Waiting for the Barbarians
by J. M. Coetzee · first published 1980
33% recommend67% neutral
For decades the Magistrate has run the affairs of a tiny frontier settlement, ignoring the impending war between the barbarians and the Empire, whose servant he is. But when the interrogation experts arrive, he is jolted into sympathy for the victims, and into a quixotic act of rebellion which lands him in prison.
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I love Don Quixote obviously. I find the symbolism to be something I can regularly latch onto as a way to describe things in my life. On the same note, I reread Waiting for the Barbarians by Coetzee for the same reason.
on “Do Hackers read *other* books?” ↗JM Coetzee - all, but Disgrace and Waiting for the Barbarians are good starting points.
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗Waiting for the Barbarians is a great start. It is a good read + it works as a great analogy that can be brought up when talking to people who let fear run their lives.
on “Do Hackers read *other* books?” ↗…selected an (in my opinion) less prominent result as the top hit and I had to click the "see other results". The searches I remember doing were "Blood Meridian" (should show Cormac McCarthy as top hit and "Waiting for the Barbarians" (J. M. Coetzee). Secondly, I'm not sure if it's sensible to show books by the same author, at least nowhere near the top. Lastly, while I like the UI and the idea of a handwriting-type font, I find…
on “Goodreads Is Broken” ↗…Trilling Cuentos Completos by Juan Carlos Onetti Balcony In The Forest by Julien Gracq Historia De España Contada Para Escépticos by Juan Eslava Galán Diez Lecciones Sobre Los Clásicos by Piero Boitani Waiting For The Barbarians by J. M. Coetzee 97,196 Words by Emmanuel Carrere Brief Interviews With Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace El Zafarrancho Aquel De Via Merulana by Carlo Emilio Gadda
on “Ask HN: Books you plan to read in 2020?” ↗A related literary work, at least depending on how you think about 'related' with regard to literature/poetry: Waiting for the Barbarians by JM Coetzee.
on “I swear the UFO is coming any minute” ↗I have associated "Waiting for the Barbarians" with people who think they know better showing up somewhere to conquer. I guess that could also be UFOs.
on “I swear the UFO is coming any minute” ↗