The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series)
The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music (Thorndike Press Large Print Nonfiction Series) Customer Review: Hear the Heart Strings of Humanity
Steve Lopez writes an eloquent, very personal story of a homeless, mentally ill man with a brilliant, talented past. It is totally by chance that Lopez meets Nathaniel Ayers along Skid Row in downtown LA. Captivated by the music Nathaniel plays on a beat-up violin that is missing two essential strings, Lopez steps over the threshold into a world very unlike his own.
As a reporter, Lopez’s style is rich, tactile and complete. We follow Nathaniel’s trail of breadcrumbs from humble beginnings in Cleveland to Julliard to the tunnel in LA where he sleeps.
Lopez’s visually evocative language creates a spell that shows us how the mentally ill are marginalized and along with him, we ride the magic carpet of great hopes for recovery and change and then plummet into the depths of Nathaniel’s delusional brain chemical mania.
All the while, Lopez allows us to experience his personal emotional struggle of managing a reporter’s tettering job, a wife, a two year old daughter and his commitment to helping Nathaniel, once a musical prodigy, now brought down by schizophrenia.
Poignant and touching, this book is a true story of people so real, you will wake from the page with music in your ears and in your heart.
Customer Review: The Soloist
The Soloist by Steve Lopez was such an excellent read. I related to the music side because I am a pianist and the mental illness side. I’ve never had Schizophrenia, but when feeling down I know how revitalizing music is. This was a warm, touching story that pulls you in and makes you care about Mr. Nathaniel Ayers. I could feel and understand his love for the music. I would like to know how he’s doing and what became of him. I have never felt that way after reading a story. The story just touches the humanity in me and I think in everyone who reads it.
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