104 - Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

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104 - Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

FromBooks of Some Substance

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Length:

57 minutes

Released:

Feb 7, 2024

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

Nathan and David continue their exploration of control with Waiting for Barbarians, a 1980 novel by South African writer J.M. Coetzee. Empire! Torture! Manipulation! Control! Quite the book, and quite the episode.

Released:

Feb 7, 2024

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (35)

The unofficial podcast of literary misfits everywhere who want to engage with books of "substance" (i.e. serious, respected, heavy, philosophical, classic), or at least considered such.

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75 - Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace: Volume 4: Down with Napoleon! Long live Mother Russia! Ole Kutuzov and the gang aren’t the only winners here. Anyone who has read through the entirety of War and Peace — David, Nathan, and Nick now counting themselves as part of the club — knows that... by Books of Some Substance
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74 - Santiago Gamboa's Necropolis (Guest: Mark Haber): Novelist Mark Haber joins the podcast to talk about one of his underdogs: Santiago Gamboa and his excellent novel Necropolis. Necropolis is a novel full of narratives, soaked in storytelling, and driven by a cast of colorful characters seeking some... by Books of Some Substance
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72 - Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace: Volume 3: Third time’s the charm! David, Nathan, and Nick march on through Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, having now conquered Volume 3. Listen in as they talk through Tolstoy’s increasingly direct commentary on the nature of history, Pierre’s Christ-like... by Books of Some Substance
55 min listen
80 - W.G. Sebald's The Emigrants: Just because you bought a copy of W.G. Sebald’s The Emigrants in the fiction section doesn’t make it fiction. Or does it? Join Nathan, David, and Nick for a conversation about fiction vs. non-fiction vs. creative non-fiction vs. journalism vs.... by Books of Some Substance
53 min listen
79 - George Saunders' Tenth of December (Guest: Taylor Vick of Boy Scouts): Bay Area musician Taylor Vick of Boy Scouts joins the podcast this episode to share her love for George Saunders’ The Tenth of December. Listen in as Taylor and Nick talk about the book’s use of absurdist mechanisms to move the reader, the... by Books of Some Substance
40 min listen
76 - Hermann Hesse's Siddartha: Ah yes, Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. You probably read it in high school or college as a young seeker of truth, but have you read it later in life? Do the messages change after you too have gone out into the world and been both drawn to and broken by... by Books of Some Substance
54 min listen
73 - Ben Lerner's Leaving the Atocha Station (Guest: Ned Russin of Title Fight and Glitterer): Musician Ned Russin of Title Fight and Glitterer joins the podcast to share his love for Ben Lerner’s Leaving the Atocha Station and to also chat about his own latest creations: Glitterer’s new record Life Is Not a Lesson and his first published... by Books of Some Substance
49 min listen
85 - Franz Kafka's Short Stories (The Judgment, A Country Doctor, In the Penal Colony): David, Eric, and Nick spend a beautiful Saturday doing what they love: wading into the tides of the irrational, crushing systems in which we have existed, currently exist, and will continue to exist. In other words: Discussing Franz Kafka! ... by Books of Some Substance
58 min listen
77 - Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time (Guest: Aatif Rashid): Aatif Rashid, author of the novel Portrait of Sebastian Khan, joins the podcast to profess his love for Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time. The one with, like, a million volumes? The one that’s jam-packed with the subtleties of human... by Books of Some Substance
57 min listen
83 - Bohumil Hrabal's Closely Watched Trains: David, Nick, and Nathan dive into Bohumil Hrabal’s short novel Closely Watched Trains in this latest episode of the podcast. One part coming of age tale, one part (somewhat) epic tale of resistance, and one part celebration of life’s beautiful... by Books of Some Substance
50 min listen
86 - Marcel Proust's Within a Budding Grove (In Search of Lost Time #2): David, Nick, and Nathan reconvene to continue their Proust pilgrimage, this time tackling the second volume, Within a Budding Grove. There is discussion around the narrator’s age — whether it be twelve or twenty-two, Proust certainly has a knack... by Books of Some Substance
70 min listen
82 - Jorge Luis Borges' The Garden of Forking Paths: It is a homecoming of sorts. Sixteen years after David made Nathan read Jorge Luis Borges, the two return to discuss the great Argentinian writer in an episode that has as many labyrinths (well, not quite) and is as infinite (also probably not true)... by Books of Some Substance
68 min listen
78 - W.G. Sebald's The Rings of Saturn: In this episode, friend of the podcast and book club Eric Heiman joins David and Nathan to talk about W.G. Sebald's Rings of Saturn. The three get into the melancholic depiction of entropy eating away so much of human life, the sense of historical... by Books of Some Substance
54 min listen
81 - Renata Adler's Speedboat: Renata Adler’s Speedboat starts and stops, accelerates and leaps, soars and crashes just like some sort of . . . well, you get it. Join David, Nathan, and Nick as they discuss this compact novel filled with vignettes of 1970s life and all of the... by Books of Some Substance
41 min listen
91 - Marcel Proust's Sodom and Gomorrah (In Search of Lost Time #4): Nathan, David, and Nick tackle Sodom and Gomorrah, the fourth volume of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. They discuss how groundbreaking it was at the time to so openly write about homosexuality, the noticeable increase in the narrator’s... by Books of Some Substance
46 min listen
89 - Marcel Proust's The Guermantes Way (In Search of Lost Time #3): David, Nathan, and Nick continue their journey through Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, this time discussing the third volume, The Guermantes Way. While this one might very well be “a middle book” — and by proximity, this episode “a... by Books of Some Substance
69 min listen
90 - Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 (Guest: Seth of WASTE Mailing List): Seth — aficionado of difficult fiction and driving force behind WASTE Mailing List — joins the podcast this episode to chat with David about the endless gifts to be found within the endless layers of Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49.... by Books of Some Substance
57 min listen
84 - Marcel Proust's Swann's Way (In Search of Lost Time #1): No more searching is necessary. It’s time. It’s time to read In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust, that is. And we here at Books of Some Substance will be doing just that, starting off with this episode on the first volume, Swann’s Way.... by Books of Some Substance
60 min listen
93 - Marcel Proust's The Captive & The Fugitive (In Search of Lost Time #5): David, Nathan, and Nick continue on their expedition for misplaced minutes, this time tackling Marcel Proust’s fifth installment, The Captive & The Fugitive. Topics this time around include: the endless cycle of the narrator’s obsession and apathy... by Books of Some Substance
64 min listen
88 - Alexander Theroux's Fables (Guest: George Salis): Writer, interviewer, and heavy reader George Salis returns to the podcast, this time to discuss Alexander Theroux’s Fables with David. The two tackle a list of maximalist topics: deep cuts of vocabulary (real and invented), the forever ongoing... by Books of Some Substance
49 min listen
98 - Jon Fosse's Melancholy I-II: David, Eric, and Nick read Jon Fosse’s Melancholy I-II, a mid-90s Norwegian novel in two parts that explores the connections between art, death, and the divine. Also discussed in this episode: what exactly is “the divine.” For fans of cyclic... by Books of Some Substance
42 min listen
87 - Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle: David, Eric, and Nick seek out some mid-summer spookiness in Shirley Jackson’s acclaimed We Have Always Lived in the Castle and instead find a compact work that is much more complicated than the horror themes, accessible sentences, and vaguely young... by Books of Some Substance
36 min listen
Season 2 Books Announcement: With the 100th episode behind us, and with Nick off exploring the world of dance music, David and Nathan have decided to try some new things. We're going into video (as you can see). We're going seasonal. And we will have a new website, logo, slogan,... by Books of Some Substance
3 min listen
95 - Henri Lefebvre's The Missing Pieces (Guest: Tom Comitta): In this episode Nick is joined by , aficionado of citational fiction and author of , newly released and available now from Coffee House Press. Tom selected as the work of focus for today’s discussion, so listen in as we talk through the history of... by Books of Some Substance
58 min listen
97 - Franza Kafka's Diaries (Guest: Ross Benjamin): David is joined by Ross Benjamin, translator of Franz Kafka’s Diaries in its most authentic form to date. Listen in as they discuss Benjamin’s start in the field of translation, his love for Kafka’s craftsmanship and humor, and why a new edition... by Books of Some Substance
66 min listen
100 - End of an Era: On this, our 100th episode, we answered some of your questions from our B.O.S.S. voicemail. Sadly we could not get to them all, but we talked about memory, books worth reading a 1,000 times, and childhood books. Sadly, we also said farewell to... by Books of Some Substance
78 min listen
92 - Han Kang's The Vegetarian: David, Eric, and Nick dive into The Vegetarian, a 2007 novel by Han Kang that, after its English translation, won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. This compact work will appeal to anyone interested in tightly architected narrative structures,... by Books of Some Substance
37 min listen
96 - Marcel Proust's Time Regained (In Search of Lost Time #6): We have (finally) found the lost time! It was inside us all along! Listen in as Nathan, David, and Nick complete their tour through Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, concluding with a discussion on the final volume, Time Regained. Topics... by Books of Some Substance
70 min listen
94 - Anton Chekhov's Difficult People (Guest: Bob Blaisdell): In this episode Nick is joined by Bob Blaisdell, Professor of English at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough College and author of a new work on Anton Chekhov titled Chekhov Becomes Chekhov: The Emergence of a Literary Genius. Listen in... by Books of Some Substance
50 min listen
99 - László Krasznahorkai's Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming (Guest: Derek Maine): On this episode, David is joined by reader and writer Derek Maine to discuss Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by everyone's favorite pessimistic, long-winded, Hungraian doom master László Krasznahorkai. By everyone, we mean ours. He's a favorite here at... by Books of Some Substance
59 min listen

