Books : The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
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by: Steve Lopez
List Price: $25.95Amazon.com's Price: $17.13 You Save: $8.82 (34%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 787.2092
EAN: 9780399155062
ISBN: 0399155066
Label: Putnam Adult
Manufacturer: Putnam Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 288
Publication Date: April 17, 2008
Publisher: Putnam Adult
Sales Rank: 21750
Studio: Putnam Adult
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Editorial Review:
Product Description:
A moving story of the remarkable bond between a journalist in search of a story and a homeless, classically trained musician—destined to be a major motion picture from DreamWorks, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr.
When Steve Lopez saw Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles’ skid row, he found it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliard—ambitious, charming, and also one of the few African-Americans—until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is homeless, paranoid, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there.
Over time, Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers form a bond, and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayers’s life. Lopez collects donated violins, a cello, even a stand-up bass and a piano; he takes Ayers to Walt Disney Concert Hall and helps him move indoors. For each triumph, there is a crashing disappointment, yet neither man gives up. In the process of trying to save Ayers, Lopez finds that his own life is changing, and his sense of what one man can accomplish in the lives of others begins to expand in new ways.
Poignant and ultimately hopeful, The Soloist is a beautifully told story of friendship and the redeeming power of music.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - The Soloist: A Lost Dream....Steve Lopez
Very well written. My husband and I have both read this book. I have given two copies of this book as gifts and the recipients have also expressed their appreciation for the book. The two gift recipients, my husband and I are are musicians and have a deep appreciation for the depth of this story.
Rating: - A remarkable tale of mental illness and friendship
A long title gives a good summary of what's inside. Lopez, a long time columnist for the LA Times, happens upon a homeless man playing a violin with only two strings, and is moved by the man's obvious talent. Thinking this man's story could be a good column, Lopez embarks on a journey to uncover the soloist's identity, and in the process, becomes a friend to Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, who once studied at the Cleveland Music Settlement and Juilliard, only to be derailed by the onset of schizophrenia ... Read More
Rating: - Realistic Portrayal of the Realities
I heard about this book in the NAMI "Advocate" magazine. I was NOT disappointed a bit--this is a realistic portrayal of life as a supporter of an individual living with chronic and persistent mental illness. I've been a professional in mental health services for more than 12 years, and one of the most difficult realizations to come to is that you can't do it for someone else...you can't wish for it hard enough, run interference long enough, or care enough to "fix" what we as loved ones perceive as "problems." ... Read More
Rating:  - May work for a Newspaper human interest piece...
Not so much in book form -- On second thought, I take that back, I think it could be a very compelling story, that's undoubtedly why they're making a movie out of it, right? -- BUT, personally I didn't find Mr. Lopez to be a very compelling writer.
I'm sure plenty other people have gone over all the odds and ends of the book, and I'm sure it's safe to say they did it better than I could do -- but the fact of the matter is(at least in my case), here is this very weighty subject matter and the writing ... Read More
Rating: - Moolight Sonatas, Madness, and Mercy.......
The Soloist is a poignant journey into the harsh world of a brilliant and talented homeless musician whose story will pluck at your heartstrings.
Through the very compassionate and capable voice of Steve Lopez, the reader is led into a world of stunning surprises and shocking insights into the very real domain of mental illness and homelessness where doors are opened and scenes displayed with unrefined veracity.
This novel seems to beg to be read as a clever work of fiction...however ... Read More
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