I'm going to call this a sentimental story, one of those with GREAT meaning, and sadness, and hopefulness, and all of that. Sorry if this sounds maudlin, as I know this book is a favorite of so many, just how I feel.Ptolemy Grey is old, 91-years old, and feeling it. In early dementia - and it is early as I know dementia personally, having lived through it with my mother, who incidentally, passed away at 91. Anyhow, Ptolemy is confused, living in a small, dirty and cluttered apartment, dependent

The two-star rating was generous. I'm bitter because I had such high hopes for this book, and the further along it progressed, the more disappointed I became. The first three discs (of seven) really held my attention. I was so touched by the elderly man who suffered from dementia and was trying to survive on his own, the family who tries to help him but end up taking advantage of his social security checks, the sweet young girl who befriends him and turns his life around... Then it became corny....

My GR friend, Will Byrnes, once observed: “Time is a strange thing. We think of it as linear, this happened, then that, and after that something else. We measure it with instruments large and small, slice and dice it up into pieces from eons to ages, millennia to centuries, decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, milliseconds, nanoseconds and god knows what else, and order our lives around it more often than not. But sometimes the personal experience of time, particularly where it i...

Having first read this over four years ago, the second time around is a blessing. A long time fan of Mosley, he departs from his usual detective stories, and spins a tale about Ptolemy Grey, a 91 year old old black man suffering with dementia, loss and in many instances, living in the past. Driven by themes of love forgiveness and compassion, Ptolemy's love for his deceased Uncle Coy due to the wisdom he shared with "Lil Pea" as a child echoes throughout the story. Nicknamed Coy Dog, his insight...

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley is a love story that manages to be both robust and forlorn---because of the characters, the times, the milieu. Somehow it is about family and keeping promises even though many words, bodies, spirits, and bloodlines have suffered through battering times and have not triumphed.Ptolemy Grey is a 91 year old black man who---suffering dementia---struggles to re-coup the singular lost memory that will allow him to die in peace. His compassionate and unlik...

How many of us wonder how long we’ll live and if we’ll ever get so old we lose the ability to care for ourselves? Perhaps we’ve watched a loved one slowly disappear into the grip of dementia, or watched someone’s life support be shut off. Or simply woken up one day and become shocked at the small and crumbling creature a parent or grandparent has turned into.Ptolemy Grey is 91 years old and in the moderate stages of dementia. This strange book is told from his perspective as disgruntled family m...

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

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...

A deeply thoughtful and provocative novel about an old man who is desperately trying to speak the words he once knew. Mosley’s portrayal of Ptolemy’s dementia is well handled, even his foggy and random thoughts in the beginning are an easy read.

I can't even begin to describe this book. It's so much deeper than the plot implies. It's so moving and incredibly powerful. Ptolemy Grey is 91 years old and hes dying. His family has mostly forgotten with the exception of his grand nephew Reggie. Ptolemy is suffering from dementia and he often confuses the past and the present. One day Reggie stops coming by and he later learns that Reggie is dead. At Reggie's funeral he meets 17 year old Robyn and the two quickly become inseparable. With Robyn...

This is one of the best books I've ever read that I didn't want to end. If you get a chance to listen to it, I would highly recommend it. I could listen to this book over and over and I don't say that about every book. I highly recommend it to anyone that loves to read.

"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...

Simplicity is a powerful weapon, and often times less truly is more. The title of this book serves as partial synopsis. To flesh it out I will add that Ptolemy Grey is nearly 92 years of age and suffering from dementia that leaves him in a helpless state. He's at the sad stage where he won't even turn off his television or radio which simultaneously play 24/7 because he surely won't remember how to turn them back on. When the grandnephew who visits periodically to check on him is killed and a le...

What a wonderful read! The story tugged at my heart throughtout. Ptolemy Usher Grey's last days were filled with confusion, frustration, fear, love, hate, good, evil, revenge and in the end peace. This was a heart breaking story that warmed my heart at the same time.

“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

The Poetry of Old AgeA controversial interpretation of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey: Certain lives matter more than others; some of those lives are Black; and they may even be annoying and useless. Nevertheless they matter more because they know what matters.A less controversial interpretation of The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey: If poetry is the vigourous coercion of words to fit with reality, then the poetry of old age is the hardest to write, not because of too few words but because of too much...

Mosley's consistently eloquent and soulful writing is perfect for this tale told from the point of view of a 91-year old man who is pulled from the depths of dementia in his final days, is inspired to recapture life and love, and ultimately come to grips with painful memories from his past. It was refreshing and eye-opening to follow a protagonist that is almost never featured in books, the extreme elderly. Many of us forget that a man over 90 years old can have the same desires, the same worrie...

What is the weight of a life? What is the cost of ones memories? Do our thoughts and actions make us human or are we human in spite of them? Man o man what a wonderful creation this tale from the incomparable Mr Mosley is. A deeply moving rumination on the horrible cruelty and boundless beauty woven throughout these crazy lives of ours. Simply outstanding.5 Brilliantly Shining Stars

This story is stunning in what I feel is its authentic presentation of the ways in which a human mind works when it is plagued with memory issues and, likely, mental health issues in the form of depression. The reader is taken on this journey through the story's protagonist, 91-year-old Ptolemy Usher Grey.As a reader, I felt some of the frustration that the character did, all the while rooting for him to be able to come out on the other side. The sad truth is is that in life dementia may be prev...

Ever read a book that you don't want to end, but you can't stop reading it? Well, that was The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey for me. Mosley's writing is as wonderful as ever and there were some laugh-out-loud moments but this is a deeply moving book about Ptolemy Grey, an old man who had not fought against the dying of the light until the beautiful and very young Robyn comes into his life.Ptolemy is 92 and has become a recluse surrounded by the usual clutter of a hoarder which has made his apartment...