An unnamed empire exists at the edge of nowhere, fabricating itself with its own laws and truths, fearing the unknown threat of oncoming Barbarians. Sadness, loneliness and lack of true connections lie within the walls of the community. Sparse prisoners are brought before the masses to be tortured and slaughtered. Who are the Barbarians? They are us. It is our own disgrace and our future that we must learn to confront.

WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (1980) can be described as an allegory of imperialism. The novel was written during the infamous South African apartheid era, and while it distances itself from it, the similarities are unmistakable.

The setting is rather vague, both time and place are unspecified, thus reinforcing the idea of allegory. The events take place near the frontier where the last outpost of an unspecified "Empire" is located. The narrator is the magistrate of the walled settlement. He is a mild, quiet, fair man who does his job well and seems to be respected by the settlement dwellers. He looks forward to his retirement.

Nomadic barbarians live beyond the frontier but he doesn't seem to have conflicts with these people. He understands their way of life and feels respect for them. One day, though, Colonel Joll and his garrison arrive because someone from headquarters is worried about the "barbarian threat". The "Empire" fears a barbarian insurrection. Colonel Joll is vicious and insensitive. He knows how to deal with barbarians. He masters the art of torture and unspeakable terror. He is so good at it that people confess to anything rather than face his homicidal fury. The reader has to wonder who are the real barbarians of this novel. The answer is straightforward, of course.

While the narrator's peaceful and harmonious existence is shattered with the arrival of Colonel Joll, he also suffers a painful awakening as he comes to understand imperialism and its consequences. Worst of all, he realizes that all his life he has been unwillingly complicit with imperialism.

WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS is a novel about a man of conscience who tries to disentangle himself and oppose an imperial regime. His moral awakening has come too late and he will pay dearly for it. The novel is superb and I also enjoyed the film adaptation very much.

My first Coetzee. This may be the best novel about colonialism and military life that I've read. Coetzee is so effective in his criticism because, despite all the violence he depicts, he knows when to give hope and show beauty. A great companion to The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati, which supposedly influenced it.

"E contro che cosa mi schiero, se non contro la scienza della degradazione che uccide della gente inginocchiata, confusa e coperta di vergogna ai suoi stessi occhi? Avrei avuto il coraggio di mettermi di fronte alla folla e chiedere giustizia per questi ridicoli prigionieri?"

Si può davvero passare una vita facendo finta di nulla?
Si può davvero fingere anche quando le ingiustizie accadono davanti ai tuoi occhi?

In questo racconto un ipotetico ed emblematico Impero si fa cacciatore dell'"altro", il "diverso", il nemico numero uno da sempre: il barbaro, colui che è simbolo di ancestrali paure.
Un libro che parla di quell'orrenda pratica che è la tortura di cui vorrei parlarne al passato ma sta accadendo ora, proprio in questo momento; mentre scrivo, mentre leggi.
E se ne fossi testimone cosa faresti?
Saresti anche tu tra le tante teste che si voltano?
Queste e tante altre domande hanno accompagnato questa lettura.
Il mio primo Coetzee è un gioiello prezioso.

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’s 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 “Waiting for the Barbarians” 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, “Waiting for the Barbarians” 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’s the nice-guy-who-didn’t-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’t quite turn a blind eye to torture and arbitrary imprisonment . . . oh wait . . . that’s 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’t 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, “Why 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?”

“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.”

And then an example of the more pedantic and obvious, “Empire 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.”

The novel operates capably along this spectrum.

Each of us is a fulcrum between the natural being we are born to be and the civilized being we are conditioned into. Coetzee has created an allegorical character who observes the conflicts that go on within us as we exist between these two tendencies. He paints our civilized side (which “protects'' us from our natural side) as unthinking, irrational and vicious; and our barbarian side (which we long to embrace even as we destroy it) as child-like, stoic, half-blind and “incomplete.” At various times I thought of Cotezee’s protagonist as our human self-awareness, or our reason, or our conscience. I suspect he is all of these and other stuff I did not identify. For Coatzee is addressing more than just this central conflict. He is fleshing out many problems that only begin there. For example, clearly he thinks we accept the brutality of our conditioning because we fear our natural state. The barbarian in us is too free, too wild. It terrifies us. We cower, therefore, behind the city walls of our civilized self, fearing it as it lurks on a hill in the distance.

His verb tense is interesting. The narrator uses the present tense even as he reflects on the past. Perhaps Coatzee is reaffirming with this effect that the conflict is on-going in us.

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’s unjust games.
But can he stand witness to the atrocities committed in the name of ‘Civilization’ 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 ‘Barbarians’ 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’s 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…not on others.

