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Title details for The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey by Walter Mosley - Available

The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

by Walter Mosley
Dominic Hoffman
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
A masterful, moving novel about age, memory, and family from one of the literary icons of our time.
Coming in March 2022 from Apple Plus , a six-part series starring Samuel L. Jackson
Ptolemy Grey is ninety-one years old and has been all but forgotten-by his family, his friends, even himself-as he sinks into a lonely dementia. His grand-nephew, Ptolemy's only connection to the outside world, was recently killed in a drive-by shooting, and Ptolemy is too suspicious of anyone else to allow them into his life. until he meets Robyn, his niece's seventeen-year-old lodger and the only one willing to take care of an old man at his grandnephew's funeral.
But Robyn will not tolerate Ptolemy's hermitlike existence. She challenges him to interact more with the world around him, and he grasps more firmly onto his disappearing consciousness. However, this new activity pushes Ptolemy into the fold of a doctor touting an experimental drug that guarantees Ptolemy won't live to see age ninety- two but that he'll spend his last days in feverish vigor and clarity. With his mind clear, what Ptolemy finds-in his own past, in his own apartment, and in the circumstances surrounding his grand-nephew's death-is shocking enough to spur an old man to action, and to ensure a legacy that no one will forget.
In The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, Mosley captures the compromised state of his protagonist's mind with profound sensitivity and insight, and creates an unforgettable pair of characters at the center of a novel that is sure to become a true contemporary classic.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 16, 2010

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780307875846
      • File size: 234974 KB
      • Duration: 08:09:31

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from September 13, 2010
      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.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Walter Mosley takes a daring leap by telling the story of a 91-year-old man who makes a figurative deal with the devil, trading the last few years of his life for just a few weeks of mental clarity. Unlike most of Mosley's young, tough African-American heroes, Ptolemy is old and infirm through most of the book. Dominic Hoffman is nothing short of brilliant in bringing Ptolemy's story to life. With a combination of standard English and ghetto slang, he creates memorable characters--good, evil, and just plain selfish--and allows the listener to glimpse into their souls. As Neil Young said, "It's better to burn out than to fade away," and Ptolemy is not going to go befuddled into that dark night--not when he has unfinished business. M.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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