imperio, pero que vive (convive) desde hace mucho tiempo en la frontera de esos dos mundos.
A trav茅s de la narraci贸n en primera persona de ese hombre, asistimos a su completa transformaci贸n: primero asimilaci贸n, despu茅s, dudas sobre su fidelidad y, finalmente, rebeli贸n contra su propio mundo que termina reconociendo como opresor.
Es dif铆cil entender a los 芦otros禄 sin convivir con ellos, sin ser participes de su cultura, de su rutina diaria, sin conocer el espacio donde se mueven, de donde sacan su sustento. Esto es lo que nos ense帽an los constantes mon贸logos del administrador. Su incomprensi贸n hacia unos asesinatos, torturas, etc. (sin ning煤n 谩pice de pudor o respeto a la ley) que solo se entienden desde un distanciamiento moral tan grande como puede existir entre el hombre y las bestias. Solo es posible tal grado de horror si se considera al otro como un ser inferior.
La prosa intensa, pero sencilla del autor nos enfrenta a nuestros propios demonios como occidentales a trav茅s de las constantes cr铆ticas hacia ese imperio pasado, en el que podemos reconocer algunos de sus comportamientos como actuales, aunque, eso s铆, revestidos de la sutileza suficiente para no hacernos sentir culpables.
Sin duda, merece la pena leerlo.
A trav茅s de la narraci贸n en primera persona de ese hombre, asistimos a su completa transformaci贸n: primero asimilaci贸n, despu茅s, dudas sobre su fidelidad y, finalmente, rebeli贸n contra su propio mundo que termina reconociendo como opresor.
Es dif铆cil entender a los 芦otros禄 sin convivir con ellos, sin ser participes de su cultura, de su rutina diaria, sin conocer el espacio donde se mueven, de donde sacan su sustento. Esto es lo que nos ense帽an los constantes mon贸logos del administrador. Su incomprensi贸n hacia unos asesinatos, torturas, etc. (sin ning煤n 谩pice de pudor o respeto a la ley) que solo se entienden desde un distanciamiento moral tan grande como puede existir entre el hombre y las bestias. Solo es posible tal grado de horror si se considera al otro como un ser inferior.
La prosa intensa, pero sencilla del autor nos enfrenta a nuestros propios demonios como occidentales a trav茅s de las constantes cr铆ticas hacia ese imperio pasado, en el que podemos reconocer algunos de sus comportamientos como actuales, aunque, eso s铆, revestidos de la sutileza suficiente para no hacernos sentir culpables.
Sin duda, merece la pena leerlo.
March 8, 2022
賷亘丿賵 丕賳 丕賱禺賵賮 賱賷爻 賮賯胤 丨乇賮丞 丕賱丨囟丕乇丞 賵 氐賳毓鬲賴丕 貙 丕賳賲丕 丕賷囟丕 爻亘賷賱賴丕 丕賱賵丨賷丿
June 13, 2008
Coetzee writes for academics. He writes to teach lessons, to have his themes discussed and perhaps to be chuckled at. I find his books rather deliberate, hardened and inevitable. Now, he鈥檚 a fine writer, can turn a passable phrase and get conceptual without becoming a total bore; but, he has a tendency to interpret his books for you and the mannerisms and hobbies of the characters in 鈥淲aiting for the Barbarians鈥� slot them too neatly into representative categories, which makes this more of an allegory or morality tale than a novel.
Set against the (necessary) paranoia and deafness of empire, 鈥淲aiting for the Barbarians鈥� inhabits the balanced and reflective perspective of an amicable boondocks magistrate who finds his duties growing morally questionable just when they should be at their automatic, pre-retirement best. He鈥檚 the nice-guy-who-didn鈥檛-really-want-to-have-to-accept-his-complicity-with-the-atrocities-committed-on-the-periphery-of-empire, the guy who is almost remorseful that he can鈥檛 quite turn a blind eye to torture and arbitrary imprisonment . . . oh wait . . . that鈥檚 right, unless you are currently some sort of progressive activist or a waterboarding cog, he is supposed to represent you! And what do you need to know? Well, unless you are a television-fed collision monkey, nothing, probably, and Cotezee doesn鈥檛 motivate with his writings; he just sort of lays it out there, where you knew it was.
His treatment of permanence, of marking, of spoiling and claiming, losing and being forgotten, is multi-layered and well integrated into the love relationships of the book. However, the interplay of these themes would have been more rewarding if the narrator did not signpost and dissect each area of overlap.
A few examples of the endearing narrative deadpan: addressing his cock, 鈥淲hy do I have to carry you about from woman to woman, I asked: simply because you were born without legs? Would it make any difference to you if you were rooted in a cat or a dog instead of in me?鈥�
鈥淭hey are tearing down the houses built against the south wall of the barracks, he tells me: they are going to extend the barracks and build proper cells. 鈥楢h yes,鈥� I say; 鈥榯ime for the black flower of civilization to bloom.鈥� He does not understand.鈥�
And then an example of the more pedantic and obvious, 鈥淓mpire dooms itself to live in history and plot against history. One thought alone preoccupies the submerged mind of Empire: how not to end, how not to die, how to prolong its era. By day it pursues its enemies. It is cunning and ruthless, it sends it bloodhounds everywhere. By night it feeds on images of disaster: the sack of cities, the rape of populations, pyramids of bones, acres of desolation. A mad vision yet a virulent one.鈥�
The novel operates capably along this spectrum.
Set against the (necessary) paranoia and deafness of empire, 鈥淲aiting for the Barbarians鈥� inhabits the balanced and reflective perspective of an amicable boondocks magistrate who finds his duties growing morally questionable just when they should be at their automatic, pre-retirement best. He鈥檚 the nice-guy-who-didn鈥檛-really-want-to-have-to-accept-his-complicity-with-the-atrocities-committed-on-the-periphery-of-empire, the guy who is almost remorseful that he can鈥檛 quite turn a blind eye to torture and arbitrary imprisonment . . . oh wait . . . that鈥檚 right, unless you are currently some sort of progressive activist or a waterboarding cog, he is supposed to represent you! And what do you need to know? Well, unless you are a television-fed collision monkey, nothing, probably, and Cotezee doesn鈥檛 motivate with his writings; he just sort of lays it out there, where you knew it was.
His treatment of permanence, of marking, of spoiling and claiming, losing and being forgotten, is multi-layered and well integrated into the love relationships of the book. However, the interplay of these themes would have been more rewarding if the narrator did not signpost and dissect each area of overlap.
A few examples of the endearing narrative deadpan: addressing his cock, 鈥淲hy do I have to carry you about from woman to woman, I asked: simply because you were born without legs? Would it make any difference to you if you were rooted in a cat or a dog instead of in me?鈥�
鈥淭hey are tearing down the houses built against the south wall of the barracks, he tells me: they are going to extend the barracks and build proper cells. 鈥楢h yes,鈥� I say; 鈥榯ime for the black flower of civilization to bloom.鈥� He does not understand.鈥�
And then an example of the more pedantic and obvious, 鈥淓mpire dooms itself to live in history and plot against history. One thought alone preoccupies the submerged mind of Empire: how not to end, how not to die, how to prolong its era. By day it pursues its enemies. It is cunning and ruthless, it sends it bloodhounds everywhere. By night it feeds on images of disaster: the sack of cities, the rape of populations, pyramids of bones, acres of desolation. A mad vision yet a virulent one.鈥�
The novel operates capably along this spectrum.
