• Waiting for the Barbarians

  • By: J. M. Coetzee
  • Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
  • Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (157 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Waiting for the Barbarians  By  cover art

Waiting for the Barbarians

By: J. M. Coetzee
Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $16.35

Buy for $16.35

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

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 oppressor and oppressed. 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.

©1980 J. M. Coetzee (P)2019 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about Waiting for the Barbarians

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    88
  • 4 Stars
    40
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    87
  • 4 Stars
    29
  • 3 Stars
    13
  • 2 Stars
    2
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    72
  • 4 Stars
    33
  • 3 Stars
    20
  • 2 Stars
    9
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Impressive performance by Andrew Wincott

Andrew Wincott’s performance is well modulated for this evocative novel. He gets everything right: voices, accents, the narrative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

An Interesting Read For The Current Times

Though a difficult read due to the disturbing content at times, I found this book curiously and frighteningly relevant to the current political times in which we are living, especially in the USA. It is a book well worth reading in that it prompts us to look inside ourselves to examine how fear of the unknown can drive us to act as human beings and also to remind us of how resilient we can be in difficult times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Read it your self

Great story, has all of life’s struggles, and coming to terms with oneself and those insignificant people with significant power.
I should have read it myself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful