Slow Man by JM Coetzee

When browsing over new books, i happened to see this small book "Slow Man". Its rare to find a book like this on a male character- usually fiction authors pick up females, or other circumstances and society- it always sells well. This was a reason enough to invest in the book and read it.
The story is of a man, approaching old age, who meets with an accident(in the very first line of the novel), and his leg gets amputated- above the knee. The author has described his feeling of anguish and uncertainty, especially so, because he has no family or friends. He hires nurses for day care. Finally he does gets satisfaction with a Croatian nurse named Marijana. She is a happily married women with three children and a loving husband. Paul Rayment, the old hero of the novel, starts falling in love with his nurse. Not wishing to disturb her life and her husband, he wishes to look after her and her children, and in return get love from her. When he accidentally tells Marijana about his feelings, she does not like it and stops coming for job. Still, there remains association between him and her, and also with her young son, who comes and spends time with Paul. He always nurses the desire to help her or her family, somehow or the other.
Mrs Costello, an Australian Author walks in his life and tells him all about his one sided passion for Marijana. She founds his tales interesting for her books, and somehow, manages to rule his life, telling him all how he feels, how Marijana feels, and what he should do when. Paul Rayment is taken back by the revelations Mrs Costello makes about him and all others. She seems to be knowing all about everyone. She spends days and nights at Paul Rayment's flat- as an uninvited guest. She even later proposes to take Paul Rayment with her to her house and live comfortably, enjoying each other's company in old age. .....Paul Rayment, however, continues to live with his dreams and desires.........
I must confide that male oriented books are not really a pleasure to read.(Unless, someone suggests me a good one)