Çizdiği hayali coğrafyayla, okuyucuya dünyanın herhangi bir yerinde herhangi bir "öteki"ni rahatça resmettiren çarpıcı, kuvvetli bir roman Barbarları Beklerken. Gücün, erkin, ufacık bir bakış açısı değişikliğiyle nasıl da yerle bir olabileceğini ne güzel anlatmış.

spoiler:

Barbarlara karşı savaş açmaya gidenlerin, dönüş yolunda bir sürü kayıpla eve dönüp, aslında hiç savaşa girmediklerini sadece onları izlerken bir sürü sebeple asker kaybettiklerini anlattıkları bölüm benim için romanın en zirve noktasıydı.

Tavsiye ediyorum.

كم من الجرائم ارتكبت باسم الحرب على الارهاب ؟ ، لا صوت يعلو فوق صوت المعركة ، و فى أوقات الحرب تصبح المعارضة خيانة و التفكير خارج القطيع انحيازا للعدو
فى انتظار البرابرة يكون التعذيب مباحا، سحق آدمية البشر و اغتصاب مواردهم و سرقة بيوتهم و أقواتهم امرا يغتفر ، المهم ان جيش الوطن يحيمنا من الاعداء

وجود العدو =شىء حتمى ، و إن لم يكن هناك عدو فلابد من اختراعه حتى يقبل الناس بسلطة الدولة عليهم ، لانها من تحميهم و تمنع البرابرة ( الارهابيين )من " قتلهم " بوحشية ..

ان كنت مواطنا من بلادنا المنكوبة ستحتشد الأفكار فى عقلك بصورة مكثفة و مؤلمة حينما تمضى قدما فى هذه الرواية و ربما تقطع القراءة اكثر من مرة ناظرا فى الغلاف للتأكد من أن المؤلف قد كتب روايته قبل سنوات من الأحداث الاخيرة فى بلادنا

الرواية عن امبراطورية ما تسيطر على أجزاء واسعة من الأراضى ، هناك عاصمة للدولة و هناك مدن بعيدة على الأطراف فيها حامية من الجنود للدفاع عنها و قاضى لتسيير الأمور فيها ، المقاطعة الحدودية تفصل الإمبراطورية عن " البرابرة " الشعوب البدائية التى تسكن على بعد مسافة طويلة من السور بابراجه العالية المجهزة للمراقبة و الرصد ، فى العقود الأخيرة كانت العلاقة بين " الاغراب " و الإمبراطورية علاقة سلام هادىء خاصة فى المقاطعة الحدودية التى يسير أمورها قاضى مدنى هو بطل هذه الرواية و حكاءها الذى نسمع القصة على لسانه ، أتى للمقاطعة قبل عشرين سنة ، أعجبه المكان، وقته يمضى بين مزاولة مهامه الإدارية و الاكل و ممارسة الحب مع بعض نساء المدينة ، ثم هوايته المحببة الى نفسه و هى الحفر فى الخراءب القريبة من الأسوار بحثا عن آثار
للسكان القدامى للبلدة.
حال رتيب يتغير حينما تسرى الشائعات عن " البرابرة " الذين يغيرون على الحدود و يجمعون جيوشهم منتظرين فرصة الانقضاض على الإمبراطورية ، تتعالى الأصوات بوجوب التجهز لدحرهم خاصة من العسكريين ممن يرون ان العنف و الردع هو الطريقة الوحيدة للتعامل مع هؤلاء الوحوش ممن لم يدخلوا بعد فى طور الحضارة .

تبدأ الحملات العسكرية فى الخروج للاغارة على البرابرة و اتخاذ عدد منهم أسرى و سجنهم فى البلدة حيث القاضى و عدالته المعطلة ، يبدأ التعذيب للسجناء و انتهاك ادميتهم حتى يصل الأمر الى القتل ، اليست الدولة فى حالة حرب ؟ فى وقت الحرب لا تحدثنى عن العدالة و لا عن حقوق الناس ،و التعذيب شىء لازم لان الناس لا يعترفون بالحقيقة الا تحت ضغط الألم و شبح الموت ، هكذا يرى العميد " جول " القائد العسكرى الذى أوفدته العاصمة الى المقاطعة للتعامل مع خطر البرابرة الذى يلوح فى الأفق

فى المدينة الحدودية كان قاضينا لا يرتاح الى مثل هذه الطريقة الوحشية التى يتعامل بها الجنود مع الأسرى حتى وصل بهم الأمر إلى قتل واحدا منهم امام ابنته الشابة حينما حاول الدفاع عنها . بعد موت الأب و رحيل العميد فى حملة عسكرية فى بلاد البرابرة لتاديبهم ، يتبنى القاضى ابنة الرجل الذى مات و يراعيها فى بيته بعد ما كانت تتسول الطعام فى شوارع البلدة، ثم يبدأ يوميا بغسل قدميها المكسورتين بفضل التعذيب و تدليكهما بالزيت و فى كل مرة يباغته النوم على هذه الحالة ، عيون الفتاة قد تضررت بسبب التعذيب حتى أوشكت على العمى ، كل يوم تنام الفتاة عارية بين يديه و مع ذلك لم يستطع و لا مرة انه يدخلها، فقط التدليك و غسل الجسم و ربما مرة او مرتين مداعبة بالايدى و فقط . بعد اشهر يقرر القاضى القيام برحلة شاقة الى بلاد البرابرة لارجاع الفتاة الى أهلها،

