I finally got around to reading the first of the many Walter Mosley’s novels on my shelf (discounting the short stories collection which I read earlier this year). The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is a very thoughtful but unusual story. It is the story of a 91-year-old Ptolemy Grey who is suffering from early-stage dementia. The book delves into his struggles with the disease and how it impacts his life. Ptolemy remembers random events that happened 8o years ago but struggles to remember how to lock his door or who is standing in front of him. The book and the story in it hold a special place in my heart because I have a parent who is a decade and a half younger than the protagonist and suffering from an even more advanced form of dementia. The impact on not just the sufferer but their loved ones is devastating.
Ptolemy’s mind like his apartment is becoming a jumble of the memories he has accumulated over his long life. The memories pop up every now and again and tell us about the life that Ptolemy has lived. The years have not dulled his longing for his long-dead wife, Sensia, and the colourful life she lived nor have they dulled the wisdom that was passed down my Coydog his childhood mentor who was lynched in the South, as was common back in the days. Past events are uppermost in Ptolemy’s mind to the extent that he is unable to function in the present – clean his apartment, eat properly or even clean himself properly. His saving grace is his grandnephew Reggie. Reggie comes around to take him grocery shopping and cash his retirement cheques. When Reggie is killed in a drive-by shooting, Ptolemy’s life takes a new turn – one that presents him with an opportunity to live more fully in the present while preparing him for a more intentional exit.
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey is a uniquely crafted book in the way it allows us to enter into the world of a nonagenarian. Ptolemy’s fears, inadequacies and longings are all contrasted with the life he has lived and the social injustices that have impacted that life. In The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey we see how the past, present and future are a constant flux in old age and how diminished memory is a drag in old age. This is a very thoughtful story.
3.6/5
