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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 is too suspicious of anyone else to allow them into his life. until he meets Robyn, his niece's seventeen-year-old lodger and the only one willing to take care of an old man at his grandnephew's funeral.
But Robyn will not tolerate Ptolemy's hermitlike existence. She challenges him to interact more with the world around him, and he grasps more firmly onto his disappearing consciousness. However, this new activity pushes Ptolemy into the fold of a doctor touting an experimental drug that guarantees Ptolemy won't live to see age ninety- two but that he'll spend his last days in feverish vigor and clarity. With his mind clear, what Ptolemy finds-in his own past, in his own apartment, and in the circumstances surrounding his grand-nephew's death-is shocking enough to spur an old man to action, and to ensure a legacy that no one will forget.
In The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, Mosley captures the compromised state of his protagonist's mind with profound sensitivity and insight, and creates an unforgettable pair of characters at the center of a novel that is sure to become a true contemporary classic.
Ptolemy Grey is a 91-year-old African American living alone in violent South Central L.A. Frail and suffering from dementia, largely forgotten by his extended family, he can’t remember to eat, his mind “scattered over nearly a hundred years.” He relives events marked by racism, lynching, poverty, and longing for his long-dead wife. His great-grand nephew, Reggie, takes him to the grocery store and prompts him to eat. When Reggie is killed in a drive-by shooting, Ptolemy’s days appear to be numbered. But Robyn, a beautiful, resourceful 17-year-old, steps in. As she sees to Ptolemy’s needs, she awakens his desire for the lucidity he once had, and he meets a doctor who offers him a chance for several months of mental clarity before almost certain death. Mosley’s dramatic departure from his Easy Rawlins and Leonid McGill crime novels appears to be a very personal one, a deeply thoughtful, provocative, and often beautiful meditation on aging, memory, family, loss, and love. Ptolemy and Robynare truly indelible characters. Mosley’s story is ultimately life affirming, and his writing is by turns gritty and sublime. Baby boomers caring for aged parents, or thinking about their own mortality, will line up for The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey. Mosley’s fans of any age will also embrace it, and every library will be better for adding it. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: A return to top form for Mosley, who has slumped a bit since ending his Easy Rawlins series. An aggressive marketing campaign and a poignant autobiographical connection (Mosley helped care for a relative with dementia) will draw deserved attention to a very fine novel.--(Thomas Gaughan)
No other writer of the 58-year-old Mosley's generation has done quite as much to keep the style of Hammett and Chandler from lapsing into mere mannerism. His popular Easy Rawlins mysteries — probably his best books until now — extended the genre's affinity for social realism and added a dimension of historical recovery in portraying African Americans' vital but bittersweet life in postwar Los Angeles.
Fanciful and reassuring, this quietly charming Australian import examines universal experiences and emotions. Clancy, a young boy, has just moved from what appears to be a small-town setting to an imposing urban block. His parents, seemingly oblivious to his discomfort, extol the virtues of their large, modern new home while Clancy yearns for the cozy comfort of the familiar. Gleeson's straightforward, child-centered text highlights this discrepancy in attitudes, contrasting the parents' sweeping pronouncements about the new house with the repeated phrase, "Clancy remembers..." Blackwood's softly scratchy illustrations support the text, pairing large, empty, monochromatic rooms as Clancy views them with small, colorful images he remembers from home, varying perspective effectively to communicate mood. Before Clancy (and readers) can get too distressed, however, the action moves outside, where Clancy finds a new friend. Absorbed in building towers, trains and fairy-tale houses from the empty packing boxes (the last game explaining the otherwise bewildering pig-shaped clouds on the cover), Clancy clearly begins to feel more at home. Cozy and sweetly empathetic.
Fanciful and reassuring, this quietly charming Australian import examines universal experiences and emotions. Clancy, a young boy, has just moved from what appears to be a small-town setting to an imposing urban block. His parents, seemingly oblivious to his discomfort, extol the virtues of their large, modern new home while Clancy yearns for the cozy comfort of the familiar. Gleeson's straightforward, child-centered text highlights this discrepancy in attitudes, contrasting the parents' sweeping pronouncements about the new house with the repeated phrase, "Clancy remembers..." Blackwood's softly scratchy illustrations support the text, pairing large, empty, monochromatic rooms as Clancy views them with small, colorful images he remembers from home, varying perspective effectively to communicate mood. Before Clancy (and readers) can get too distressed, however, the action moves outside, where Clancy finds a new friend. Absorbed in building towers, trains and fairy-tale houses from the empty packing boxes (the last game explaining the otherwise bewildering pig-shaped clouds on the cover), Clancy clearly begins to feel more at home. Cozy and sweetly empathetic. (Picture book. 5-8)
Mosley was born in Los Angeles, traveled east to college, and found his way into writing fiction by way of working as a computer programmer, caterer, and potter. His first Easy Rawlins book, Gone Fishin' didn't find a publisher, but the next, Devil in a Blue Dress (1990) most certainly did -- and the world was introduced to a startlingly different P.I.
