There is much that can be said about the novel "Waiting for the Barbarians" by J.M. Cotzee. The author has constructed a first-rate allegory that explores the personal costs of a man caught in the middle of the forces of empire. Not always pleasant but infinitely thought provoking, "Waiting for the Barbarians" is perhaps the best fictional mediation on the cost of control, the psychology of colonialism and the perpetuation of empire, painted with an interesting, engaging narrative. The central protagonist is the Magistrate, an older minor public official serving on a frontier outpost of the Empire. He spends his days in idleness in a place that has been relatively peaceful. But things change with the arrival of Colonel Joll, a member of the secret police from the Capital, who brings with him sinister methods of interrogation and a preemptive war against the "barbarians" in the North. The Magistrate becomes involved with a barbarian women tortured by Joll. Through his interactions with the mechanizations of the State, he begins to quixotically resist the very foundations of the Empire. In his rebellion we get to see how the Empire functions and what it means to be a part of such a system in a barren land. The book is perhaps should be seen first and foremost as a product of the Apartheid regime of South Africa in the late 70's and early 80's (the author was a staunch opponent of the system). But the book is so much more than that. It is an examination of events and ideas that can be shown in many situations in history and is more of a universal human condition. The history of empire is unlike the passage of time what most people experience. It is not within the natural cycles but part of a rise and fall and its energies are put towards its preservation above all else. The book is well-written with complex characters and ideas. Not for everyone but it's a book you'll think about long after you its read.