A washer and dryer are described in "In the Basement", a poem from a Christopher Wiseman collection that shares its title with this novel.
A washer and dryer are described in "In the Basement", a poem from a Christopher Wiseman collection that shares its title with this novel. Â The narrator of this work wonders whether its chief antagonist "has a private ritual of purification" that allows him to "return and break bread with other men". Â That narrator collects poplar slips but is unable to decipher the marks on the buttocks of a woman he takes care of. Â The protagonist of this work at one point engages in a nightly ritual where he anoints a crippled naked girl with almond oil before eventually returning her to her people. Â That action leads the protagonist to be accused of "treasonably consorting with the enemy" and forced to undergo interrogation from Warrant Officer Mandel and another Third Bureau official, Colonel Joll. Â Some critics have compared its protagonist's relationship to the natives with that of a character from another work by its author, namely Magda from In the Heart of the Country.  For 10 points, name this work in which the Magistrate must deal with the titular natives, a novel by J. M. Coetzee that shares its name with a Cavafy poem.
A washer and dryer are described in "In the Basement", a poem from a Christopher Wiseman collection that shares its title with this novel.
Waiting for the Barbarians