March 3, 2025
Pardon my egocentrism, but I think this book starts with a description of me as its reader:
That's me wearing what I would call, in much less words, 鈥渟unglasses鈥�. But, to be more specific than that, I'll also name the lenses: one is Kafka, the other one, Beckett. I might be biassed (or 鈥渂lind鈥�), but I couldn't help reading this book through these lenses. Coetzee is in fact so brilliant, that if I take the glasses off, I have to 鈥渟quint鈥� at his radiant prose and let myself hypnotised by his flowing lines. He writes in a sort of domesticated Beckettian style (1) and grounds the Kafkaesque universe in a more realistic prose (2).
1. Coetzee studied Beckett extensively and regarded him as one of his masters. I think that this influence is mostly shown, though quite subtly, in the syntax, in the very tone and cadence of the sentences in this book. Otherwise, the South African is of course much more epic than the great Irish writer whose narratives strove to the extreme minimalism of an exhausted, barrely reccounting voice. It鈥檚 the persistence of an ambiguous narrator, that 鈥渃an鈥檛 go on鈥�, but still 鈥済oes on鈥� speaking in and about a darkening world, that Coetzee took from Beckett, albeit using here the voice of a particular 鈥渕agistrate鈥� in some 鈥淓mpire鈥� to tell us about a more objectively recognizable, palpable though invented world, with fictionalised socio-political dimensions that probe our own.
2. For example, Coetzee sticks to the concrete problems of Justice, he only depicts its down to earth implications. What Kafka does is much more subtle: the law (das Gesetz) is highly ambiguously presented in the autonomous parable In front of the Law (Vor dem Gesetz) and although that text is included and minutely discussed in The Trial (Der Process), there were no definitive conclusions drawn from it. Due to it being so pithy, Kafka鈥檚 parable can be approached from much more angles (existential and metaphysical ones included) than Coetzee鈥檚 novel. I can also compare this latter to other parables by Kafka, such as The Great Wall of China (Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer), In the Penal Colony (In der Strafkolonie) or An Old Manuscript (Ein altes Blatt). The strength of these short texts lies in them staying parables 鈥� their frame is not filled up with superfluous fiction 鈥� thus, their concision preserves their ambiguity and depth and keeps them forever open for new interpretations. I would argue that Coetzee has a narrower scope in building too much and too realistically, inside a parabolic structure, he clutters the fable perspectives with (often moral) hints that make it easier to point to 鈥渨hat the author wanted to say鈥� or to "where his heart lies". The larger the narrative, the lesser the riddle, I鈥檓 tempted to say. But then again, The Trial itself, even as a longer novel than Waiting for the Barbarians is also a much bigger riddle than it.
That was a comparison of a very general aspect 鈥� of how Coetzee and Kafka approach 鈥渢he law鈥�. Similar comparisons can be made about how they depict whole fictional socio-political structures or mechanisms of power. But let鈥檚 now compare a particular aspect of their work, a motif they share 鈥� torture. Here again, Coetzee is more concrete and down to earth than Kafka, who shows torture as a ritual and a mistery. Let鈥檚 look at this passage from Waiting for the Barbarians:
In Coetzee it is as in the ancient Greek tragedies: everything gory happens only behind the scene and is communicated to us afterwards. The act is retold by somebody who witnessed it, be it also the narrator himself. We are not the direct spectators of the inflicted violence or we don鈥檛 read about it in an 鈥渙bjective鈥� prose and "while" it takes place. In this way, these scenes appear to us as more credible than if they would have been directly put on the scene (or in an objective narrative), as in a "live" spectacle. They are merely confessed, disclosed, reported or told and thus seem to have been taken from the realm of the real. The word 鈥渙bscene鈥� is originally the very name of this technique, with its prefix functioning just like the 鈥渙b鈥� in 鈥渙bliterate鈥�: out of the scene, out of the text.
In Kafka, torture is depicted directly (it is literally, etymologicaly, "obscene"), but its vividness is in fact a veil (or the scene鈥檚 curtain), because in his work, torture is always an obscure ritual 鈥� you can see it, but your mind already simultaneously wanders about its meaning. 鈥淥bscure鈥� stems from an Indo-European root meaning 鈥渃over鈥�. The ritual of the torture that we are shown in full-frontal way is nevertheless a cover up for a greater reality. At some point in The Trial (Der Process), in K.鈥檚 office, after hours, we have a sort of unexpected, at a first glance merely a queer, vintage S&M scene鈥�:
[See the first comment for the German original quote]
By opening the door to the lumber-room, K. suddenly uncovers this scene and in the same moment arrests it, as if turning it into a single instant, a picture. Everything is there, but not moving, the hand holding the cane is ready to flog, everyone is stopped in position. All this is, first of all 鈥渒omisch鈥�, which, in German, doesn鈥檛 mean plain "comical", but also strangely or awkwardly so. The unseriousness of the scene almost cancels its obscure sense. 鈥淲hat can we make of such silliness?鈥�, we might ask ourselves as readers, but if we wander only at such a level, at the apparently superficial side of the scene, we are trapped in it. The arrested instant, suddenly opened to view, cannot be reduced to itself, it is not self referent; your mind, if it wanders deeper into it, refuses it as such, because it would be absurd. It鈥檚 a close-up of a scene from a context that you only have an intuition of. It鈥檚 out of place, happening in a lumber-room, in K鈥檚 office, but it belongs to a larger context, just that the bigger picture is out of focus. You try to puzzle it up and think, 鈥渢hese are the agents, or rather some naive minions of an obscure Justice system, they apply the Law dutifully and indiscriminately, thus also on themselves鈥�. But your mind wanders still and you cannot 鈥減ut a finger on it鈥�. Yet this is probably the most accessible and light scene of torture in Kafka. It鈥檚 much harder to understand the torture & execution machine from In the Penal Colony (In der Strafkolonie). There we have 鈥渨riting on the body鈥� as torture: the commandment that the condemned prisoner has transgressed is pierced in his skin by numerous needles, thus the reason he was sentenced for, his realisation of this sentence 鈥� his reading of the command with the whole body 鈥� and its/his execution are supposed to come slowly and simultaneously together, during twelve hours of methodical punishment. If we take only the main points of this hyperdimentionalised torture device into consideration, it becomes apparent how one can get lost in the labyrinth of its interpretation.
In Coetzee, torture is retold, referred to us and thus appears to be real. We are (supposed to be) struck by its indirect, but paradoxically vivid image. The point made is: torture is torture. It鈥檚 a tautological approach, but highly efficient for its purpose. In Kafka, torture is torture and something else at the same time.