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103 - Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (2/2): Our second episode on Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon, and again David is joined by Seth from W.A.S.T.E. Mailing List. Seth is here to nimbly unravel some of the meaning of this insane and insanely good novel, and he does an excellent job. But no... by Books of Some Substance
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102 - Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon (1/2): In our first of two episodes on Thomas Pynchon's 1973 masterpiece Gravity's Rainbow, David is joined, once again, by Seth from W.A.S.T.E. Mailing List to talk about one of his favorite ways to approach the novel. Seth brings an invaluable depth... by Books of Some Substance
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101: The Hour of the Star by Clarice Lispector: Welcome all and sundry to the first episode of Season 2: Control. Join us, David and Nathan as we start this new season dancing to the beautifully strange rhythms of Clarice Lispector's The Hour of the Star. In between quoting and praising this... by Books of Some Substance
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Season 2 Books Announcement: With the 100th episode behind us, and with Nick off exploring the world of dance music, David and Nathan have decided to try some new things. We're going into video (as you can see). We're going seasonal. And we will have a new website, logo, slogan,... by Books of Some Substance
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100 - End of an Era: On this, our 100th episode, we answered some of your questions from our B.O.S.S. voicemail. Sadly we could not get to them all, but we talked about memory, books worth reading a 1,000 times, and childhood books. Sadly, we also said farewell to... by Books of Some Substance
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Special Announcement: Our 100th episode is coming up. And we want you to call in and leave us a message, ask us a question, read a quote, file a complaint, suggest a book, or leave a cool noise (like a ghost or a fart or a ghost fart or something like that...). This... by Books of Some Substance
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99 - László Krasznahorkai's Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming (Guest: Derek Maine): On this episode, David is joined by reader and writer Derek Maine to discuss Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming by everyone's favorite pessimistic, long-winded, Hungraian doom master László Krasznahorkai. By everyone, we mean ours. He's a favorite here at... by Books of Some Substance
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98 - Jon Fosse's Melancholy I-II: David, Eric, and Nick read Jon Fosse’s Melancholy I-II, a mid-90s Norwegian novel in two parts that explores the connections between art, death, and the divine. Also discussed in this episode: what exactly is “the divine.” For fans of cyclic... by Books of Some Substance
42 min listen
97 - Franza Kafka's Diaries (Guest: Ross Benjamin): David is joined by Ross Benjamin, translator of Franz Kafka’s Diaries in its most authentic form to date. Listen in as they discuss Benjamin’s start in the field of translation, his love for Kafka’s craftsmanship and humor, and why a new edition... by Books of Some Substance
66 min listen
96 - Marcel Proust's Time Regained (In Search of Lost Time #6): We have (finally) found the lost time! It was inside us all along! Listen in as Nathan, David, and Nick complete their tour through Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, concluding with a discussion on the final volume, Time Regained. Topics... by Books of Some Substance
70 min listen
95 - Henri Lefebvre's The Missing Pieces (Guest: Tom Comitta): In this episode Nick is joined by , aficionado of citational fiction and author of , newly released and available now from Coffee House Press. Tom selected as the work of focus for today’s discussion, so listen in as we talk through the history of... by Books of Some Substance
58 min listen
94 - Anton Chekhov's Difficult People (Guest: Bob Blaisdell): In this episode Nick is joined by Bob Blaisdell, Professor of English at the City University of New York’s Kingsborough College and author of a new work on Anton Chekhov titled Chekhov Becomes Chekhov: The Emergence of a Literary Genius. Listen in... by Books of Some Substance
50 min listen
93 - Marcel Proust's The Captive & The Fugitive (In Search of Lost Time #5): David, Nathan, and Nick continue on their expedition for misplaced minutes, this time tackling Marcel Proust’s fifth installment, The Captive & The Fugitive. Topics this time around include: the endless cycle of the narrator’s obsession and apathy... by Books of Some Substance
64 min listen
