Until recently, I had never heard of prolific author Walter
Mosley before – a stunning omission since I found out he’s written over 50
books! His novel, The Last Days of
Ptolemy Grey, was chosen as our All-County Reads selection for this spring,
a book-centric event I always enjoy. I picked up a copy of the novel at the
library and read it before going to hear Mosley speak. I was blown away by this
powerful novel about family, aging, and memory.
As the novel opens, Ptolemy Grey is ninety-one years old. He
lives alone in a junk-filled, decrepit apartment and spends much of his time
mentally living in the past and afraid of a myriad of threats in the present.
Ptolemy is very isolated, except for his grandnephew, Reggie, who visits every
few days and accompanies him to the grocery store and bank. He’s very confused
when Reggie doesn’t come by for days and finally an unfamiliar teen boy shows
up at his door. He turns out to be Hilly, Ptolemy’s great-grandnephew, though
even after the boy explains this, Ptolemy remains confused.
Reggie, the one person Ptolemy trusts and relies on, has
died in a drive-by shooting. Ptolemy is even more confused than usual, as he
accompanies Hilly to Reggie’s funeral. Ptolemy has plenty of nieces and nephews
and other family members who seem familiar at the funeral, but their names and
relationships to him swim in and out of his understanding. Two things stand out
to him that day, though: Reggie’s two small children whose mother leaves the
funeral to be with her boyfriend and 17-year old Robyn, a friend of the family
who’s been staying at the house with Ptolemy’s grandniece since her own mother
died.
From that day on, Robyn and Ptolemy begin a unique and
powerful friendship. When Robyn takes Reggie’s place and comes to Ptolemy’s
apartment the next day to see if he needs anything, she’s not overwhelmed by
the mess like most people. Instead, she immediately begins to clean things up,
assuring Ptolemy that she won’t get rid of anything he wants to keep. He’s
suspicious at first and watches her carefully, but Robyn works hard, first
restoring Ptolemy’s bathroom to clean, working order and then tackling the rest
of the apartment over the next days and weeks. Through this process, Ptolemy
comes to trust Robyn. He knows he wants to help the orphaned Robyn somehow, as
well as Reggie’s young children, but things have a way of slipping in and out
of his mind.
Although the novel is written in the third-person, the
narration shows the inner workings of Ptolemy’s confused brain. He often drifts
back to the distant past, to his own childhood, when an uncle/family friend
named Coydog was both friend and mentor to Ptolemy (then known as L’il Pea),
passing along all kinds of wisdom to him that now comes back to him in bits and
pieces – and providing the reader with insight into Ptolemy’s earlier life. In
the present, Ptolemy is often afraid of his surroundings and the people around
him: scary Melinda, the drug addict who always asks him for money, as well as
anyone unfamiliar to him.
When Robyn takes Ptolemy to a doctor to try to help him with
his failing memory, he is presented with a unique opportunity that might
possibly give him a temporary glimpse into the sharp mind he used to have. There
are significant risks, but Ptolemy knows that there are important things he
must take care of while he still can…if only he could remember exactly what
they are.
This novel is moving and emotionally powerful in so many
ways: the insight into Ptolemy’s fading mind, the joyful friendship between him
and Robyn, the acute pain of growing old and becoming dependent. I couldn’t
help but think of my own father-in-law who is 90 years old and whom we recently
moved near us, and I wondered whether he is experiencing some of these same
powerful, painful changes as Ptolemy.
The Last Days of
Ptolemy Grey is a thoughtful drama about family, memory, and aging, but it
is also something of a fantasy about medical miracles that come with strings
attached, making you wonder what you would do in Ptolemy’s situation. Mosley
brings the characters and the settings to life in a very real way, through
dialogue, dialect, observations, and all the senses. His writing moved me
greatly, and I still find myself thinking about Ptolemy and his world, almost a
month after finishing the novel. I can’t wait to read more from Mosley.
277 pages, Riverhead Books
Look for my upcoming post on Walter Mosley’s excellent talk
for our All-County Reads program.