Coetzee and concerns a man who must learn to adapt after losing a leg in a road accident.

The novel has many varied themes, including the nature of care, the relationship between an author and his characters, and man's drive to leave a legacy.

It is not until the famed author Elizabeth Costello shows up unexpectedly and uninvited at Paul's doorstep that he confronts his feelings for Marijana and his resentment at the state of his life following his bicycle accident.

Slow Man, an operatic adaption of Slow Man by the composer Nicholas Lens, in close co-operation with Coetzee who wrote the libretto, had its world premiere on 5 July 2012 by the Malta Festival 2012 in Poznań, with the Opera Poznań Grand Theatre Wielki.

[5] In the January/February 2006 issue of Bookmarks, the book received a (1.5 out of 5) with the critical summary stating, "Simply, Coetzee’s postmodern literary trick overwhelms what could have been a provoking rumination on love, old age, and life".