COETZEE, J. M. ~ Waiting for the Barbarians. Signed by the author.

FIRST UK PRINTING. Secker & Warburg, London: 1980.

8vo., black publisher's boards, lined and lettered in gilt to spine; together in the original clipped dustwrapper printed in red, white, yellow and black; THE BOOK essentially fine, aside from very mild bruising to the spine tips; THE WRAPPER a touch chipped to ends of folds, and some of the inevitable fading along the spine, but far less than is often encountered; very good plus. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First edition, first printing. Signed by the author to a tipped-in bookplate. The third novel by the South African writer John Maxwell Coetzee, heavily influenced by the 1904 poem of the same name by the Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy. In the poem, a small, struggling principality waits for the 'The Barbarians', whose arrival heralds both destruction and salvation. In Coetzee's adaptation, the plot is centred around the magistrate of an imperial outpost in an unnamed wilderness (though closely resembling South Africa). Having served his empire for most of his life, he finds himself drawn into sympathy with the very victims of the regime he has enforced for most of his life, leading to his rebellion, imprisonment, and ultimately suffering as an enemy of the state. Many of Coetzee's published works are semi-autobiographical, and several of his characters have been viewed as such; figments of his personality or otherwise alter egos such as Elizabeth Costello, a recurring character which appears in several of his books. Here, comparisons have been drawn between the introspective, academic magistrate and the author himself. The book was later adapted into an opera by Philip Glass, which premiered on September 10, 2005, at the Theater of Erfurt, Germany, under the direction of Guy Montavon. It was also adapted into film in 2019, starring Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, and Mark Rylance as The Magistrate. Coetzee was the first writer to be awarded the Booker Prize twice - in 1983 for 'Life & Times of Michael K', and for 'Disgrace' in 1999. This book precedes both, and is a scarce example of his early output, seldom found with the jacket in such condition. ''Mr. Coetzee sees the heart of darkness in all societies", Bernard Levin later wrote, "and gradually it becomes clear that he is not dealing in politics at all, but inquiring into the nature of the beast that lurks within each of us.''

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Fine
JACKET: Very Good +