Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

WOW! What a great book.

Maybe it's just that my notions of what constitutes great writing and that my preconceived ideas about politics and morality coincide with those of the author, but I was impressed by this novel more than any I have read in a long time. Thanks to Aaron Baker for recommending it.

The narrator is the Magistrate in a frontier outpost occupied by a foreign Empire in a country of nomads, who are Barbarians to the occupiers, because they don't share the same values and style of living. A lack of understanding leads to fear, and the Empire sends its Third Bureau to capture some barbarians and discover their plans. Using torture to find out "the truth," they find essentially nothing, and release the living captives, with the exception of one girl, who is so crippled from torture that she cannot walk away with the rest. A crisis of conscience leads the narrator to attempt a journey to return the girl to her people, leading to his being arrested for treason, for aiding the enemy.

I have great difficulty in reducing this story to a general summary, because it conveys so much more and opens so many questions. It is obviously an allegory, and since Coetzee is South African, is perhaps somewhat targeted at that country and its history. But since it's an allegory, it can apply to any similar set of circumstances in any place at any time. This novel could take place anywhere a population considers itself superior to the "other," fails to understand the way of life and motivations of the "other," stands back while its military uses "barbaric" methods to extract information in the name of "peace," and wants only to ignore any troubles as much as possible.

Even the narrator, who reacts to the torture when he finally allows himself to see the real "face" of the supposed enemy, is not exempt from blame. He is, after all, a willing participant in the Empire, who only wants to be left alone with his comfortable lifestyle.

We are left with this question: Who, exactly, are the barbarians?

This novel leaves the reader something to think about, is not simplistic black and white, is subtle in its use of symbolism, reveals the soul of a man, and is superbly well-written. What more could a reader ask?