In conformity to this tautological approach of Coetzee, we even find in Waiting for the Barbarians a passage that is downright the plainest and pithiest definition of (the purpose of) torture as torture that we might discover anywhere (if my guess is right), even if we were to peruse everything written on it, in fiction and nonfiction or secret documents alike:
Radically different than in Kafka, in Coetzee torture points to its direct consequence as an ultimate reality: Pain.
Coetzee is essentially a realist and his fictional socio-political environment is easier to pinpoint 鈥� Apartheid South-Africa comes to mind as a first, obvious, association 鈥� and to decipher, than Kafka's. He offers us an intimate glance into the mechanisms of power from the ambiguous perspective of one of its agents, the Magistrate. Simultaneously, the outer fable side (that we construct from the not always reliable narrator鈥檚 viewpoint) of the novel presents the eternal, universal contrasts and conflicts between a nameless 鈥淓mpire鈥� (only once figuratively called the 鈥淓mpire of light鈥�) and the equally generic 鈥渂arbarians鈥�. Although no places on our planet are explicitly indicated, many zones of conflict, along with the author's own homeland, would perfectly fit the fable frame of this novel. Nevertheless, I think that the universes of Kafka and Beckett are more profound by being more ambiguous than Coetzee鈥檚. They are also paradoxically larger, precisely because they are more claustrophobic and harder to place somewhere, whether outside or inside us. They are infrauniverses.
That being said, I don't have any problems with authors writing under strong influences, if they keep a clear mind of their own and do a good job. And Coetzee certainly does a tremendously good one. He is brilliant, though no better than his masters! A famous remark comes to mind, about 鈥渄warfs on the shoulders of giants鈥� (nani gigantum humeris insidentes), an expression first attributed to Bernard of Chartres, but I鈥檒l transcribe here an aphorism taken from William of Conches's Glosses on Priscian's Institutiones grammaticae of the year 1123:
Coetzee is not a 鈥渄warf鈥�, of course, (or only via this famous allegorical description) but I would argue that he is neither a 鈥済iant鈥� of literature. He doesn鈥檛 bring anything radically new to it. His work, though considerably original, is rather additive than revolutionary.
I would risk saying that some things might have been simply taken from Kafka:
1. The travelling torturer (an 鈥渦pstart policeman鈥�, the cool colonel Jull with the fancy sunglasses) seems to have his prototype in the character of the dignitary visiting The Penal Colony in Kafka鈥檚 homonymous work (In der Strafkolonie). And also the town where most of the slight action of the Coetzee鈥檚 novel takes part is described more or less as a penal colony (it鈥檚 a civil, more than military, outpost of the Empire, but it often accommodates prisoners):
2. A little boy with 鈥渁 wound that wouldn't heal鈥�, reminded me of the one in A Country Doctor (Ein Landarzt).
3. The magistrate, an administrative cogwheel of the Empire, is our narrator. He reminded me of Klamm from The Castle (Das Schloss). When K. only sees Klamm once through a keyhole, here the magistrate鈥檚 own perspective is our keyhole to the dark chamber of oppression and torture.
4. A passage like 鈥済ossip that reaches us long out of date from the capital鈥�, brings to mind the same motif from Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer.
5. Even a detail in a description 鈥� 鈥淥n the flat roofs of the town I can make out by moonlight the shapes of other sleepers.鈥� 鈥� reminded me of a fragment of Kafka鈥檚, titled Nachts. [see second comment for it]
I don't want to be punctilious, these can simply be Coetzee鈥檚 legitimate autorial winks, or small tributes to Kafka (or mere coincidences).
Although it is driven by slightly more action than Il deserto dei tartari (The Tartar Steppe) or Les rivages de Syrtes (The Opposing Shore), the big, potentially epic scale of Waiting for the Barbarians remains only sketched. We are peeking at it through the keyhole of the magistrate鈥檚 鈥� the ambiguous narrator鈥檚 鈥� perspective. He ends up internalising the clash between the 鈥淓mpire of light鈥� and the 鈥渂arbarians鈥� and resolving it in his 鈥渉eart鈥�:
As you might have excused my egocentrism in the beginning, you may now pardon my Dead Poets Society style of ranking this book together with other, similar ones. To measure their Greatness, we shall use the famous graph with the two axes, an horizontal one for Perfection and a vertical one for Importance:
While Waiting for the Barbarians scores higher on the vertical 鈥淚鈥� (it鈥檚 a harsher and more impending parable, more contemporary and relevant to us) than Il deserto dei tartari and Les rivages de Syrtes (these fables are already innocent classics), it scores less on the horizontal 鈥淧鈥� for being written in a slighter sublime style than its Italian and French correlatives, that are impregnated by a more harmonious cohesion of the enchanting narrative and its fable intent. Intersecting all lines, we can see clearly now that these three works average as equal in Greatness.
By the way, I think the Nobel committee has always used this ranking system 鈥� long before dr. J. Evans Pritchard phd. of the Dead Poets Society. My bet is that Kafka would have never fit into these measurements, even if he would have published more, survived tuberculosis and fascism and finished his novels. The lives of Proust and Joyce were also too short for them to make it on the Nobel Blackboard 鈥� although not that short if you throw a glance at their biographies and also, in doing that, take in consideration how acknowledged they actually were during their lifetime by many of their great contemporaries. Beckett, who inherited literary merits from both, was lucky to be longevous enough to becanonised Nobeled while still alive 鈥� at age 63. Proust and Joyce died at age 51 and 58 respectively, but nevertheless they were too fresh for their times. Only a Wunderkind like Thomas Mann made it when he was relatively still in his prime, at age 54. The Nobel committee鈥檚 precociousness in acknowledging him can be well understood since Mann wrote 鈥渃lassic works of contemporary literature鈥� (from the prize motivation), that is, good old nineteenth century prose in the twentieth century, mixing well established German philosophy with expansive fin de si猫cle observations. Easy to see why he scored high on both the Importance and Perfection axes. And if you were wondering, Faulkner got the Nobel as a surrogate of Joyce, eight years after the great Irishman died, when the sober Swedes finally realised their blunder and made a nobel gesture of atonement. The real winner that year was The Stream of Consciousness, but maybe it is always so, it鈥檚 The Consciousness that streams and streams and streams and streams, sometimes for decades on end, before it fills all Stockholm鈥檚 ports where it cools for a while, gets saltier, turns classic and it鈥檚 finally prized.
I HAVE NEVER seen anything like it: two little discs of glass suspended in front of his eyes in loops of wire. Is he blind? I could understand it if he wanted to hide blind eyes. But he is not blind. The discs are dark, they look opaque from the outside, but he can see through them. He tells me they are a new invention. 鈥楾hey protect one鈥檚 eyes against the glare of the sun,鈥� he says. 鈥榊ou would find them useful out here in the desert. They save one from squinting all the time. One has fewer headaches.
That's me wearing what I would call, in much less words, 鈥渟unglasses鈥�. But, to be more specific than that, I'll also name the lenses: one is Kafka, the other one, Beckett. I might be biassed (or 鈥渂lind鈥�), but I couldn't help reading this book through these lenses. Coetzee is in fact so brilliant, that if I take the glasses off, I have to 鈥渟quint鈥� at his radiant prose and let myself hypnotised by his flowing lines. He writes in a sort of domesticated Beckettian style (1) and grounds the Kafkaesque universe in a more realistic prose (2).
1. Coetzee studied Beckett extensively and regarded him as one of his masters. I think that this influence is mostly shown, though quite subtly, in the syntax, in the very tone and cadence of the sentences in this book. Otherwise, the South African is of course much more epic than the great Irish writer whose narratives strove to the extreme minimalism of an exhausted, barrely reccounting voice. It鈥檚 the persistence of an ambiguous narrator, that 鈥渃an鈥檛 go on鈥�, but still 鈥済oes on鈥� speaking in and about a darkening world, that Coetzee took from Beckett, albeit using here the voice of a particular 鈥渕agistrate鈥� in some 鈥淓mpire鈥� to tell us about a more objectively recognizable, palpable though invented world, with fictionalised socio-political dimensions that probe our own.
2. For example, Coetzee sticks to the concrete problems of Justice, he only depicts its down to earth implications. What Kafka does is much more subtle: the law (das Gesetz) is highly ambiguously presented in the autonomous parable In front of the Law (Vor dem Gesetz) and although that text is included and minutely discussed in The Trial (Der Process), there were no definitive conclusions drawn from it. Due to it being so pithy, Kafka鈥檚 parable can be approached from much more angles (existential and metaphysical ones included) than Coetzee鈥檚 novel. I can also compare this latter to other parables by Kafka, such as The Great Wall of China (Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer), In the Penal Colony (In der Strafkolonie) or An Old Manuscript (Ein altes Blatt). The strength of these short texts lies in them staying parables 鈥� their frame is not filled up with superfluous fiction 鈥� thus, their concision preserves their ambiguity and depth and keeps them forever open for new interpretations. I would argue that Coetzee has a narrower scope in building too much and too realistically, inside a parabolic structure, he clutters the fable perspectives with (often moral) hints that make it easier to point to 鈥渨hat the author wanted to say鈥� or to "where his heart lies". The larger the narrative, the lesser the riddle, I鈥檓 tempted to say. But then again, The Trial itself, even as a longer novel than Waiting for the Barbarians is also a much bigger riddle than it.
That was a comparison of a very general aspect 鈥� of how Coetzee and Kafka approach 鈥渢he law鈥�. Similar comparisons can be made about how they depict whole fictional socio-political structures or mechanisms of power. But let鈥檚 now compare a particular aspect of their work, a motif they share 鈥� torture. Here again, Coetzee is more concrete and down to earth than Kafka, who shows torture as a ritual and a mistery. Let鈥檚 look at this passage from Waiting for the Barbarians:
鈥楽ometimes there was screaming, I think they beat her, but I was not there. When I came off duty I would go away.鈥�
鈥榊ou know that today she cannot walk. They broke her feet. Did they do these things to her in front of the other man, her father?鈥�
鈥榊es, I think so.鈥�
鈥楢nd you know that she cannot see properly any more. When did they do that?鈥�
鈥楽ir, there were many prisoners to take care of, some of them sick! I knew that her feet were broken but I knew nothing about her being blind till long afterwards. There was nothing I could do, I did not want to become involved in a matter I did not understand!鈥�
In Coetzee it is as in the ancient Greek tragedies: everything gory happens only behind the scene and is communicated to us afterwards. The act is retold by somebody who witnessed it, be it also the narrator himself. We are not the direct spectators of the inflicted violence or we don鈥檛 read about it in an 鈥渙bjective鈥� prose and "while" it takes place. In this way, these scenes appear to us as more credible than if they would have been directly put on the scene (or in an objective narrative), as in a "live" spectacle. They are merely confessed, disclosed, reported or told and thus seem to have been taken from the realm of the real. The word 鈥渙bscene鈥� is originally the very name of this technique, with its prefix functioning just like the 鈥渙b鈥� in 鈥渙bliterate鈥�: out of the scene, out of the text.
In Kafka, torture is depicted directly (it is literally, etymologicaly, "obscene"), but its vividness is in fact a veil (or the scene鈥檚 curtain), because in his work, torture is always an obscure ritual 鈥� you can see it, but your mind already simultaneously wanders about its meaning. 鈥淥bscure鈥� stems from an Indo-European root meaning 鈥渃over鈥�. The ritual of the torture that we are shown in full-frontal way is nevertheless a cover up for a greater reality. At some point in The Trial (Der Process), in K.鈥檚 office, after hours, we have a sort of unexpected, at a first glance merely a queer, vintage S&M scene鈥�:
[See the first comment for the German original quote]
On one of the next evenings, as K. was passing along the corridor which separated his office from the main staircase 鈥� today he was almost the last to leave, only two employees in despatch were still at work by the light of a single bulb 鈥� he heard sighs from behind a door which he had always assumed concealed a lumber-room, though he had never seen the room himself. He stopped in amazement and listened again to make sure he was not mistaken. It was quiet for a while, then again there were sighs. At first he thought of fetching one of the clerks 鈥� it might be useful to have a witness 鈥� but then he was seized by such burning curiosity that he positively tore the door open. It was, as he had correctly guessed, a lumber-room. Useless old printed forms and empty earthenware inkpots were strewn beyond the threshold. But in the room itself stood three men, stooping under the low ceiling. A candle on a shelf gave them light. 鈥榃hat are you doing here?鈥� K. asked, his words tumbling out in his excitement, but not speaking loudly. The one who clearly dominated the others and first caught the eye was wearing a kind of leather outfit which left his neck down to the chest and both his arms bare. He made no answer. But the two others cried: 鈥楽ir, we are to be flogged because you complained about us to the examining magistrate.鈥� Only now did K. see it was the warders Franz and Willem and that the third man held in his hand a cane to flog them with.
By opening the door to the lumber-room, K. suddenly uncovers this scene and in the same moment arrests it, as if turning it into a single instant, a picture. Everything is there, but not moving, the hand holding the cane is ready to flog, everyone is stopped in position. All this is, first of all 鈥渒omisch鈥�, which, in German, doesn鈥檛 mean plain "comical", but also strangely or awkwardly so. The unseriousness of the scene almost cancels its obscure sense. 鈥淲hat can we make of such silliness?鈥�, we might ask ourselves as readers, but if we wander only at such a level, at the apparently superficial side of the scene, we are trapped in it. The arrested instant, suddenly opened to view, cannot be reduced to itself, it is not self referent; your mind, if it wanders deeper into it, refuses it as such, because it would be absurd. It鈥檚 a close-up of a scene from a context that you only have an intuition of. It鈥檚 out of place, happening in a lumber-room, in K鈥檚 office, but it belongs to a larger context, just that the bigger picture is out of focus. You try to puzzle it up and think, 鈥渢hese are the agents, or rather some naive minions of an obscure Justice system, they apply the Law dutifully and indiscriminately, thus also on themselves鈥�. But your mind wanders still and you cannot 鈥減ut a finger on it鈥�. Yet this is probably the most accessible and light scene of torture in Kafka. It鈥檚 much harder to understand the torture & execution machine from In the Penal Colony (In der Strafkolonie). There we have 鈥渨riting on the body鈥� as torture: the commandment that the condemned prisoner has transgressed is pierced in his skin by numerous needles, thus the reason he was sentenced for, his realisation of this sentence 鈥� his reading of the command with the whole body 鈥� and its/his execution are supposed to come slowly and simultaneously together, during twelve hours of methodical punishment. If we take only the main points of this hyperdimentionalised torture device into consideration, it becomes apparent how one can get lost in the labyrinth of its interpretation.
