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The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
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The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
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The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
Audiobook8 hours

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

Written by Walter Mosley

Narrated by Dominic Hoffman

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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Currently unavailable

Currently unavailable

About this audiobook

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.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateNov 11, 2010
ISBN9781101461815
Unavailable
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
Author

Walter Mosley

Walter Mosley is the author of over twenty critically acclaimed books and his work has been translated into twenty-one languages. His popular mystery series featuring Easy Rawlins began with Devil in a Blue Dress in 1990, which was later made into a film starring Denzel Washington. Born and raised in Los Angeles, he now lives in New York.

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Reviews for The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

Rating: 4.265503647286822 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I picked this up a couple of weeks ago at the library book sale, and even though I have lots of other books to read, something made me pick it up right away. And then I couldn't put it down. Mosley is a master of both character and place. He puts us right inside the head of Ptolemy Grey, 91 years old, plagued by dementia, nearly forgotten by his family, living alone in a bad neighborhood in Los Angeles. Ptolemy drifts from a hazy notion of current day to a much clearer memory of the past, growing up in the south, watching the lynching of his friend Coydog McCann, carrying secrets with him. As we gradually piece together his past, we start to understand why Ptolemy is so desperate to think clearly, even for just a few days. And when a friend of his family, Robyn, begins caring for him, we realize that Ptolemy Grey may just have a chance to finish what he's started. From the beginning, I was rooting for Ptolemy Grey, and I delighted in each triumph that he and Robyn achieved. The story had enough mystery to propel it forward, but mostly I just enjoyed being with the characters and seeing the world through their eyes. I don't remember hearing much about this one when it came out in 2010 (although that might just be my faulty memory), but I'm glad I discovered it after someone else sat it aside.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    At first I thought the idea of a very young woman attending so closely to such an elderly man suffering from dementia would be too much of a stretch, but it worked. The need to love and be loved can overcome boundaries and barriers unlike almost anything else. Writing about the dementia that Ptolemy suffered was extremely effective. Having been around many older people suffering from some sort of dementia, I felt this was truly an eye opening portrayal of what that must be like. The family "structure" of Ptolemy's family was also very believable.At times, however, I did get confused and distracted by the constant presence, not of Coy, but of Coy's words. The "advice" of Coy to young Ptolemy just seemed to be too direct, didactic, or forced.This is my first Mosley novel, and I can say I'm impressed.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Think Flowers for Algernon. Think black Rip-van-Winkle waking in drive-by city. Think yet another strangely drawn woman-child in a man's mystery. And enjoy the book. It works. Hard to believe, but Mosley pulls off another one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Easy read, good characters, although some of the plot and relationships were slightly unbelievable
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was close to giving up on this about a 1/3rd of the way in, but decided to keep going. I'm very glad I did.

    The story is about a 91 year old african-american man who is very close to the end of his life. I don't know how to say any more without giving the story away, so I won't.

    The first half of the book was interesting to a point, mostly because of the perspectives of the characters. But it seemed sluggish to me. The second half was a whole different matter. The story jumped into overdrive and you could almost feel the synapses going off in the old man's brain. The interplay between the present and past was masterful.

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Read this one for my Tomball library fiction group. This is a stand alone and not part of Mosley's Easy Rawlins series of mystery books. Our group had a great discussion over the book: from Alzheimer's, medicine to help with the effects to helping to restore memory even if it for a brief time, hoarders, the poor african american community, family manipulation, and crime. A couple in our group listened to the audio version, which I chose to pick up and listen. I would recommend the audio it is very well done they chose the perfect reader for this book.

    Mosley novel came about from caring for his own mother who was lost to Alzheimer's. In the story 92 year-old Ptolmey suffers many aging issues from memory loss , dependence on others, and being preyed upon by family and others who inly wish to take until he meets Robyn. Robyn is a friend of the family who only wishes to belong and to protect Ptolmey and give him the dignity he deserves as his life comes to a close. Before Robyn, Ptolmey's existences was a a small area of his kitchen and a small area in his front room of his home and weekly trips to the bank, McDonalds to bath because his bathroom did not function and the grocery store for supplies. The first time he meets Robyn is shortly after his nephews funeral, she is in a dress and high heels. She comes to his home and sees the disaster that he calls home but also understands she cannot steamroll her way through cleaning his home she must do it slowly and with care. It is this care that Ptolmey begins to open up to and to find his way to going to a doctor a local social worker recommends. What he offers is short term gain of memory but at a cost.

