Write a review of a particular book which you have studied, emphazing the reasons why it should be studied in English course

We live in the age of the global village when for entire world a general-human tradition and an Internet are becoming the cultural background. It is also time when English language is a main way of communication between the nations, important is also a fact that English-spoken countries are in big part multicultural. However, despite this in our thinking about culture we are mostly Eurocentric. When we are looking at rest of the globe, we look with superiority thinking that the true culture could be born only in the shadow of gothic cathedrals and Greek statues having the law and the Christian ten commandments as the Roman background (are the ten commandments Christian? Is the Old Testament Christian? Whether it is tradition of Europe, if came into existence under the top Synai?)
Unfortunatelly present it is also a time in which books are generally used as a 'aggregates' of time on the flight or somethig like this- superficial bestsellers dominate our culture not a books which could help to us to think over our problems. However, exceptions also exist.
One of them is a work of the South African Noble prizewinner, John Maxwell Coetzee –"Waiting for the barbarians". This book is seems to me as a excellent example of this multicultural summa ('abstract') which all most outstanding artists of our planet are creating. It is representing this kind of literature which I personally value the most: autor using the best his/her instrument– imagination is describing current and weighty matters for the real living. In this book we discover that in the indefinite historical epoch, at least... not later than in the 19th century, in the nameless directions of the world, but probably in the zone of the continental climate, a little town is lying on the moved frontier of the certain Empire. Sleepy existence of the provincial old the notable(main hero) is passing among the kitchen, the court and the harmless hobby which is archaeology. From time to time are appearing rumours about threatening from the side of hordes of barbarians, for which the Empire tore these lands out, of what nomads living as a nomad in surroundings generally speaking aren't taking note. Occasional border, rarer than the exchangeable trade squabbles, are a special risk to none of pages. Till the time, when an inspectorate is turning up at the small town from the distant capital city, at first compound from the officer of the security service, then from the new garrison of the serviceman. The old judge is observing how his entire world in which he existed quietly many years is overturning and how he itself is changing from the boss exchanging into subordinate, from passing a sentence in defendant, and in the end in a passive bystander of non-reality which is surrounding him. During reading this book arise in my mind important question. What will be when real barbarian, representing our Empire; our culture and the tradition, the tongue and principles, is bringing about war with shadows of barbarians, flashing by far after ridges of mountains surrounding us; how we will behave: normal, decent, causing discord for nobody people? Whether, frightfully, ineffective up to pain, we will stand up alone against the injustice with bare hands and the strength of arguments which will blow into dust the derisive laughter armed security officer? We will be keeping quiet, calming our elastic conscience with the fact that after all we cannot do nothing and our (our!) the life is for us (for us!) maximum value? We will join – seemingly, of course! – to stronger in order to waiting to convenient moment, as far as he finaly fail? And perhaps we will look of the ones of not our barbarians, hoping that they solve for us will our dilemmas? There are still more questions in this book, for which responses- at least right answers - there is no. There is also a plenty of different problems, like for instance terrific problems of the meeting of cultures and the tradition or psyche of an elderly man, representing the power, the justice or – generally – humanism which suddenly is being informed principles to which he payed homage day by day stopped applying...
As a conclusion can be write that book of J.M.Coetzee is worth to be studied on an English course because it is a fine example of contemporary prose, which should be able to help us in unerstaniding of perennial problems of human nature in context of our multicultural world.