Part of the success of the Easy Rawlins series is Mosley's gift for character development. Easy, who stumbles into detective work after being laid off by the aircraft industry, ages in real time in the novels, marries, and experiences believable financial troubles and successes. In addition, Mosley's ability to evoke atmosphere -- the dangers and complexities of life in the toughest neighborhoods of Los Angeles -- truly shines. His treatment of historic detail (the Rawlins books take place in Los Angeles from the 1940s to the mid-1960s) is impeccable, his dialogue fine-tuned and dead-on.
In 2002, Mosley introduced a new series featuring Fearless Jones, an Army vet with a rigid moral compass, and his friend, a used-bookstore owner named Paris Minton. The series is set in the black neighborhoods of 1950s L.A. and captures the racial climate of the times. Mosley himself summed up the first book, 2002's Fearless Jones, as "comic noir with a fringe of social realism."
Despite the success of his bestselling crime series, Mosley is a writer who resolutely resists pigeonholing. He regularly pens literary fiction, short stories, essays, and sci-fi novels, and he has made bold forays into erotica, YA fiction, and political polemic. "I didn't start off being a mystery writer," he said in an interview with NPR. "There's many things that I am." Fans of this talented, genre-bending author could not agree more!
Mosley is an avid potter in his spare time.
In our 2004 interview, Mosley reveals:
"I was a computer programmer for 15 years before publishing my first book. I am an avid collector of comic books. And I believe that war is rarely the answer, especially not for its innocent victims."
If you have ever had a loved one touched by the cruel hand of dementia, you need to read this book. It will help you understand some of the torment and struggle that are endured by those afflicted by this disease. If you haven't witnessed the suffering, you may well ask if a person would bargain their time that is left them for a few days or weeks of clarity and sound judgment. I know I would. So did Mr Ptolemy Grey,a ninety-one year old, black man, whose life and dignity are being sucked out of him by dementia. He continues to live by himself in squalid surroundings since the death of his wife many years ago. He has a vague idea that he needs to leave a legacy; to make a difference for some of his remaining family and to Robyn, a beautiful, caring, eighteen year old girl, who has brought a freshness and new life to Mr. Ptolemy Grey. He must decide whether to live a life in which he is afraid to go out on the street or to open his door to relatives or neighbors, lest they beat and rob him or take the devil's medicine that may give him a last chance to fulfill his dream. The book is full of good characterizations and is very insightful in how we treat ourselves and others.
6 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 13, 2011
This is a Walter Mosley I've never known. I was touched with the plight of old age and cheered by the salvation of youth. I'm looking forward to a second reading. The first time was for the fun of finding out what happens. The second is to revisit the wisdom of the characters.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.BernardJames
Posted October 18, 2011
I have ALWAYS been a huge Walter Mosley fan, pouring through all the Easy, Fearless and Socrates novels - and more recently, those featuring NYC Private Investigator, Leonid McGill. Mosley has an extraordinary capacity to breathe life into his characters. Whenever I'm engaged with one of his books, it's as if the principals leap right of the page into a state of animation that continues to inhabit my imagination.long after I've put away the book or turned off my nook. This was no less true in the case of Ptolemy Grey and his young companion, Robyn. In Mosley's novel, the Old Man and Young Girl are thrust into each other's lives in the midst of a trying and difficult situation, and through their various interactions the author skillfully takes us along for the ride, representing their journey of redemption and validation...as well as the pure and unmitigated love they develop for each another. Under different circumstances or in a different time and place, we're led to believe that their affection would most certainly have been expressed in a more intimate way: "If I was 20 years older, and you were 50 years younger..?" is a question that Robyn initially poses and both characters return to several times. But in spite of the chasm that defines their generational divide, Ptolemy and Robyn are still able to find a true and legitimate expression for how they feel about each other. In time, old fears are conquered and new potential is harnessed and put to effective use. This book is Powerful. The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey was an absolute treat.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 28, 2011
Mr. Mosley does a superb job of capturing the frustration and confusion of an elderly man suffering from dementia and the explosive effect a mind altering "alternative" drug has on his life and relationships. Excellent read!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted August 27, 2011
This book drew me in on the first page. I read it in a day- reading at traffic lights, in the car wash, lunch breaks.... It brings back a humanity missing on so many books written today....and I loved how the author ended the book. So many books have left me with an anti-climactic feeling, not so with this piece....I simply shut the back cover and smiled.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.So+worth+reading+++i+loved+how+the+aurthor+pulled+me+into+the+minds+of+the+characters%21%0A
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Posted March 12, 2013
A great book. I really enjoy his writing. It is so compact yet conveys so much. I’m always surprised at how few pages his stories are but how much I get out of the books. Very glad I took the suggestion to read this book for Black History Month.