    Great book for a group to read and discuss many issues to confront.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A drug that somehow restores an old man’s memory allowing him to make peace with his past and to remember his boyhood. The idea that the Sun and stars rotate around the earth is named after Ptolemy, an ancient Egyptian. This story is centered on Ptolemy Grey. Perhaps that explains his name or perhaps Mosley had something else in mind but he does a wonderful job of bringing the characters to life while telling an engaging story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Beautiful literary writing that prompts the reader to pause and ponder the words, their delivery and their personal meaning. There's a light touch of something mystical in this story of Ptolemy. I will certainly look at Walter Mosley's other works.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This story was so moving. I really felt the frustration of the main character trying to function through the deterioration of his mind. Awesome read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is one of the best works, and some would say the best, in the career of one of America's most accomplished authors. Walter Mosley is well-known for his Easy Rawlins detective series, featuring a black WWII vet who becomes a private detective in LA's 1940s-1960s Watts neighborhood. Insights into Watts' black community, as well as how Easy and others deal with prevalent racism, are series' features. But the stories are largely driven by their memorable characters, particularly his deadly but utterly loyal friend Raymond "Mouse" Alexander, well-played by Don Cheadle in the "Devil with a Blue Dress" movie. Over the years Mosley has ventured into many other genres, including literary novels, history, philosophy, erotica and science fiction. Among his non-Easy works, two of my favorite novels are Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned, centered around the remarkable Socrates Fortlow, an ex-con (due to a crime of passion) who is trying to make it in the straight world, and RL's Dream, haunted by famed real life bluesman Robert "RL" Johnson, who supposedly acquired his supernatural blues skills in a deal with the devil. Mosley has a restless and far-ranging mind, and in Ptolemy Grey takes on aging and dementia, and the restorative powers of love late in life.Ptolemy Grey, 91 years old, lives alone in a filthy LA apartment where he refuses to enter the bedroom he shared with his beloved deceased wife, and sleeps under a table amidst years of hoarded detritus. He has begun to lose track of daily life and how to take care of himself, keeping the radio and tv on at all times as company. When the great-grand-nephew who was providing some care to him is killed in a drive-by, a different niece's son shows up to help him, and raises Ptolemy's suspicions. Having had a measure of success in life, Ptolemy has become a chore to his family, and vulnerable to being taken advantage of.The seemingly hopeless, degenerating circumstances begin to change when he meets teenage Robyn Small at the funeral, a girl who has been taken in by the family and recognizes his goodness and integrity. She proceeds to resurrect his apartment from the filth, and gets him to a doctor. The doctor offers him a Faustian bargain, an experimental drug that will sharpen his faculties but likely shorten his life, in exchange for receiving his body for study once he dies. As Ptolemy begins to recall his past life, we learn of his mentor Coydog, who was lynched for stealing from a white man and hid the loot somewhere known only by Ptolemy. Desperation leading to thievery, and whether any good can ever come of it, is one of the book's main themes, as is the importance of having someone to trust. Ptolemy also is looking to avenge the death of his great-grand-nephew, which may have been personal rather than gang-related as assumed.The details of Ptolemy's dementia are credible and captivating. Mosley has said the book was inspired by his mother's five year descent into dementia. The book addresses the strain on families when this happens, and the plight of the demented. It also addresses the violence that can be triggered by need or avarice. But the reason this novel rises to greatness is the love between honest and strong Robyn, and the Ptolemy she recognizes even when he can barely recognize himself. As Ptolemy says, if she were twenty years older and he forty years younger, they would marry. She restores the dignity he had lost, and in turn finds generosity and a new kind of safety in his innate decency. The powerful message is it is never too late. For love, or for justice in an often unjust life.Some quotations from the book:“That’s how Ptolemy imagined the disposition of his memories, his thoughts: they were still his, still in the range of his thinking, but they were, many and most of them, locked on the other side of a closed door that he’d lost the key for. So his memory became like secrets held away from his own mind. But these secrets were noisy things; they babbled and muttered behind the door, and so if he listened closely he might catch a snatch of something he once knew well.”“The great man say that life is pain," Coydog had said over eighty-five years before. "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.”“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.”
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Walter Mosely is an amazing writer. This book is one of his best. It's not a mystery, but it's a winner. At times, I was reminded of his "RL's Blues", the first of his novels I read. He's got a gift for writing the thoughts of the elderly.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    My first Mosley book, and not my last. Even weeks later, Ptolemy Gray still haunts me.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Not an unusual story, but highly readable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Audiobook. Moving story. Nice insight into the aged character of Gray. Conventional story-telling with lots of flashbacks. Somewhat cardboard villain.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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 few days or weeks, but the drug will most likely kill him. It has definite shades of Faust.