In Coetzee, torture is retold, referred to us and thus appears to be real. We are (supposed to be) struck by its indirect, but paradoxically vivid image. The point made is: torture is torture. It鈥檚 a tautological approach, but highly efficient for its purpose. In Kafka, torture is torture and something else at the same time.
In conformity to this tautological approach of Coetzee, we even find in Waiting for the Barbarians a passage that is downright the plainest and pithiest definition of (the purpose of) torture as torture that we might discover anywhere (if my guess is right), even if we were to peruse everything written on it, in fiction and nonfiction or secret documents alike:
'I am speaking of a situation in which I am probing for the truth, in which I have to exert pressure to find it. First I get lies, you see 鈥� this is what happens 鈥� first lies, then pressure, then more lies, then more pressure, then the break, then more pressure, then the truth. That is how you get the truth.' [Colonel Jull]
Pain is truth; all else is subject to doubt. [The magistrate's conclusion]
Radically different than in Kafka, in Coetzee torture points to its direct consequence as an ultimate reality: Pain.
Coetzee is essentially a realist and his fictional socio-political environment is easier to pinpoint 鈥� Apartheid South-Africa comes to mind as a first, obvious, association 鈥� and to decipher, than Kafka's. He offers us an intimate glance into the mechanisms of power from the ambiguous perspective of one of its agents, the Magistrate. Simultaneously, the outer fable side (that we construct from the not always reliable narrator鈥檚 viewpoint) of the novel presents the eternal, universal contrasts and conflicts between a nameless 鈥淓mpire鈥� (only once figuratively called the 鈥淓mpire of light鈥�) and the equally generic 鈥渂arbarians鈥�. Although no places on our planet are explicitly indicated, many zones of conflict, along with the author's own homeland, would perfectly fit the fable frame of this novel. Nevertheless, I think that the universes of Kafka and Beckett are more profound by being more ambiguous than Coetzee鈥檚. They are also paradoxically larger, precisely because they are more claustrophobic and harder to place somewhere, whether outside or inside us. They are infrauniverses.
That being said, I don't have any problems with authors writing under strong influences, if they keep a clear mind of their own and do a good job. And Coetzee certainly does a tremendously good one. He is brilliant, though no better than his masters! A famous remark comes to mind, about 鈥渄warfs on the shoulders of giants鈥� (nani gigantum humeris insidentes), an expression first attributed to Bernard of Chartres, but I鈥檒l transcribe here an aphorism taken from William of Conches's Glosses on Priscian's Institutiones grammaticae of the year 1123:
The ancients had only the books which they themselves wrote, but we have all their books and moreover all those which have been written from the beginning until our time.鈥� Hence we are like a dwarf perched on the shoulders of a giant. The former sees further than the giant, not because of his own stature, but because of the stature of his bearer. Similarly, we [moderns] see more than the ancients, because our writings, modest as they are, are added to their great works.
Coetzee is not a 鈥渄warf鈥�, of course, (or only via this famous allegorical description) but I would argue that he is neither a 鈥済iant鈥� of literature. He doesn鈥檛 bring anything radically new to it. His work, though considerably original, is rather additive than revolutionary.
I would risk saying that some things might have been simply taken from Kafka:
1. The travelling torturer (an 鈥渦pstart policeman鈥�, the cool colonel Jull with the fancy sunglasses) seems to have his prototype in the character of the dignitary visiting The Penal Colony in Kafka鈥檚 homonymous work (In der Strafkolonie). And also the town where most of the slight action of the Coetzee鈥檚 novel takes part is described more or less as a penal colony (it鈥檚 a civil, more than military, outpost of the Empire, but it often accommodates prisoners):
鈥榃e do not have facilities for prisoners,鈥� I explain. 鈥楾here is not much crime here and the penalty is usually a fine or compulsory labour. This hut is simply a storeroom attached to the granary, as you can see.鈥� Inside it is close and smelly. There are no windows. The two prisoners lie bound on the floor.
2. A little boy with 鈥渁 wound that wouldn't heal鈥�, reminded me of the one in A Country Doctor (Ein Landarzt).
3. The magistrate, an administrative cogwheel of the Empire, is our narrator. He reminded me of Klamm from The Castle (Das Schloss). When K. only sees Klamm once through a keyhole, here the magistrate鈥檚 own perspective is our keyhole to the dark chamber of oppression and torture.
4. A passage like 鈥済ossip that reaches us long out of date from the capital鈥�, brings to mind the same motif from Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer.
5. Even a detail in a description 鈥� 鈥淥n the flat roofs of the town I can make out by moonlight the shapes of other sleepers.鈥� 鈥� reminded me of a fragment of Kafka鈥檚, titled Nachts. [see second comment for it]
I don't want to be punctilious, these can simply be Coetzee鈥檚 legitimate autorial winks, or small tributes to Kafka (or mere coincidences).
Although it is driven by slightly more action than Il deserto dei tartari (The Tartar Steppe) or Les rivages de Syrtes (The Opposing Shore), the big, potentially epic scale of Waiting for the Barbarians remains only sketched. We are peeking at it through the keyhole of the magistrate鈥檚 鈥� the ambiguous narrator鈥檚 鈥� perspective. He ends up internalising the clash between the 鈥淓mpire of light鈥� and the 鈥渂arbarians鈥� and resolving it in his 鈥渉eart鈥�:
Let it at the very 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.
As you might have excused my egocentrism in the beginning, you may now pardon my Dead Poets Society style of ranking this book together with other, similar ones. To measure their Greatness, we shall use the famous graph with the two axes, an horizontal one for Perfection and a vertical one for Importance:
While Waiting for the Barbarians scores higher on the vertical 鈥淚鈥� (it鈥檚 a harsher and more impending parable, more contemporary and relevant to us) than Il deserto dei tartari and Les rivages de Syrtes (these fables are already innocent classics), it scores less on the horizontal 鈥淧鈥� for being written in a slighter sublime style than its Italian and French correlatives, that are impregnated by a more harmonious cohesion of the enchanting narrative and its fable intent. Intersecting all lines, we can see clearly now that these three works average as equal in Greatness.
