The cheapest used copy of Waiting for the Barbarians is €3.28 at Label Emmaüs. Prices checked 19 Oct 2026

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.

Other editions

More by John Maxwell Coetzee →