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The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 · rating details · 2,340 ratings · 593 reviews

A masterful, moving novel about age, memory, and family from one of the true literary icons of our time.

Ptolemy Grey is ninety-one years old and has been all but forgotten-by his family, his friends, even himself-as he sinks into a lonely dementia. His grand-nephew, Ptolemy's only connection to the outside world, was recently killed in a drive-by shooting, and Ptolemy i...more

Hardcover, 277 pages

Published November 11th 2010 by Riverhead Hardcover (first published January 1st 2010)

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Aug 06, 2011 Jim Leffert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Walter Mosley returns to peak form in this imaginative novel about Ptolemy Gray, a 91-year old African American man in Los Angeles who is increasingly slipping into dementia. Ptolemy gains one brief burst of lucidity, thanks to a bargain he makes with a Mephistophelian medical doctor and experimental researcher. As the sands of time run down, he finds a new relationship and a friendship, sets his affairs in order, and probes the drive by shooting of his great-great grandnephew, determined to ave...more Walter Mosley returns to peak form in this imaginative novel about Ptolemy Gray, a 91-year old African American man in Los Angeles who is increasingly slipping into dementia. Ptolemy gains one brief burst of lucidity, thanks to a bargain he makes with a Mephistophelian medical doctor and experimental researcher. As the sands of time run down, he finds a new relationship and a friendship, sets his affairs in order, and probes the drive by shooting of his great-great grandnephew, determined to avenge his murder. If Easy Rawlins had lived to age 91, he would have been a lot like Ptolemy Gray. Both grew up in the South (Ptolemy in Alabama), saw combat in World War II, and made their adult home on the hard streets of LA. Moreover, they are both smart in the ways of survival and determined to see a matter through to its difficult conclusion.

Mosley inter-cuts between Ptolemy’s latter day struggles and his early experiences of violence and trauma in the Jim Crow South. There, as a small child, Ptolemy learned life’s lessons at the feet of an older man, “Uncle” Coy McCann. Coy’s lessons rebound across the reaches of time in Ptolemy’s mind, just as Coy’s rebellion against Jim Crow, tragic end, and gift to this young boy shaped Ptolemy’s fate. Recollections of other episodes from Ptolemy’s life also contribute to this colorful and emotional story.

Mosley convincingly (to my mind) portrays the cloudy world of dementia, the hard life of the inner city community, and the rich inner life of his reawakened protagonist. Ptolemy’s temporary rebirth is also kindled by his love for a seventeen-year old girl, Robyn, who is being raised by Ptolemy’s grandniece, and who comes forward to care for him. Ptolemy’s relationship with Robyn, while central to the story, is just one of the relationships that Mosley expertly delineates, some in great detail and others in a few deft strokes. The relationships, which run the gamut from tender to hard-bitten and hostile, are as varied as the many skin color hues attributed to the characters. In sum, this book is a rich "read" from a master storyteller.
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Feb 22, 2011 switterbug (Betsey) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Ptolemy Grey is a ninety-one-year-old man suffering from progressive dementia, but insists on living independently in his squalid apartment. His home is a veritable biology experiment, as the mold and filth has not been cleaned in months, maybe years. Ptolemy urinates in a can because the bathroom is uninhabitable; he uses the diner down the street for the sit-down chore. He remembers pieces of his youth, enough to know there is a treasure and a secret in his past.

At home, the TV news blares 24/...more Ptolemy Grey is a ninety-one-year-old man suffering from progressive dementia, but insists on living independently in his squalid apartment. His home is a veritable biology experiment, as the mold and filth has not been cleaned in months, maybe years. Ptolemy urinates in a can because the bathroom is uninhabitable; he uses the diner down the street for the sit-down chore. He remembers pieces of his youth, enough to know there is a treasure and a secret in his past.

At home, the TV news blares 24/7 and competes with the classical and jazz music on the pumped up volume of the radio. The resultant commotion of sounds kindles Ptolemy's confusion, but occasionally serves to unearth pieces of his past or inspire epiphanies. When he walks the streets of this run-down, poor, and sometimes perilous neighborhood, he encounters the personal hazards of the forgotten and the forgetting. One vulgar woman invariably ambushes him, and beats him until she gets his money. Family members often subvert him with their dissembling.