92 - Han Kang's The Vegetarian: David, Eric, and Nick dive into The Vegetarian, a 2007 novel by Han Kang that, after its English translation, won the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. This compact work will appeal to anyone interested in tightly architected narrative structures,... by Books of Some Substance
37 min listen
91 - Marcel Proust's Sodom and Gomorrah (In Search of Lost Time #4): Nathan, David, and Nick tackle Sodom and Gomorrah, the fourth volume of Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time. They discuss how groundbreaking it was at the time to so openly write about homosexuality, the noticeable increase in the narrator’s... by Books of Some Substance
46 min listen
90 - Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49 (Guest: Seth of WASTE Mailing List): Seth — aficionado of difficult fiction and driving force behind WASTE Mailing List — joins the podcast this episode to chat with David about the endless gifts to be found within the endless layers of Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49.... by Books of Some Substance
57 min listen
89 - Marcel Proust's The Guermantes Way (In Search of Lost Time #3): David, Nathan, and Nick continue their journey through Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time, this time discussing the third volume, The Guermantes Way. While this one might very well be “a middle book” — and by proximity, this episode “a... by Books of Some Substance
69 min listen
88 - Alexander Theroux's Fables (Guest: George Salis): Writer, interviewer, and heavy reader George Salis returns to the podcast, this time to discuss Alexander Theroux’s Fables with David. The two tackle a list of maximalist topics: deep cuts of vocabulary (real and invented), the forever ongoing... by Books of Some Substance
49 min listen
87 - Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle: David, Eric, and Nick seek out some mid-summer spookiness in Shirley Jackson’s acclaimed We Have Always Lived in the Castle and instead find a compact work that is much more complicated than the horror themes, accessible sentences, and vaguely young... by Books of Some Substance
36 min listen
86 - Marcel Proust's Within a Budding Grove (In Search of Lost Time #2): David, Nick, and Nathan reconvene to continue their Proust pilgrimage, this time tackling the second volume, Within a Budding Grove. There is discussion around the narrator’s age — whether it be twelve or twenty-two, Proust certainly has a knack... by Books of Some Substance
70 min listen
85 - Franz Kafka's Short Stories (The Judgment, A Country Doctor, In the Penal Colony): David, Eric, and Nick spend a beautiful Saturday doing what they love: wading into the tides of the irrational, crushing systems in which we have existed, currently exist, and will continue to exist. In other words: Discussing Franz Kafka! ... by Books of Some Substance
58 min listen
84 - Marcel Proust's Swann's Way (In Search of Lost Time #1): No more searching is necessary. It’s time. It’s time to read In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust, that is. And we here at Books of Some Substance will be doing just that, starting off with this episode on the first volume, Swann’s Way.... by Books of Some Substance
60 min listen
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50 min listen
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68 min listen
81 - Renata Adler's Speedboat: Renata Adler’s Speedboat starts and stops, accelerates and leaps, soars and crashes just like some sort of . . . well, you get it. Join David, Nathan, and Nick as they discuss this compact novel filled with vignettes of 1970s life and all of the... by Books of Some Substance
41 min listen
80 - W.G. Sebald's The Emigrants: Just because you bought a copy of W.G. Sebald’s The Emigrants in the fiction section doesn’t make it fiction. Or does it? Join Nathan, David, and Nick for a conversation about fiction vs. non-fiction vs. creative non-fiction vs. journalism vs.... by Books of Some Substance
53 min listen
79 - George Saunders' Tenth of December (Guest: Taylor Vick of Boy Scouts): Bay Area musician Taylor Vick of Boy Scouts joins the podcast this episode to share her love for George Saunders’ The Tenth of December. Listen in as Taylor and Nick talk about the book’s use of absurdist mechanisms to move the reader, the... by Books of Some Substance
40 min listen
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57 min listen
76 - Hermann Hesse's Siddartha: Ah yes, Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. You probably read it in high school or college as a young seeker of truth, but have you read it later in life? Do the messages change after you too have gone out into the world and been both drawn to and broken by... by Books of Some Substance
54 min listen

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104 - Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

104 - Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M. Coetzee

Description

Titles in the series (35)

More Episodes from Books of Some Substance