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Posted December 6, 2012
Great Read
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.We get into the mind of an aging person with a remarkable twist at the end. It combines aging, racial tensions and love in a unique way. Very enjoyable!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.thewanderingjew
Posted September 26, 2011
This is a story about a touching relationship between an old man and the young girl whose kindness and true concern for him reawakens his heart and mind. Her tenderness brings him back to life again so that he can spend his last days "alive" once more, with the memory of his youth, if not the body, so he could settle old scores and protect the ones who were closest to him when he takes his final leave. This sensitive tale of love and loss, humiliation and pride, violence and gentleness, devotion and betrayal, courage and fear, strength and weakness, will stay with you long after you turn the final page. If I had known Ptolemy Grey, he would have enriched my life. Ironically, Ptolemy is a gentle soul, but toward the end of his life, he hopes he has not sold it to the devil. He has a simple but common sense approach to life. He has suffered many tragedies over the years and witnessed the brutality and abuse his race has been subjected to historically. His memories were the "stuff of nightmares." At 91, with his memory and mind beginning to fray around the edges as dementia steals more and more of his thought processes, and with the weakness of age depriving him of his vitality, he easily became prey for those who were stronger and meaner. Not formally educated, he was still wiser than many of those who were more scholarly. He lived by simple truths and wished only to be surrounded by those that seemed sincere and wanted to give back more than they wished to take. He understood how the cruelty of some experiences could color a person's decisions and he forgave them when they chose to do wrong, if they had good reasons for that behavior and really were good inside. The book begins and ends with a tender love letter of sorts, and it sets the mood. The author illuminates the loneliness and frustration endured by the elderly as they lose their independence and must rely on others whom they cannot always trust. He presents his story with a prose using the dialect of the poor black community which at first may be hard to follow and may seem confused, but since the main character is confused, it is probably the author's purpose and is deliberate. A rhythm soon develops and it is no longer a problem to follow the dialogue. Words are spelled phonetically to make it more effective, and it enhances the interaction of the characters as you can hear their conversations in your own mind because of it. He has depicted the black culture perfectly. The descriptions are so vivid that you are sitting in the apartment with Ptolemy as he struggles with his thoughts and as he entertains visitors, as he walks down the street with the fear of being attacked by assailants, and as he feels the strong emotional pull and impact of his love for those dear to him and those in his memories of love long gone. As he travels through his past through his dreams and thoughts, we learn about the highlights of his life. With brief anecdotes, we learn how he perceives the world and we witness the injustices and decline of morality coupled with the decay of societies infrastructure and principles. His apartment, like his mind, is cluttered and unkempt,until 17 year old Robyn enters his life and genuinely cares for him. The book is a gift with a message that will remain with you.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This is the first book I've read by Walter Mosley. The synopsis of the book is an accurate reflection of the storyline and the characters are rich. It is easy from the beginning to become attached to Ptolemy and feel profound sympathy for him. While reading I often wondered, "is this how I will be if I live this long?" To live your whole life and then regress back to a childlike mind as dementia sets in? The helpless feeling of all of it.
What I do find is that it reinforces the testament of the human connection and the human touch. Ptolemy thrives in the company of his new found friend. They discover a mutual respect and love that spans age differences. Everyone needs to feel needed, yes?
jaykayess
Posted December 7, 2010
As always, Mr. Mosley delivers.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.deserteyes
Posted December 1, 2010
I absolutely love any and everything that Mr. Mosely puts out. This book was no different. Ptolemy's character reminded me of my own family members struggling to hold on to their minds and memories. Ptolemy's sheer "common sense" wisdom is what our society lacks today. I smiled throughout the journey of Ptolemy's plight to right any past and future wrongs from his family members and set the soul of his friend to rest at last. Would read over and over again.
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Posted March 19, 2012
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Overview
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 is too suspicious of anyone else to allow them into his life. until he meets Robyn, his niece's ...