false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1165555469m/6194.jpg 6194 22 For decades the Magistrate has been a loyal servant of the Empire, running the affairs of a tiny frontier settlement and ignoring the impending war with the barbarians. When interrogation experts arrive, however, he witnesses the Empire's cruel and unjust treatment of prisoners of war. Jolted into sympathy for their victims, he commits a quixotic act of rebellion that brands him an enemy of the state. J. M. Coetzee's prize-winning novel is a startling allegory of the war between opressor and opressed. The Magistrate is not simply a man living through a crisis of conscience in an obscure place in remote times; his situation is that of all men living in unbearable complicity with regimes that ignore justice and decency. 1155689 book 1980 Waiting for the Barbarians (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century) total:2606|5:961|4:990|3:503|2:130|1:22| 2606 10556 3597 286 5 16 false false Sat Jan 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 03 22:09:48 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 00:23:54 -0800 2009
This quote, taken wildly out of context, serves as an accurate description of my first experience reading J.M. Coetzee. Having read this small book in its entirety throughout the last twenty four hours, I now have the ur...more...]]> 4 14 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 02 19:49:00 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 04 07:52:16 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 12 false false Sat Jan 10 05:45:51 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 06:34:45 -0800 2009 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...more...]]> 0 9 false false Wed Dec 17 05:07:00 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 02 18:54:00 -0800 2009 shit about distance running, and why would I want to watch anyone run a fucking marathon?"

It didn't even occur to me before starting that I wouldn't completely love this book. And I mean yeah, it's really good or whate...more...]]> 3 6 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri May 23 09:30:25 -0700 2008 Thu Jun 12 17:33:04 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 6 false false Sun Dec 02 12:48:48 -0800 2007 Sun Dec 02 13:29:24 -0800 2007 more...]]> 5 2 false false Sat Aug 09 15:52:41 -0700 2008 Mon Dec 29 20:05:15 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Jan 25 13:41:12 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 06 10:53:14 -0800 2008
Coetzee's unsettling conclusions about the root of empire, as well as...more...]]> 5 2 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Jul 12 08:44:59 -0700 2007 Tue Jul 31 07:56:25 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 2 false false Fri Jul 27 18:31:02 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 29 20:57:43 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 2 false false Mon Mar 16 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Feb 09 11:19:41 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 16 10:22:54 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Sep 03 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 14:23:16 -0700 2008 Thu Oct 02 14:25:33 -0700 2008 2

P136
“You feel that it is unjust, I know, that yo...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 22 15:38:14 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 31 11:53:25 -0700 2008 edit: if you haven't read this book twice, you should.

there are too many things to be said about this novel for me to do it in this square, which is why i am seriously debating using it as the centerpiece to my graduate application writing sample.

anyone who loves a challenge...more...]]> 4 1 false false Fri Nov 14 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Jan 18 08:15:47 -0800 2008 Fri Nov 14 08:37:57 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sun Nov 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Dec 22 22:22:01 -0800 2007 Wed Apr 08 20:22:28 -0700 2009 3 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 27 17:33:47 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 27 17:35:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 true false Tue May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun May 06 18:13:18 -0700 2007 Wed May 16 19:15:50 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 1 false false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Fri Mar 23 13:48:44 -0700 2007 Fri Mar 23 13:53:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jan 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 17:41:51 -0800 2009 Fri Jan 09 17:41:51 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 13:54:08 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 26 14:06:08 -0800 2008 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=6194