When the comely, young, and earnest Robyn comes to help him, to scrub his dwelling to a habitable sheen, and accompany him on all his excursions, Ptolemy begins a surprising and rejuvenating end to his life that reads like a contemporary fable. Mosley imagines a drug that will restore Ptolemy's mind, but with consequences. Sort of a twist on Flowers for Algernon but with foreknowledge.

This is my first Mosely book, but I am keen to read some more and get into the woolly mind of this half-Jewish, half-black author, who is skilled with storytelling and witty with vernacular. He characterizes, with an economy of words, his black protagonist's experience in a white man's world, but he doesn't back down from exploring Ptolemy's rollicking family--the black man's experience in his own culture. And he does it with empathy and levity. There's no racial grandstanding; the author is too capable for that.

Mosley's assured opening is filled with visual and linguistic cues, placing me right at the scene and into the action, allowing me to quickly amass Ptolemy's precarious existence and his forceful but vulnerable nature. He gives us a contoured and unconventional portrait of a man's twilight days. The novel gradually evolved into something a bit more precious than its irascible beginning, but I was satisfied overall. The story will recede over time for me, but Ptolemy Grey will continue to resonate. (less)

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Mar 26, 2011 Tia rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, afro-american, audio-book

"PHENOMENAL"! This is my first Walter Mosley book. Wow, I am left speechless with teared filled eyes because I too love Ptolemy. I can say I love him just as much as Robin, if not more. It's been a long time since I've been able to connect with multiple characters in a story. I felt, while listening, like I knew these people personally and I was an invisible person with them on the bus, visiting Neicy, or visiting the Jewish Lawyer. Also, that I was there drinking tea with the antiques dealer an...more

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Jan 23, 2011 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not sure why I picked up this read, except that I caught an interview of Walter Mosley talking about the loss of his father and he detailed his experience of taking care of him prior to his death, how "alone" in the world he now feels and how this particular book was inspired. Mosley is a great storyteller, but I usually stay away from his stuff as it's often very morbit/disturbing.

Ptolemy Grey is in his nineties and living in deplorable conditions in an apartment in Los Angeles, unable to comp...more

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Jul 18, 2012 Neena rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: award-winners, literary-fiction

I picked this book up because the title seemed interesting...this was my first book by Mosley and I liked his style of writing.....I finished this book in one day; book was inetersting and absorbing......I would not call it heart wrenching as some other readers called it...almost till end I wanted to give this book 4 stars....but then ended up in giving 3.....

We get to know most of the characters through Ptolemy's mind wandering...I liked the character of Coy, the way he is insightful about life...more

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Dec 14, 2010 Jim rated it 4 of 5 stars

an inspiring book about an elderly black man recountuing his earlier life while confronting today's world while dealing with dementia's unrelenting onslaught.

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Jun 13, 2013 Kiera Healy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was reading something the other day about a couple naming their kid Ptolemy, which may pass the Would It Be Banned In New Zealand test (NZ has banned names such as No. 16 Bus Shelter, Tallulah does the Hula from Hawaii, and Fish and Chips for a pair of twins), but still constitutes very poor parenting in my book. So when I saw this book I thought, "Aha!" and picked it up. I was basically expecting to laugh about someone with a stupid name, which perhaps isn't the greatest motivation for readin...more I was reading something the other day about a couple naming their kid Ptolemy, which may pass the Would It Be Banned In New Zealand test (NZ has banned names such as No. 16 Bus Shelter, Tallulah does the Hula from Hawaii, and Fish and Chips for a pair of twins), but still constitutes very poor parenting in my book. So when I saw this book I thought, "Aha!" and picked it up. I was basically expecting to laugh about someone with a stupid name, which perhaps isn't the greatest motivation for reading a novel. But this book is phenomenal, so it all worked out in the end.

The titular Ptolemy Grey is a ninety-one-year-old man suffering from dementia. His fractured mind keeps sending him back to his childhood in Mississippi, to the lynching of his mentor and the death of the little girl down the road. He's barely aware of his current surroundings: his apartment, in a Los Angeles tenement, is full of rotting rubbish that once seemed worth hoarding, and he sleeps under the table to avoid disturbing his wife's spirit in the bedroom. He is looked after by Reggie, a dutiful young man whose relationship to Ptolemy is unclear: is he a great-grandson, a great-grandnephew, or something else? In Ptolemy's broken brain, confusion reins.

