The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
A Novel
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4.5 • 279 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
NOW AN APPLE TV+ SERIES STARRING SAMUEL L. JACKSON
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.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Best-selling mystery writer Walter Mosley’s thoughtful novel will have you contemplating aging, memory, and the meaning of life. Ptolemy Grey is 91 years old and living in near isolation when he strikes up an unexpected friendship with a young woman named Robyn. Newly inspired, Ptolemy agrees to take an experimental drug that will fully restore all the memories he’s lost to dementia. One of the side effects of the treatment is that he can’t avoid contemplating the darkest and strangest episodes that he’s forgotten—including a possible murder. Mosley draws us into this fascinating mystery while always keeping the bond between Ptolemy and Robyn at the center. We love how Mosley elegantly deals with the gaps between perception and reality—especially for a Black man in America. Be sure to read this incredible story before you watch the Apple Original miniseries with Samuel L. Jackson.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mosley (Known to Evil) plays out an intriguing premise in his powerful latest: a man is given a second shot at life, but at the price of a hastened death. Ptolemy Grey is a 91-year-old man, suffering from dementia and living as a recluse in his Los Angeles apartment. With one foot in the past and the other in the grave, Ptolemy begins to open up when Robyn Small, a 17-year-old family friend, appears and helps clean up his apartment and straighten out his life. A reinvigorated Ptolemy volunteers for an experimental medical program that will restore his mind, but at hazardous cost: he won't live to see 92. With the clock ticking, Ptolemy uses his rejuvenated mental abilities to delve into the mystery of the recent drive-by shooting death of his great-nephew, Reggie, and to render justice the only way he knows how, goaded and guided by the memory of his murdered childhood mentor, Coydog McCann. Though the details of the experimental procedure are less than convincing, Mosley's depiction of the indignities of old age is heartbreaking, and Ptolemy's grace and decency make for a wonderful character and a moving novel.
Customer Reviews
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey
Intriguing story. Although you may be able to figure out where it's going you keep reading because you want to hear the words.
Loved the book, show measured up
I haven’t read the book in probably a decade, but I think the show did a good job at capturing the essence of the book, although less personal in the mind of Ptolemy. The book really helped me understand Alzheimer’s and how it affects people.
Good read
Read this book for book club and was pleasantly surprised by how well the author depicted each character and formed a very interesting story.