Slow Man - J.M.Coetzee

Despite the narrative failure of the earlier book, I was pleased to see the cantankerous Elizabeth Costello reappear in Coetzee's next novel. The focus is on the process of aging and the physical and emotional toll it takes on the central character, an amputee living in Adelaide. Some of the metafictional business felt a bit 1970s era John Fowles, but Coetzee has rediscovered his interest in plot, which helps make Slow Man a lively and thought-provoking read.