When Reggie is replaced one day by Hilly, a thuggish, distant nephew, things start to change. Ptolemy meets a young woman who comes to care about him and tries to transform his world, and he's offered the chance to try an experimental drug to fix his mind at the cost of shortening his life.

This is a beautiful story, brilliantly told. It's about growing old, the loss of self, and the importance of memory. It's also about the black American experience, from Ptolemy's early days in the Jim Crow south, so clear in his mind, to his current existence in an LA ghetto. When a relative is murdered in a drive-by - a concept he can't understand - all he can think about is the inevitability of young black men being killed. This is a sad, beautiful and powerful book, and for once I have nothing negative to say.(less)

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Apr 03, 2013 Sheri rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: male-female-power-sex-attractivenes, poverty-class-issues, race

So, I am simultaneously stuck feeling like this book is very imaginative and that it is a rip-off of Flowers with Algernon. If I had never read or heard of Flowers, I would have given this book 5 stars.

Mosley does a great job with narration and the change in Ptolemy's voice from the beginning (confused old man) to the middle (clear, intelligent) to the end (near death dreamlike state) is great. But then again, Daniel Keyes does the same thing and, oh yeah, he did it first. Whereas Charlie Gorde...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Leslie rated it 4 of 5 stars

The two Walter Mosley books I had previously read hinted at his depth and range as a writer and as a keen observer of human nature. This one goes much further.

Ptolemy Gray is 91 years old, living in physical and cognitive isolation due mostly to dementia when his caretaker and great grand-nephew Reggie is killed in a drive-by shooting. At the wake at his neice Neicy's house, he meets Robyn Small, an 18 year old orphan who is wise beyond her years. When she comes to his apartment later that week...more

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Dec 08, 2012 Johnsergeant rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: audiobook, audiblecom, black-american-lit

Narrated by Dominic Hoffman

8 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's Summary

A masterful, moving novel about age, memory, and family that will forever establish Walter Mosley as one of the true literary icons of our time.
Ptolemy Grey is 91 years old and has been all but forgotten - by his family, his friends, even himself - as he sinks into a lonely dementia. His grand-nephew, Ptolemy's only connection to the outside world, was recently killed in a drive-by shooting, and Ptolemy is too suspicious of anyone el...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Elliot Ratzman rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club

“Old man like me don’t have no first blue sky or thunderstorm or kiss. Old man like me don’t laugh at the taste of a strawberry or smell his own stink and smile…My world is made outta ash and memories, broken bones and pain.” I love this strange novel; I was totally transported to another world—one of senility and poverty. Old Ptolemy Grey lives in his fading memories, in a run-down unkempt home in the ghetto, and in relationship with his few remaining family members. Through tragedy and a dash...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Reno rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Amended version of the original posted May 27 2011 on my blog.

***

The story focuses on the very elderly Ptolemy Grey and his efforts to regain his failing memory in the last days of his life (hence the title...I really liked the title, it's the sort of thing I fall for). This leads to many snapshots of memories throughout the novel. These memories are what I liked most about this story. I love the idea of an old Ptolemy reflecting on his life and what events and people were important to him, wha...more Amended version of the original posted May 27 2011 on my blog.

***

The story focuses on the very elderly Ptolemy Grey and his efforts to regain his failing memory in the last days of his life (hence the title...I really liked the title, it's the sort of thing I fall for). This leads to many snapshots of memories throughout the novel. These memories are what I liked most about this story. I love the idea of an old Ptolemy reflecting on his life and what events and people were important to him, what had an impact on him. I loved reading about this character experiencing these memories he had tried to recall for so long, and then finally be able to reflect and realize them. A lot of the memories are bittersweet, poignant, melancholic, stirring, thoughtful, all of those lonely words. I ate those up those bits of memories. Short stories within a story.