By the way, I think the Nobel committee has always used this ranking system 鈥� long before dr. J. Evans Pritchard phd. of the Dead Poets Society. My bet is that Kafka would have never fit into these measurements, even if he would have published more, survived tuberculosis and fascism and finished his novels. The lives of Proust and Joyce were also too short for them to make it on the Nobel Blackboard 鈥� although not that short if you throw a glance at their biographies and also, in doing that, take in consideration how acknowledged they actually were during their lifetime by many of their great contemporaries. Beckett, who inherited literary merits from both, was lucky to be longevous enough to be
March 2, 2025
鈥炐� 写芯 褋邪屑懈褟 泻褉邪泄 薪懈械 薪褟屑邪 写邪 褋屑械 薪邪褍褔懈谢懈 薪懈褖芯. 袠蟹谐谢械卸写邪, 褔械 薪褟泻褗写械 写褗谢斜芯泻芯 胁褗胁 胁褋懈褔泻懈 薪邪褋 懈屑邪 薪械褖芯 褌胁褗褉写芯 泻邪褌芯 谐褉邪薪懈褌, 泻芯械褌芯 薪械 屑芯卸械褕 写邪 薪邪褍褔懈褕 薪邪 薪懈褖芯.鈥�
鈥炐� 芯褔邪泻胁邪薪械 薪邪 胁邪褉胁邪褉懈褌械鈥� 械 褔褍写械褋械薪 褉芯屑邪薪, 泻芯泄褌芯 褉邪蟹泻褉懈胁邪 屑褉邪褔薪邪褌邪 褋褗褖薪芯褋褌 薪邪 胁褋褟泻邪 懈屑锌械褉懈褟! 袛卸芯薪 袣褍褌褋懈 屑邪泄褋褌芯褉褋泻懈 械 薪邪胁谢褟蟹褗谢 胁 褋褗褉褑械胁懈薪邪褌邪 薪邪 懈屑锌械褉褋泻懈褌械 薪邪写屑械薪薪芯褋褌 懈 卸械褋褌芯泻芯褋褌, 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹胁邪泄泻懈 褌褉芯谐邪褌械谢薪邪 褔芯胁械褕泻邪 懈褋褌芯褉懈褟... 袚谢邪胁械薪 谐械褉芯泄 胁 薪械褟 械 褋褗写懈褟 芯褌 写邪谢械褔械薪 屑邪谢褗泻 谐褉邪写 写芯 谐褉邪薪懈褑邪褌邪 薪邪 懈屑锌械褉懈褟褌邪, 芯褌 褔懈褟褌芯 谐谢械写薪邪 褌芯褔泻邪 锌褉芯褋谢械写褟胁邪屑械 褍谐薪械褌懈褌械谢薪懈褟 薪邪褔懈薪 薪邪 卸懈胁芯褌 懈 薪邪褋懈谢懈械褌芯, 懈蟹胁褗褉褕胁邪薪芯 芯褌 锌褉械写褋褌邪胁懈褌械谢懈 薪邪 邪斜褋芯谢褞褌薪邪褌邪 懈屑锌械褉褋泻邪 胁谢邪褋褌. 袪芯屑邪薪褗褌 褋褗写褗褉卸邪 褉邪蟹谢懈褔薪懈 褑械薪薪懈 褉邪蟹屑懈褋谢懈 懈 蟹邪褋褟谐邪 写芯褋褌邪 褌械卸泻懈 锌褉芯斜谢械屑懈, 薪芯 褋褗褖械胁褉械屑械薪薪芯 械 懈蟹泻谢褞褔懈褌械谢薪芯 褍胁谢械泻邪褌械谢械薪 懈 谢械褋械薪 蟹邪 褔械褌械薪械. 袙褗蟹褏懈褌械薪 褋褗屑 芯褌 褋褌懈谢邪 薪邪 锌懈褋邪薪械 薪邪 袣褍褌褋懈!
鈥炐樞夹啃笛€懈褟褌邪 薪械 蟹邪写褗谢卸邪胁邪 褋胁芯懈褌械 褋谢褍卸懈褌械谢懈 写邪 褋械 芯斜懈褔邪褌, 邪 写邪 懈蟹锌褗谢薪褟胁邪褌 写褗谢谐邪 褋懈.鈥�
鈥炐樞沸恍感沸� 薪褟泻邪泻, 褔械 蟹薪邪屑 褌胁褗褉写械 屑薪芯谐芯; 邪 胁械写薪褗卸 蟹邪褉邪蟹懈 谢懈 褋械 褔芯胁械泻 芯褌 褌芯胁邪 蟹薪邪薪懈械, 懈蟹谐谢械卸写邪, 薪械 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋械 懈蟹谢械泻褍胁邪. 袧械 械 褌褉褟斜胁邪谢芯 写邪 胁蟹械屑邪屑 褎械薪械褉邪, 蟹邪 写邪 胁懈写褟 泻邪泻胁芯 褋褌邪胁邪 胁 泻芯谢懈斜邪褌邪 泻褉邪泄 褏邪屑斜邪褉邪. 袨褌 写褉褍谐邪 褋褌褉邪薪邪, 薪褟屑邪褕械 薪邪褔懈薪, 褖芯屑 胁械写薪褗卸 褋褗屑 胁蟹械谢 褎械薪械褉邪, 写邪 谐芯 芯褋褌邪胁褟. 袙褗蟹械谢褗褌 褋邪屑 褋械 蟹邪锌谢懈褌邪 懈 邪蟹 薪械 屑芯谐邪 写邪 薪邪屑械褉褟 泻褉邪褟 屑褍.鈥�
鈥炐毿拘恍盒狙傂� 锌芯-屑邪谢褗泻 械 械写懈薪 谐褉邪写, 褌芯谢泻芯胁邪 械 锌芯-斜芯谐邪褌 薪邪 泻谢褞泻懈.鈥�
鈥炐犘笛埿秆�, 褔械 褖械 褋械 锌褉芯褌懈胁芯锌芯褋褌邪胁褟屑 薪邪 褑懈胁懈谢懈蟹邪褑懈褟褌邪, 泻芯谐邪褌芯 褌褟 锌芯泻胁邪褉褟胁邪 写芯斜褉芯写械褌械谢懈褌械 薪邪 胁邪褉胁邪褉懈褌械 懈 谐懈 锌褉械胁褉褗褖邪 胁 锌芯写褔懈薪械薪 薪邪褉芯写...鈥�
鈥炐� 邪蟹 泻邪褌芯 褋褗写懈褟 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 褋械 斜芯褉褟 胁械褔械 写胁邪写械褋械褌 谐芯写懈薪懈 褋 褌芯胁邪 锌褉械蟹褉械薪懈械 泻褗屑 胁邪褉胁邪褉懈褌械, 锌褉械蟹褉械薪懈械, 泻芯械褌芯 懈蟹锌懈褌胁邪褌 懈 薪邪泄-锌褉芯褋褌懈褌械 泻芯薪褟褉懈 懈 褋械谢褟薪懈. 袣邪泻 褋械 懈蟹泻芯褉械薪褟胁邪 锌褉械蟹褉械薪懈械褌芯, 芯褋芯斜械薪芯 泻芯谐邪褌芯 芯褋薪芯胁邪薪懈褟褌邪 蟹邪 薪械谐芯 褋械 懈蟹褔械褉锌胁邪褌 褋 褉邪蟹谢懈泻懈褌械 胁 锌褉邪胁懈谢邪褌邪 蟹邪 褏褉邪薪械薪械 懈 褎芯褉屑邪褌邪 薪邪 泻谢械锌邪褔懈褌械?鈥�
鈥炐⑿靶沸� 锌芯褋褌褗锌泻邪 泻邪褌芯 锌褉芯褟胁邪 薪邪 薪褟泻邪泻褗胁 卸械褋褌 薪褟屑邪 写邪 锌褉芯屑械薪懈 薪懈褖芯, 薪褟屑邪 写芯褉懈 写邪 斜褗写械 蟹邪斜械谢褟蟹邪薪邪. 袧械蟹邪胁懈褋懈屑芯 芯褌 褌芯胁邪 芯斜邪褔械 蟹邪褉邪写懈 屑械薪 褋邪屑懈褟, 泻邪褌芯 卸械褋褌 泻褗屑 褋邪屑懈褟 屑械薪, 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 褋械 胁褗褉薪邪 胁 锌褉芯褏谢邪写薪懈褟 屑褉邪泻, 写邪 蟹邪褌胁芯褉褟 胁褉邪褌邪褌邪, 写邪 锌褉械胁褗褉褌褟 泻谢褞褔邪 懈 写邪 蟹邪锌褍褕邪 褍褕懈褌械 褋懈 蟹邪 锌邪褌褉懈芯褌懈褔薪懈褌械 锌褉懈蟹懈胁懈 蟹邪 泻褉褗胁芯卸邪写薪芯褋褌, 写邪 蟹邪褌胁芯褉褟 褍褋褌邪褌邪 褋懈, 薪懈泻芯谐邪 胁械褔械 写邪 薪械 谐芯胁芯褉褟.鈥�
鈥炐澬� 蟹薪邪械褏 芯斜邪褔械, 褔械 褋懈谢薪懈褟褌 泻芯锌薪械卸 锌芯 薪械褖芯 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋械 蟹邪谐薪械蟹写懈 薪褟泻褗写械 写褗谢斜芯泻芯 胁 写褍褕邪褌邪 薪邪 褔芯胁械泻 懈 械写懈薪 写械薪 斜械蟹 锌褉械写褍锌褉械卸写械薪懈械 写邪 褋械 芯褌锌褉懈褖懈.鈥�
鈥炐樠佇盒靶� 写邪 屑褍 锌褉械写邪屑 械写懈薪 褍褉芯泻, 泻芯泄褌芯 芯褌写邪胁薪邪 褋褗屑 薪邪褍褔懈谢. 袠蟹谐芯胁邪褉褟屑 斜邪胁薪芯 写褍屑懈褌械 懈 谐谢械写邪屑 泻邪泻 谐懈 褔械褌械 锌芯 褍褋褌薪懈褌械 屑懈.
鈥� 袧邪褕邪褌邪 褋泻褉懈褌邪 褋泻谢芯薪薪芯褋褌 泻褗屑 锌褉械褋褌褗锌薪芯褋褌 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 褋械 懈蟹谢械械 胁褗褉褏褍 褋邪屑懈褌械 薪邪褋 鈥� 泻邪蟹胁邪屑 邪蟹. 袣懈屑邪屑 褋 谐谢邪胁邪, 锌芯褋谢械 锌邪泻 泻懈屑邪屑, 蟹邪 写邪 屑褍 胁薪褍褕邪 褌芯胁邪 锌芯褋谢邪薪懈械. 鈥� 袧械 胁褗褉褏褍 写褉褍谐懈 褏芯褉邪 鈥� 写芯斜邪胁褟屑 懈 锌芯胁褌邪褉褟屑 写褍屑懈褌械, 泻邪褌芯 锌芯褋芯褔胁邪屑 褋械斜械 褋懈, 邪 褋谢械写 褌芯胁邪 薪械谐芯.鈥�
鈥炐� 芯褔邪泻胁邪薪械 薪邪 胁邪褉胁邪褉懈褌械鈥� 械 褔褍写械褋械薪 褉芯屑邪薪, 泻芯泄褌芯 褉邪蟹泻褉懈胁邪 屑褉邪褔薪邪褌邪 褋褗褖薪芯褋褌 薪邪 胁褋褟泻邪 懈屑锌械褉懈褟! 袛卸芯薪 袣褍褌褋懈 屑邪泄褋褌芯褉褋泻懈 械 薪邪胁谢褟蟹褗谢 胁 褋褗褉褑械胁懈薪邪褌邪 薪邪 懈屑锌械褉褋泻懈褌械 薪邪写屑械薪薪芯褋褌 懈 卸械褋褌芯泻芯褋褌, 褉邪蟹泻邪蟹胁邪泄泻懈 褌褉芯谐邪褌械谢薪邪 褔芯胁械褕泻邪 懈褋褌芯褉懈褟... 袚谢邪胁械薪 谐械褉芯泄 胁 薪械褟 械 褋褗写懈褟 芯褌 写邪谢械褔械薪 屑邪谢褗泻 谐褉邪写 写芯 谐褉邪薪懈褑邪褌邪 薪邪 懈屑锌械褉懈褟褌邪, 芯褌 褔懈褟褌芯 谐谢械写薪邪 褌芯褔泻邪 锌褉芯褋谢械写褟胁邪屑械 褍谐薪械褌懈褌械谢薪懈褟 薪邪褔懈薪 薪邪 卸懈胁芯褌 懈 薪邪褋懈谢懈械褌芯, 懈蟹胁褗褉褕胁邪薪芯 芯褌 锌褉械写褋褌邪胁懈褌械谢懈 薪邪 邪斜褋芯谢褞褌薪邪褌邪 懈屑锌械褉褋泻邪 胁谢邪褋褌. 袪芯屑邪薪褗褌 褋褗写褗褉卸邪 褉邪蟹谢懈褔薪懈 褑械薪薪懈 褉邪蟹屑懈褋谢懈 懈 蟹邪褋褟谐邪 写芯褋褌邪 褌械卸泻懈 锌褉芯斜谢械屑懈, 薪芯 褋褗褖械胁褉械屑械薪薪芯 械 懈蟹泻谢褞褔懈褌械谢薪芯 褍胁谢械泻邪褌械谢械薪 懈 谢械褋械薪 蟹邪 褔械褌械薪械. 袙褗蟹褏懈褌械薪 褋褗屑 芯褌 褋褌懈谢邪 薪邪 锌懈褋邪薪械 薪邪 袣褍褌褋懈!
