The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

By Walter Mosley

Book Overview

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The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is a masterful, moving novel about age, memory, and family from one of the true literary icons of our time.

Marooned in an apartment that overflows with mementos from the past, 91-year-old Ptolemy Grey is all but forgotten by his family and the world. But when an unexpected opportunity arrives, everything changes for Ptolemy in ways as shocking and unanticipated as they are poignant and profound.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 159448550X
• ISBN13: 9781594485503
• Release Date: November 2011
• Publisher: Riverhead Books
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.62 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Literature Reflects Real Life

I love Walter Mosley! I have read every Easy Rawlins novel. However, I had heard and read so many good things about this novel I decided to diverge from my usual murder/mystery/thriller genre and read The Last Days pf Ptolemy Grey. Mr. Mosley gives the reader insight into the debilitating affects of aging, loneliness and isolation. I appreciated the passages where the character is trying to communicate his wants and desires, though the words often elude him. His ability to describe Ptolemy's floating in and out of focus with reality captured some of the episodes that my aging mother experiences on a daily basis. The young woman who becomes his caregiver, protector, love and finally his bridge to the hereafter evokes so much of the characteristics of those who care for the aging. This is an illuminating novel that will change how you view aging and those who are in the process of losing cognition. I recommend it highly.