I preferred the character of Ptolemy over Robyn (sweet old man character over tough teenager any day, thanks, haha), but I did like what she added to the story. I was interested to see how she acted in front of an old man vs. how she acted with her boyfriend vs. how she acted in the street.

Three more minor notes. There was lots and lots of slang and dialects. Every character pretty much spoke in one. Usually this sort of thing drives me crazy, but I barely noticed it in Mosley's writing. Everything felt very natural. Another interesting style bit was that mostly every black character had a different skin tone description; they were never just 'black'. If it was white people being described differently each time (olive, peach, snow white, etc.) I probably wouldn't have even noticed. I guess that says a lot more about me than the writing, though I'm not quite sure what...Final note: I had never heard of the author before, but since his name was bigger than the title I figured he must be somewhat well-known. I looked him up, and apparently he's best known for his mystery series! I never would've guessed it.

I did like this book; I enjoyed it greatly while I was reading it (clearly it gave me lots to think about!) and I was planning on giving it four stars but by the end of it...I'm not sure. The story seemed to lose whatever it was that I loved about it. It just didn't grab me in a way that most books I buy do. Still, I recommend this book, I suppose, but don't hold out for a fabulous ending! (I think it was the ending that killed it. I can't stand a bad ending; it taints the good feelings I had about what came before.)(less)

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May 17, 2012 Terri rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have often enjoyed Walter Mosley's work. This tale seemed like it might be different and it was - in a good way! Mosley's characters are most often black and poor, no difference there, but Ptolemy Grey, Li'l Pea, is old and at the end of his life. He is living, as too many older people do, with the confusion, fear, and melancholy of dementia. His body is healthy, refusing to submit to unhygienic living conditions, poor nutrition, or the ruthless vagaries of old age. It is as if his bones and f...more

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May 07, 2012 Gae-Lynn Woods rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book I've read (or more correctly 'listened to') by Walter Mosley, and I really enjoyed it. He does a brilliant job of putting a face on the mask of dementia, showing us the loneliness, fear and confusion that sufferers experience, and the joy that comes from honest human interaction.

Although an extremely difficult topic, this is an engaging story that draws the reader in to focus on the characters and the plot. Mr. Mosley does a wonderful job of capturing the rhythms of speech...more

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Nov 17, 2011 Suz rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, kindle, general-fiction, gentext

I really thought this book was beautifully written.

Ptolemy Grey is a 91 year old black man living in Los Angeles and suffering with dementia. His primary caretaker has been killed in a drive by, and other relatives have popped up to get him to the funeral. There he meets a ward of his great/grand-niece who actually sees him for the man he was, and values him as he should be.

In all of this, a doctor has made an unethical offer - let Ptolemy try an illegal experimental drug. He will be lucid for a...more

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Jun 13, 2011 Cassandra Hawkins-Wilson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Today, I finished reading, "The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey" by Walter Mosley. This was my second book by Walter Mosley. Ptolemy Grey is an elderly man, dealing with dementia. At the beginning of the book, the chaos of Ptolemy is surreal. Mosleymakes you wonder exactly how things could be for you when you become old. The various examples of Ptolemy being taken advantage of is real. I have always wondered why and how people could take advantage of the elderly, especially the sick and elderly. Ironi...more

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Jun 10, 2011 Jacquelin rated it 4 of 5 stars

In The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, Walter Mosley takes us into the feeble mind of a 91-year-old black man. Ptolemy lives alone, almost crowded out of his apartment by a lifetime’s worth of stuff, and largely forgotten by his family except for his great-grandnephew. When the young man is killed in a drive-by shooting, Ptolemy is left in the care of the stunning, yet underage Robyn, a family friend.

Robyn cleans Ptolemy’s apartment and helps him with his errands, but more importantly, sees the man i...more In The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, Walter Mosley takes us into the feeble mind of a 91-year-old black man. Ptolemy lives alone, almost crowded out of his apartment by a lifetime’s worth of stuff, and largely forgotten by his family except for his great-grandnephew. When the young man is killed in a drive-by shooting, Ptolemy is left in the care of the stunning, yet underage Robyn, a family friend.

Robyn cleans Ptolemy’s apartment and helps him with his errands, but more importantly, sees the man inside the shell. Something his well-meaning great-grandnephew never did. She values him, even though he has been cast aside by society at large. She is “wild and violent” but “sweet and loving.” She becomes his muse, guiding him to fulfill his higher purpose.