    I generally don't like it when authors write in dialects, but it works really well in this story and Mosley is a genius at writing conversations. More than the dialect, the word choices tell a great deal about the the characters speaking. The descriptions of Ptolemy's dementia, mental slips, and living conditions (as an elderly person living alone) are heart breaking and really well written, as are his memories of growing up and living in the Jim Crow South.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Although as others have pointed out, this is a book about a person with dementia's last days, it is also a warning to all of us who never get a second chance to be brave and do what we should before we are robbed of the ability.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If you're older and alone this book will make you cry.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very slow beginning and one wonders where on earth it is headed and then something surreal happens..and a plot along with a life begin to become very interesting.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    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.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a 5 star book, for the first half. It's such a realistic picture of an old (91 years) inner city African American man who lives alone while suffering moderate dementia. In Still Alice the main character is a professional white woman with a multitude of family and medical systems to support her as she declines into Alzheimer's. Ptolemy Grey is alone. He has an extended family, and they look in on him in his apartment, but he has been allowed to shutter himself up amongst the bugs and waste with no bed to sleep in and not even a functioning toilet. The world outside his door is violent and predatory. How can a person function in such a society? That is a whole book in itself, and a wondrous one. Unfortunately about half way through the book Ptolemy meets the doctor and the book changes to a rather fantastic story. It's an interesting story, but not anywhere near up to the standards of the first half of the book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Mosley takes us on the end of life journey of Ptolemy Grey, as he is an elderly gentleman whose dementia is getting worse every day. With the book being narrated by Ptolemy we are given a front row seat to his confusion as his thoughts become more scattered. He finds more and more that his distant memories are beginning to be combined with his more current memories so he gets to the point where he is not sure if his memories are actually real.Ptolemy had a nephew who came to help him with general needs every so often. They would go buy groceries, have lunch, cash his retirement checks, and whatever else might need to be done on any particular visit. Ptolemy can't help but become alarmed when this loving nephew is suddenly murdered. He loved this young man that took such good care of him, and what would become of him now?At his nephew's funeral, Ptolemy is introduced to a young gal named Robyn, a young woman who appears to be fending for herself in this world, that one of Ptolemy's relatives has taken into their home. Ptolemy and Robin find something special in each other and make a connection that Ptolemy hasn't experienced in years. As he lets Robyn into his life a little more each day, she becomes more than a casual acquaintance, but also a dear friend who truly cares for him.Things are about to change quickly for Ptolemy as a consultation with a social worker puts him on a path to meet a doctor that will help him with his memory problems. Will the ultimate sacrifice make everything worthwhile for Ptolemy to have vivid memories of his entire life? Ptolemy feels this is the direction that is necessary for him to leave a legacy for all of his loved ones.This was a beautifully written novel that made me realize how frustrated my 89 year old Grandma must be in her body as she searches for words that came to her easily in the past. I admit that I get frustrated at times listening to the same stories over and over, but I guess this is her way of keeping her memories alive so who I am to put a kabash to that? With themes of race issues, elderly mistreatment, familial obligations, and friendship, this book has much to offer for a various array of readers.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    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 young woman named Robyn, who comes to take care of Ptolemy. When Ptolemy is offered a way to dispel his dementia through an experimental medical procedure, he decides the costly side effects are worth it as it is the only way he can salvage his family and get his affairs in order.My Thoughts: The book is narrated by Ptolemy and I thought Mosley did a brilliant job of capturing Ptolemy’s confusion and dementia while also giving the reader the story of what is going on in Ptolemy’s life. It is a tricky balancing act, and I think Mosley pulled it off wonderfully. Although this was often a difficult read as Ptolemy’s thoughts are often fragmented and mixed up (as it would be in person with dementia), I found it very affecting and felt as if I was inhabiting Ptolemy’s decaying brain. In some ways, the book reminded me of Flowers For Algernon as the experimental medical procedure gives Ptolemy his memory and wits back to him … but only for a brief period of time. As the procedure begins to exact its steep price, I found myself filled with sorrow for both Ptolemy and Robyn. A lovely and interesting look at aging, love and the end of life.