Starting Thoughts on "Waiting for the Barbarians"

The novel, "Waiting for the Barbarians" by Coetze, is actually a pleasant surprise for me. I was not such a fan of "The Heart of Darkness" by Conrad so I immediately thought that I would not enjoy the novel by Coetze. Interestingly enough, aside from the main journey of the characters, we also see the development and habits of the main character, the Magistrate. For me, looking at character's development is very interesting in that I feel one is able to develop a stronger connection to that character. This novel is not just a quest for barbarians, but a love story. We see the Magistrate realize qualities of his character that deal with how he treats women. He seems to come to understand that the woman is not just a blind prisoner, but a woman that he may have feelings for. In this way, I am interested to see how this relationship continues throughout the rest of the novel. After reading part three, I am hoping that in some way she will return to him. I am also excited to learn about the army's quest to find the barbarians, as I was not expecting this to greet the skeletal soldiers as they made their way back home. I am also enjoying finding some of the symbolism that is not concretely evident. I love how I have to search for the symbolism as it hides between the pages. Our discussion in class about the glasses revealed this to me in that I established a connection between the Colonel's glasses and the eyes of the women. Without this discussion I probably would not have discovered this in that it is not blatantly evident. Overall, this novel is much more interesting than I would have ever thought it would be and I am so excited and enticed to keep reading on.