بعد ايام و أيام من السير فى صحراء قاتله تصل الفتاة الى وجهتها بعد ان ينجح القاضى فى اقتحام جسدها مرة او مرتين ، حينما يرجع مرة اخرى الى البلدة يلقى الجنود القبض عليه و يقرر رئيسهم توجيه تهمة الخيانة الى القاضى فهو قطع هذه المسافة الشاقة من أجل تحذير البرابرة و تبصريهم بمواضع الضعف فى كيان الدولة ، و لا يستمع إليه أحد حينما يحاول عبثا إقناعهم ان تحمل عناء السفر الطويل لارجاع الفتاة الى قبيلتها لا أكثر.

يرمونه فى السجن ، يتعرض للاستجواب اكثر من مرة ، ثم الى التعذيب و الاهانة و سحق آدميته بلا رحمه لكى يعترف بخيانته للدولة ، مع مرور الوقت و تغير الجنود القادمين الى المقاطعة و المغادرين لها يصبح القاضى السجين عبء على الجنود خاصة حينما ينخفض المتوفر من الغذاء ، يخرج القاضى من السجن يتسول الطعام من معارفه القدامى المتبقيين، فأغلب السكان قد هربوا باتجاه العاصمة خاصة بعد ما تزايد عدد الجنود القتلى الذين لم يعودوا من الحملات العسكرية الأخيرة على بلاد البرابرة ، الحملة العسكرية التى خرجت قبل ثلاثة أشهر قد ابيدت بالكامل ، و الأراضى الزراعية التى كانت تعتمد عليها المقاطعة لتوفير الغذاء غرقت وضاع المحصول حينما تعرض السد الموجود على البحيرة القريبة الى التدمير ، حينها يرحل الجنود عن المقاطعة منسحبين الى العاصمة ، تاركين البقية الباقية من السكان فى المقاطعة مترقيبن هجوم البرابرة المنتظر .
تركوهم لملاقاة مصيرهم المحتوم

يعود القاضى مرة اخرى لمزاولة بعضا من مهامه القديمة، تخزين الحبوب �� تقوية الاسوار ، حفر بعض الابار فى البيوت و عدم الاعتماد على مصادر المياه خارج الاسوار تحسبا للهجوم المنتظر

تنتهى الرواية و مازال الناس ف انتظار البرابرة ، و فى الانتظار لابأس من التعذيب و تجويع الناس و سرقة أقواتهم و وارزاقهم، ولا مشكلة فى سحق ادميتهم و ذبحهم كالخراف ، و حين الهزيمة ينسحب الجنود الى الحدود الآمنة و يبقى الناس وحدهم ينتظرون مصيرهم المظلم

الرواية مؤلمة جدا
و الترجمة رائعة للغاية

I knocked off two stars for the magistrate's weird obsession with younger women. I found it mostly irrelevant and disturbing. I know part of the point was that the magistrate himself was by no means a perfect guy, the complete foil of Joss - but it was a bit much. Maybe it was just the wrong time for me to read this book, but I found the characters to be two-dimensional, and I didn't like the magistrate at all. Despite all that, I was very interested in the parts of the book where he wasn't obsessing over his libido, and found it to be an overall good read.

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.

ليست رواية سهلة , إنها رواية تتداخل فيها الكثير من الأحداث والأحلام حتى لا تعرف إن كان ما يحدث جزء من حقيقة الأحداث أو فكرة خطرت في نفس بطل الرواية أو لعلها حلما من أحلامه التي لا تنتهي , الإمبراطورية التي يتحدث عنها الكاتب في الرواية لم يكن لها اسما قد تكون جنوب افريقيا وقد لا تكون وقد تكون أي مكان آخر يعيش فيه مستوطنون أرادوا تكوين امبراطورية لا يحدها مكان مستخدمين أبشع الوسائل لإخضاع السكان الأصليين !
يعيش سكان هذه المدينة في انتظار البرابرة الذين يرغبون في العيش بهدوء وسلام ولكن المستوطنين يصورونهم كأعداء سيشنون حملة قاضية على المدينة يرأسهم العقيد جول الذي يقوم بشن حملات تأديبية للبرابرة لمحاولة سحق الأعداء والتخلص منهم
بين كل هذه الأحداث المأساوية يقف القاضي الذي يقوم بدور يشبه دور الحاكم
لم يسبغ عليه الراوي اسما ) وحيدا والسؤال هل كان هناك برابرة حقا في الرواية !



رواية رائعة أحببت أسلوب الكاتب جدا , الترجمة جيدة نوعا ما , كان للألوان حظا كبيرا في هذه الرواية الطباعة سيئة
وجدت الكثير من الصفحات في نهاية الرواية متداخلة مع الصفحة التي تسبقها يبدو إنه حظي السيء