鈥炐樞夹啃笛€懈褟褌邪 薪械 蟹邪写褗谢卸邪胁邪 褋胁芯懈褌械 褋谢褍卸懈褌械谢懈 写邪 褋械 芯斜懈褔邪褌, 邪 写邪 懈蟹锌褗谢薪褟胁邪褌 写褗谢谐邪 褋懈.鈥�
鈥炐樞沸恍感沸� 薪褟泻邪泻, 褔械 蟹薪邪屑 褌胁褗褉写械 屑薪芯谐芯; 邪 胁械写薪褗卸 蟹邪褉邪蟹懈 谢懈 褋械 褔芯胁械泻 芯褌 褌芯胁邪 蟹薪邪薪懈械, 懈蟹谐谢械卸写邪, 薪械 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋械 懈蟹谢械泻褍胁邪. 袧械 械 褌褉褟斜胁邪谢芯 写邪 胁蟹械屑邪屑 褎械薪械褉邪, 蟹邪 写邪 胁懈写褟 泻邪泻胁芯 褋褌邪胁邪 胁 泻芯谢懈斜邪褌邪 泻褉邪泄 褏邪屑斜邪褉邪. 袨褌 写褉褍谐邪 褋褌褉邪薪邪, 薪褟屑邪褕械 薪邪褔懈薪, 褖芯屑 胁械写薪褗卸 褋褗屑 胁蟹械谢 褎械薪械褉邪, 写邪 谐芯 芯褋褌邪胁褟. 袙褗蟹械谢褗褌 褋邪屑 褋械 蟹邪锌谢懈褌邪 懈 邪蟹 薪械 屑芯谐邪 写邪 薪邪屑械褉褟 泻褉邪褟 屑褍.鈥�
鈥炐毿拘恍盒狙傂� 锌芯-屑邪谢褗泻 械 械写懈薪 谐褉邪写, 褌芯谢泻芯胁邪 械 锌芯-斜芯谐邪褌 薪邪 泻谢褞泻懈.鈥�
鈥炐犘笛埿秆�, 褔械 褖械 褋械 锌褉芯褌懈胁芯锌芯褋褌邪胁褟屑 薪邪 褑懈胁懈谢懈蟹邪褑懈褟褌邪, 泻芯谐邪褌芯 褌褟 锌芯泻胁邪褉褟胁邪 写芯斜褉芯写械褌械谢懈褌械 薪邪 胁邪褉胁邪褉懈褌械 懈 谐懈 锌褉械胁褉褗褖邪 胁 锌芯写褔懈薪械薪 薪邪褉芯写...鈥�
鈥炐� 邪蟹 泻邪褌芯 褋褗写懈褟 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 褋械 斜芯褉褟 胁械褔械 写胁邪写械褋械褌 谐芯写懈薪懈 褋 褌芯胁邪 锌褉械蟹褉械薪懈械 泻褗屑 胁邪褉胁邪褉懈褌械, 锌褉械蟹褉械薪懈械, 泻芯械褌芯 懈蟹锌懈褌胁邪褌 懈 薪邪泄-锌褉芯褋褌懈褌械 泻芯薪褟褉懈 懈 褋械谢褟薪懈. 袣邪泻 褋械 懈蟹泻芯褉械薪褟胁邪 锌褉械蟹褉械薪懈械褌芯, 芯褋芯斜械薪芯 泻芯谐邪褌芯 芯褋薪芯胁邪薪懈褟褌邪 蟹邪 薪械谐芯 褋械 懈蟹褔械褉锌胁邪褌 褋 褉邪蟹谢懈泻懈褌械 胁 锌褉邪胁懈谢邪褌邪 蟹邪 褏褉邪薪械薪械 懈 褎芯褉屑邪褌邪 薪邪 泻谢械锌邪褔懈褌械?鈥�
鈥炐⑿靶沸� 锌芯褋褌褗锌泻邪 泻邪褌芯 锌褉芯褟胁邪 薪邪 薪褟泻邪泻褗胁 卸械褋褌 薪褟屑邪 写邪 锌褉芯屑械薪懈 薪懈褖芯, 薪褟屑邪 写芯褉懈 写邪 斜褗写械 蟹邪斜械谢褟蟹邪薪邪. 袧械蟹邪胁懈褋懈屑芯 芯褌 褌芯胁邪 芯斜邪褔械 蟹邪褉邪写懈 屑械薪 褋邪屑懈褟, 泻邪褌芯 卸械褋褌 泻褗屑 褋邪屑懈褟 屑械薪, 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 褋械 胁褗褉薪邪 胁 锌褉芯褏谢邪写薪懈褟 屑褉邪泻, 写邪 蟹邪褌胁芯褉褟 胁褉邪褌邪褌邪, 写邪 锌褉械胁褗褉褌褟 泻谢褞褔邪 懈 写邪 蟹邪锌褍褕邪 褍褕懈褌械 褋懈 蟹邪 锌邪褌褉懈芯褌懈褔薪懈褌械 锌褉懈蟹懈胁懈 蟹邪 泻褉褗胁芯卸邪写薪芯褋褌, 写邪 蟹邪褌胁芯褉褟 褍褋褌邪褌邪 褋懈, 薪懈泻芯谐邪 胁械褔械 写邪 薪械 谐芯胁芯褉褟.鈥�
鈥炐澬� 蟹薪邪械褏 芯斜邪褔械, 褔械 褋懈谢薪懈褟褌 泻芯锌薪械卸 锌芯 薪械褖芯 屑芯卸械 写邪 褋械 蟹邪谐薪械蟹写懈 薪褟泻褗写械 写褗谢斜芯泻芯 胁 写褍褕邪褌邪 薪邪 褔芯胁械泻 懈 械写懈薪 写械薪 斜械蟹 锌褉械写褍锌褉械卸写械薪懈械 写邪 褋械 芯褌锌褉懈褖懈.鈥�
鈥炐樠佇盒靶� 写邪 屑褍 锌褉械写邪屑 械写懈薪 褍褉芯泻, 泻芯泄褌芯 芯褌写邪胁薪邪 褋褗屑 薪邪褍褔懈谢. 袠蟹谐芯胁邪褉褟屑 斜邪胁薪芯 写褍屑懈褌械 懈 谐谢械写邪屑 泻邪泻 谐懈 褔械褌械 锌芯 褍褋褌薪懈褌械 屑懈.
鈥� 袧邪褕邪褌邪 褋泻褉懈褌邪 褋泻谢芯薪薪芯褋褌 泻褗屑 锌褉械褋褌褗锌薪芯褋褌 褌褉褟斜胁邪 写邪 褋械 懈蟹谢械械 胁褗褉褏褍 褋邪屑懈褌械 薪邪褋 鈥� 泻邪蟹胁邪屑 邪蟹. 袣懈屑邪屑 褋 谐谢邪胁邪, 锌芯褋谢械 锌邪泻 泻懈屑邪屑, 蟹邪 写邪 屑褍 胁薪褍褕邪 褌芯胁邪 锌芯褋谢邪薪懈械. 鈥� 袧械 胁褗褉褏褍 写褉褍谐懈 褏芯褉邪 鈥� 写芯斜邪胁褟屑 懈 锌芯胁褌邪褉褟屑 写褍屑懈褌械, 泻邪褌芯 锌芯褋芯褔胁邪屑 褋械斜械 褋懈, 邪 褋谢械写 褌芯胁邪 薪械谐芯.鈥�
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