Waiting for the Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee

Waiting for the Barbarians is a novel written by acclaimed South African writer J.M. Coetzee, first published in 1980. It tells the story of a fictitious Empire, where an unnamed Magistrate serves to protect the interests of its citizens over those of its enemies. Coetzee paints a vivid picture of the power dynamics between the Empire and its perceived enemies, the “barbarians”, an ethnic group living beyond the Empire’s borders.

The novel follows the Magistrate through a series of events that ultimately see him witness the barbarians’ mistreatment at the hands of the imperial military, which is sent beyond the Empire’s borders to secure the safety of its citizens. The Magistrate has difficulty reconciling his loyalties - to the Empire, which he is sworn to serve, and to the barbarians, whom he has grown to respect and admire. He loses faith in the Empire and its power structures, which leads him to take a stand against them, as he increasingly comes to terms with the injustice of their actions.

The novel follows the Magistrate as he is sent on an inspection tour of the Empire’s outlying settlements and finds himself confronted with the grim reality of the Empire’s cruel treatment of its citizens. He eventually comes to believe that the Empire is treating its own people as barbarians and that it cannot be accepted. This leads to the Magistrate betraying the Empire by fleeing and helping the barbarians who have been arrested by the Imperial military to escape.

The novel is set over a number of weeks, culminating in the Magistrate’s daring act of self-sacrifice as he accepts a sentence of three years of hard labour. His decision ultimately serves to alert the Empire to its hypocrisy and forces it to reconsider its oppressive actions against its own people and the barbarians.

Waiting for the Barbarians is an exploration of the complexities of power and of human relationships, demonstrating how an individual’s sense of identity can become entangled within the structures and ideologies of the ‘other’. Coetzee brings all of this together in an intense and powerful account of how the individual’s loyalty and dignity can be both compromised and transformed when faced with the overwhelming power of a larger system.

Waiting for the Barbarians is widely regarded as one of Coetzee’s best works and has been widely acclaimed for its powerful themes and masterful writing. The book has been translated into multiple languages, won numerous awards and has been adapted into an opera and film. In 2019, the novel was listed on the TIME Magazine’s list of the 100 Best Novels since 1923.