In this kind of novel, characterization is king and subtle characterization at that. It’s layers upon delicate layers like the phyllo dough of a baklava. Our protagonist is the very definition of unreliable. His thought process is jumbled. He lives in a haze, and Mosley wisely has the narrator in a state of confusion also, so the reader can’t get a clear beat on Ptolemy, just as it would be in real life. When a family member takes him to the bank to cash checks, he thinks he’s being swindled. Is it true or is it just the faulty memory of a dementia-addled mind? Mosley walks the fine line between perception and reality. How does he make you care about Ptolemy, yet not feel sorry for him? That’s what makes Walter Mosley a master.

Ptolemy is given an opportunity not afforded anyone else. He is the perfect candidate to take an experimental drug that will relieve his dementia, but shorten his life to mere weeks. With his newfound lucidity comes more of his past and an urgency to follow through on a promise made to his Mississippi childhood friend and amateur philosopher Coydog McCann. One lovely Coydog gem: ”The great man say that life is pain…That mean if you love life, then you love the hurt come along wit’ it. Now, if that ain’t the blues, I don’t know what is.” Another: “Money ain’t the root of all evil…They’s some people need money before love or laughter. All you can do is feel sorry for someone like that…Rich man is the man live in his own skin.”

If you’ve read some of my other reviews, you know how I feel about writing in dialect. It is so rarely needed and it is so often poorly executed. The only time it works is when the reader can hear the dialect in his or her head as natural speech patterns thereby not removing the reader from the story to “translate.” A character’s word choice can convey just as much, if not more, than dialect. Robyn says to Ptolemy, talking about a photograph, “Let me put that away someplace safe so we can take it to the drug sto’ copycat to see if they can make a good print of it.” The use of the word “copycat” instead of copier, reveals something about her character, more so than the “sto’” for store. Sometimes Mosley takes the dialect a bit too far (“wif” for with), but what a minor thing in an engaging, brave book.

Why should you read about an old man who, for most of the book, can’t escape his own mind? Because at the heart of this story are the universal truths of true love, fulfilling one’s destiny and validation. Ptolemy is the AARP version of Huckleberry Finn – a character you won’t soon forget.(less)

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May 21, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-fiction

Brief Description: Ptolemy Grey is a 91-year-old man living in a dirty apartment in Los Angeles. He’s been steadily falling into dementia and forgetfulness, and his world falls to pieces when one of his few links to the present, his great-nephew Reggie, is murdered and unable to help him with his few meager errands. Distraught and confused, Ptolemy spends more time in the past with his long-dead friend Coydog than he does in the present. At Reggie’s wake, he forms an instant connection with a yo...more

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Jan 24, 2011 Kyle rated it 3 of 5 stars

The review that made me interested in this book stated that Ptolemy Grey was a 91 year old man who traded the remaining years of his life so he could regain his cognitive abilities (that he had lost by getting older) in order to solve the murder of his great grand nephew. After reading the book I was a bit conflicted. I really think Mosley did a great job showing the confusion and problems an elderly person might have, especially when trying to think or interact with others. You really get a sen...more

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Jan 01, 2011 Autumn rated it 5 of 5 stars

The 'Last Days of Ptolemy Grey' is without a doubt one of the best books I have read in a very long time.I picked it up on a whim, and was captivated from the beginning, quickly getting caught up in the life and misty mind of Ptolemy. From the chaos, fear, and betrayal of the opening pages to the poignant ending, Mosely had my attention trough deft use of language, detail, and especially dialogue.

