Book Review: The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey

This book was suggested to me by a friend.  I had not heard of it, and probably would not have chosen it if someone hadn't suggested it.  I am, however, very happy that I read it. 

It is the story of 91-year old Ptolemy Grey.  He lives a very isolated life, alone in an apartment, with only the ghosts of his past talking to him throughout the day.  We learn that he is suffering from dementia, but at first I wondered if it was that or just the effects of loneliness.  I can only imagine that so many years of isolation would eventually lead to one having difficulty distinguishing between past and present.  Between memories and dreams.  Between reality and imagination.  Ptolemy Grey remembers so many things from his past, but is he remembering them accurately?

With the help of a young woman who eventually becomes his "adoptive daughter", Ptolemy is given a brief respite from the foggy world he has been living in for so many years.  He agrees to participate in a medical study where he takes medication to enhance his memory, but the side effect is that he will likely die from the medicine.  He takes the gamble.  His last chance to clearly remember his past, to grab the future for those he loves and set everything right before he dies. 

Given the chance, would I take the gamble?  I suppose it can be compared to a stage 4 cancer victim who takes the experimental drug to MAYBE have a few extra weeks with family rather than the drug that will keep him/her out of pain in the remaining days of life.  It's a last chance to set things right before the inevitable happens.  I think that must be what Ptolemy Grey was thinking.  He was, after all, 91-years old.  He knew that he was close to death anyway, and he made a choice to help his loved ones have a secure future.  Even if that choice meant dying possibly any day.  I can respect that decision.  Putting your family before yourself.  That is a scary thought, but one that parents make all the time.  Most parents would say they would do anything for their children, even trading their own lives for the life of their child.  I think that is what Ptolemy Grey did.  He traded his life for the life of his loved ones.  An admirable person.  And a good read.