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was an engaging fast read once I got about twenty pages in, though it dragged at some points, but I'm still not sure how to react to it. At times, I wanted to know more about the characters around Ptolemy, and to be able to believe in them a bit more. This is such a character study of one man and his past, at times it felt like those around him got too little attention, verging on stereotypes or one dimensional characters. At the same time, Ptolemy's voice is so strong in its carrying off of the narrative that that may in the end be a small criticism since he is, without doubt, central to Mosley's tale. I suppose, in the end, I just wanted it to be a bit more complicated, less neat. Characters on the extremes of being either dastardly or perfect just added to that impulse. So, while I enjoyed it for what it was, it's not something I'll feel the need to come back to, and unless the plotline of another of Mosley's works really spoke to me, I probably wouldn't feel the need to explore more of his work. Still, if the book sounds of interest, you might well enjoy it as an escape through a few afternoons. Certainly, anyone interested in the portrayal of dimensia in contemporary fiction would do well to look it up, but I have a feeling this book as a whole speaks to a fairly limited audience.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Ptolemy Grey is a 91-year-old man suffering from dementia. From the first page, the reader sees the world through his foggy mind. The character represents many elderly in our nation who are lonely and abandoned by their families. Ptolemy is "cared" for by a nephew who helps him by getting groceries and cashing his social security checks for him, but his apartment is filthy with a toilet that doesn't work, bugs, and clutter from decades of living. Robyn, a young girl orphaned and living with Ptolemy's neice, begins to help Ptolemy by running errands and cleaning up his apartment. She eventually moves in with Ptolemy and goes with him to a doctor where he recieve medicine for his dementia. The medicine makes him think more clearly, but it speeds up his approaching death. The relationship between Ptolemy and Robyn seems odd on the surface, but Mosley handles it with care and creates a situation that may just believable. Throughout the novel, Walter Mosley, does a beautiful job writing dialogue from Ptolemy's past and an old friend, Coydog. The book takes us back to a different era in US history for African-Americans. The Coydog character helps bridge Ptolemy's past with his present and is interesting to read and contemplate whether or not we have really come very far in terms of race relations. The only part I didn't like about this novel, was not knowing what happened to Robyn at the end when Ptolemy dies and she is given the task of taking care of Ptolemy's family. Perhaps Mosley will write a sequel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Does a beautiful teenager and an elixir from the devil disguised as a doctor hold the key to Ptolemy Grey regaining his memory and purpose?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    As some one currently dealing with family members in their own journey with dementia I found this book a wonderful gift.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I got this book as part of the Early Reviewers Program. I asked for it because I am a huge fan of Walter Mosley's Easy Rawlins series, and to a lesser extent, his Fearless Jones and Socrates Fortlow books. I think that's why it took me so long to get to this book. I was afraid that, as with some of his stand-alone books, it wouldn't be as compelling a story, and that the asides his characters tend to fall into might be too rambling. I was even more afraid once I realized the main character was elderly, and suffering from dementia. There was unlikely to be any of the well-written action of the Rawlins and Jones books, and too much rambling.I was wrong to wait. Mosley pulls it all off beautifully. It is a reflection on aging, on memory, on the history of race relations in the US, on the relationships between men and women, young and old. It is so good and I am deeply sorry I put it off for so long.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The only thing I knew about this book when I checked it out was that it was not an Easy Rawlins novel. When I started it and figured out that the main character had dementia, I didn't think I would like or finish the story. That disease hits too close to home as both of my grandparents who passed in recent years suffered with it for years before they died. However, Mosley takes what could easily be a very depressing tale and turns it into something interesting and almost fun.I found myself rooting for Ptolemy Grey to figure things out on his own and I identified with his stubbornness and independence. The overall theme reminded me of Flowers for Algernon even thought the execution was different.This was a quick and easy read and I recommend it.