Ptolemy Grey is a man nearing the end of his life. His mind is a misty mixture of old stories from...more

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Dec 31, 2010 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-mainstream

Mosley, Walter. THE LAST DAYS OF PTOLEMY GREY. (2010). ***. Mosley adds another mythical character to his list with this latest novel. Ptolemy is a ninety-one year old black man living alone in a one-bedroom flat in a poor section of L.A. He is on the borderline of dementia. He has an extended family, but can’t keep them all straight. He depends on one of his younger relatives to come visit him and help him with his shopping and banking needs. When that young man is killed in a drive-by, Ptolemy...more

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Dec 29, 2010 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, fiction

Ptolemy Grey is a ninety-one year old black man in the early stages of dementia. He's taken care of by his nephew Reggie until Reggie is killed in a drive-by shooting. Then seventeen year old friend of the family Robyn comes in to his life. She cleans up his apartment and shows him unconditional love for the first time in a long time. With a new lease on life, Ptolemy visits a mysterious doctor who offers him an experimental drug that will restore his mind and help him remember things he is desp...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Laurie rated it 5 of 5 stars

On the surface, this novel is a touching tale of a 91 year old man with dementia, who through a grace of a 17 year old girl who decides to take care of him and a Faustian deal with a doctor who has an experimental dementia drug, gets a few weeks of a restored mind. Not much time, but time enough to set a lot of things right before he dies- a death accelerated by the drug. But I think it runs deeper.

The story is narrated through the eyes of Ptolemy Usher Grey. He lives in a run down rooming hous...more On the surface, this novel is a touching tale of a 91 year old man with dementia, who through a grace of a 17 year old girl who decides to take care of him and a Faustian deal with a doctor who has an experimental dementia drug, gets a few weeks of a restored mind. Not much time, but time enough to set a lot of things right before he dies- a death accelerated by the drug. But I think it runs deeper.

The story is narrated through the eyes of Ptolemy Usher Grey. He lives in a run down rooming house, the place where he has lived for a long time. His dementia has gotten the best of him; he forgets to eat sometimes and sleeps under the table. His late wife had turned into a hoarder in late life, and he himself has many mementos lying around. He doesn’t bath- in fact, never goes into the bathroom anymore, as the toilet has been plugged up for quite some time. The radio and the TV both run 24/7 and he lives in a fog of bad memories. His great-grandnephew Reggie has been helping him, taking his checks to the bank and bringing him groceries, but he hasn’t been seen in a few weeks now. It turns out that Reggie has been murdered. Now Ptolemy has to ask another relative for help, and this one promptly robs him, figuring Ptolemy will never even notice. He is despair.

Enter seventeen year old Robyn, who is lodging with another relative of Ptolemy’s. She sweeps into his life, cleans up his house, feeds him, and gets him back to using the bathroom and bedroom. Despite her rough upbringing by a no-account mother, she has her GED and is headed for community college. She refuses money from Ptolemy. She is hope and honesty.

After Robyn takes Ptolemy to the doctor and has the mind restoring treatment, we find that Ptolemy is not who we thought he was. He is a man who feels he has not done the right things at important junctures of his life, and he wants to do the right things this time. He has some secrets he’s been keeping, and they stand to change some lives drastically.

There are a lot of symbols in this story, and hints of myth. I think this a book that will end up being read in schools and analyzed. But don’t let this scare you; once I got past the first few pages (which drop you straight into Ptolemy’s foggy mind), I didn’t want to put this book down.
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Nov 09, 2010 Nightowltoo rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is probably one of the most engaging books I've read this year. It arrived late on a rainy afternoon, and I only intended to glance at the first few pages (before finishing my pesky overdue library book), but I was so captivated I finished this one before going to bed that night.

The story is told from the point of view of Ptolemy Grey, who at ninety-one is healthy as a horse physically, but deep in the throws of dementia. He lives in squalor, barely surviving with the help of his great-gran...more

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Feb 20, 2012 Windy2go rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was the first e-book I checked out from the library. The library's collection of e-books is always checked out, so I just went into the catalog and looked for things that were available. This book got a good rating, so I checked it out. At first, I thought I'd made a mistake. But though reading about the filthy apartment and bathroom habits of an aging black man in LA was a turnoff, the story was moving along so I stayed with it. I'm glad I did. I have to admit that I really did end up enjo...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Nikij rated it 5 of 5 stars

I LOVED LOVED LOVED this book. I found this one on the shelves of my local library. I took Ptolemy's journey in and out of reality and into confusion, dreams, memories and back. I loved every minute of the book, and drank every word. As Ptolemy was slipping further and further away, I found myself wanting to delay his inevitable demise, and keep his story going. Walter Mosley took me on a wonderful journey into the thoughts of an elderly man who had become a prisoner of his mind. Though the book...more

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Apr 13, 2012 Doreen rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best books I've read this year.

