Having read both Disgrace and Slow Man by Coetzee now I find myself trying to imagine what the man is like. While the first was an interesting account of a man struggling with the decisions that he had made and living with his estranged daughter, there was a lot of different things happening and I found the novel overall enjoyable. Slow Man on the other hand seemed like a hot mess. We are introduced to Paul Rayment as he loses his leg, he becomes a very bitter and angry old man whom if I lived near, I would definitely stay away from.

The story takes a strange turn when Coetzee introduces Elizabeth Costello into the novel (a character from a previous novel of his). I still can't figure out why she was there and why it wasn't just a new character other than the fact that maybe he wanted to plug his own work within his work? As Rayment starts to destroy his relationship with Marijana (croatian nurse) more and more unbelievable scenarios start happening. Honestly, it seemed like this book could of had something if 'that Costello woman' and never been brought into the picture. Though I will say that Coetzee has written a truly hateful character twice now for me, which has left me wondering if he is truly just an awful person.

So with that, I am done with Coetzee. ( )

Hard going this one. Didn't love it, but also couldn't not finish it. ( )

This book has a very interesting position in Coetzee's career. It is his first work of fiction after winning the Nobel Prize, which means that it received a lot more attention immediately than any of his previous works. Likewise, this attention came from many corners that would not have even considered the book merely a decade ago. And while this increased crowd was expecting probably another "Disgrace," instead they got what is, indeed, a rather flummoxing read. This is without a doubt his most controversial book in regard to reception: reviews ran from glowing to almost pathologically dismissive. And reading the book now, without the reviews hovering over it, it's very clear why this is a case. I'm not going to play the elitist card and suggest that with an increased audience, more unsophisticated readers were unwittingly thrown out of their league, but that does almost seem to be Coetzee's intent with the novel. As many other reviewers have noted, the first 70 pages are classic Coetzee: the accident, the dehumanizing and humiliating stint in the hospital, the musings on age and death. Its all written in his sharp prose and unsympathetic style. However, then things change. The character of Elizabeth Costello (who functions as a stand-in for Coetzee himself, and is in some sort of continuation with his previous book, although the connections seem fairly unsubstantial) comes in, as the author who tries to prod the main character into some sort of being. And then the book moves into a strange stasis wherein things happen, but they really don't and then it just ends. And this, depending on who you ask, is either brilliant or maddeningly annoying. I don't really think it's either, honestly. Not that I can say with certainty what Coetzee is trying to accomplish in this section, but whatever it is, he does it rather clumsily and unconvincingly (I'm not even sure that he knows what he's trying to do here). There are flashes where the insight and innovation I associate with Coetzee come through, but overall the section can be quite a drag to read, and the ending itself is rather weak. Regardless, I don't regret reading this book, and I don't even really consider it a slump or a failure on Coetzee's part. If anything, it seems to be a sign that he is not content to sit on his laurels after the Nobel Prize, and is still, thirty-some years into his career, willing to experiment and take chances. ( )

J.M. Coetzee was born in South Africa and educated there, in England, and at the University of Texas in Austin. He taught at SUNY Buffalo for three years, but when he was denied permanent residency status, he returned to South Africa. He continued to teach all around the US, and in 2002 he immigrated to Australia. He now holds a position at the University of Adelaide. For further information, see the Nobel Prize website for an extensive biography: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/li...

Slow Man details the story of Paul Rayment, a retired photographer, who is severely injured when an auto strikes him while he is riding his bicycle. He has a succession of caregivers, until he develops an attachment to one, Marijana. Then Coetzee’s novel veers into postmodernism when Elizabeth Costello appears at his door, and forces herself on him. Elizabeth, the title character of an earlier Coetzee novel, is a writer, and she knows all about Paul’s life, loves, hopes, dreams, and failures.

Paul refuses a prosthesis which will give him a measure of self-sufficiency, and as he reflects on his life, Elizabeth explains his feelings and prompts his future actions. Her strange role in the novel appears to be that of Coetzee’s alter ego. She engages Paul in a series of exasperating discussions after leaving her home in Melbourne to live on the streets of Adelaide.

Often writers, when explaining their process, will say “characters or stories write themselves.” Coetzee seems to be examining the role of the writer in creating a character, and the way a character takes on a life of his or her own. Here Coetzee struggles with a character and situation which is not to his liking. Perhaps he is showing how a writer handles this struggle.

If this all sounds confusing, do not let it deter any reader from tackling this novel. Coetzee’s prose is absorbing, and it will create many reactions in the reader. I found myself thinking on more than one occasion that Paul should take, or not take, some course of action. Sometimes I agreed with Elizabeth’s advice to Paul, but curiously, in the end, even Elizabeth regrets one piece of advice she gave. Maybe Coetzee wants his readers to join in the creation of Paul’s story. Or maybe not.

Four stars only because I am not sure I completely understand this novel. I think I will create a new shelf in my library called, "Needs Another Read."

--Jim, 6/30/08 ( )

This brief novel was a challenging one thematically, and I'm not so sure that I fully understood it, but I'll give it a try. Slow Man is the story of Paul Rayment, an older gentleman, who is hit by a car while riding his bicycle, resulting in the amputatation of his leg. He decides not to get a prosthesis, returning to his apartment and hiring a nurse, Marijana, instead. He eventually develops deep feelings for his nurse, and the majority of the plot centers around this fact and the effect that his love has on her relationships with her husband and children. Enter Elizabeth Costello. This is where I got confused with the story. Elizabeth, a writer, who Paul does not know, shows up on his doorstep and asks to move in, which Paul allows. During her stay, she provides constant commentary on Paul's life and decision making, and she even predicts his future actions. I have two different theories regarding the character of Elizabeth. The first, and probably most likely, is that she is the only "live" character in the novel, and that Paul's story is actually the plot of her current book project. The second theory is that Elizabeth is Paul's imaginary muse, though I find this more difficult to accept, since she is referenced by other characters in the book. This was my first experience with Coetzee, and it was quite intriguing, leaving me with a desire to read more from him. However my confusion with the interpretation of the story left me frustrated. ( )