Ptolemy Grey, a 91-year-old Black man, is suffering from the early stages of dementia. After the death of his primary caregiver, Robyn Small, a 17-year-old family acquaintance, comes forward to help him. She challenges his hoarding and hermit existence. As Robyn tries to get medical treatment for Ptolemy, she inadvertently brings him to a Mephistophelean doctor who offers him an experimental drug that will give him lucidity for a short period of...more This is one of the best books I've read this year.

Ptolemy Grey, a 91-year-old Black man, is suffering from the early stages of dementia. After the death of his primary caregiver, Robyn Small, a 17-year-old family acquaintance, comes forward to help him. She challenges his hoarding and hermit existence. As Robyn tries to get medical treatment for Ptolemy, she inadvertently brings him to a Mephistophelean doctor who offers him an experimental drug that will give him lucidity for a short period of time, lucidity which Ptolemy desperately craves so he can get his affairs in order. Think of "Flowers for Algernon" for dementia sufferers.

Ptolemy is a character who will stay with the reader long after the last chapter has been read. He is a wise, gentle soul who lives by the simple truths he was taught by his mentor, Coydog McCann. Some of these life lessons he passes on to Robyn. Even though he is frail in body and increasingly feeble in mind, he struggles against injustice and tries to live like a rich man whom Coydog defined as "the man [who can] live in his own skin."

Much of Ptolemy's life is narrated via flashbacks as he increasingly lives in his past, especially the memorable people and life-shaping events in it. Various racial issues are addressed since Ptolemy and his family were not always treated fairly by Whites, but members of Ptolemy's family are not portrayed as totally innocent either. Characters are realistic and neither demonized nor sanctified.

It is the portrayal of Ptolemy's thought processes that struck this reader. His thoughts are fragmented as one would expect in someone suffering from his medical condition, but gradually the reader can construct the pivotal events in his life and thereby understand the emotions that colour his life.

This book has it all - suspense, historical accuracy, a memorable protagonist, and themes applicable to contemporary times. It would take a very unfeeling person lacking in empathy not to be moved by this novel.

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Dec 24, 2010 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

I was intrigued by the synopsis of this book -a 91 year old man suffering from dementia who is offered the chance of improved mental health, but a shortened life by using an experimental drug. The main character, Ptolemy, is a black man who takes you back in times of slavery through his memories, but most of the book is based on him taking advantage of his last days and doing all the things he needed to to leave this earth in peace. A woman came up to me while I was reading this and asked if I l...more

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Nov 03, 2010 David Peters rated it 4 of 5 stars

First things first: Toll-Lah-Me. I had to look it up and it made reading the book a much smoother experience. (An alternate is Toll-Lei-Me).

There is a lot in this book about what it is like to get old and to experience dementia and most reviews I have seen focus on this. To be fair there are a lot of insights to be gained about those topics. As someone in their forties I found myself thinking about my future and getting old. How will I cope?

What really stuck with me though is the beauty that can...more

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Apr 15, 2012 Randy rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: april12, not-for-school, realistic-fiction

Ptolemy Grey, lost in the maze that is his own memory, finds few moments of clarity. His 91 years have added up and since the death of his wife, he increasingly has difficulty keeping things straight. Until he meets, Robyn, who helps clean his home and gets him to a doctor that offers him a choice. He can take an experimental drug that will clear his mind, but kill him in a few weeks, or he can remain adrift in his mind. Ptolemy chooses clarity, and sets off, in his last few days to set things r...more

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About Walter Mosley

Walter Mosley (b. 1952) is the author of the bestselling mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins, as well as numerous other works, from literary fiction and science fiction to a young adult novel and political monographs. His short fiction has been widely published, and his nonfiction has appeared in the New York Times Magazine and the Nation, among other publications. Mosley is the winner of numero...more

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“That's how powerful you are, girl...You pretty, but pretty alone is not what people see. You the kinda pretty, the kinda beauty, that's like a mirror. Men and women see themselves in you, only now they so beautiful that they can't bear to see you go.” — 31 people liked it

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