The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Putnam Adult - Putnam Adult
Release date: 2008-04-17
Hardcover
Author: Steve Lopez
Individual Instrumentalists, Biography & Autobiography, Biography / Autobiography, Biography/Autobiography, Biography & Autobiography / Composers & Musicians, Composers & Musicians - General, Biography, California, Homeless Persons, Los Angeles, Skid row, United States, Violinists
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The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Date undefinedSteve Lopez has written a moving story about Nathaniel, a homeless man, once a student at Julliard School of music. Mental illness has over taken his life and robbed him of what could have been another famous performer of classical music.
Through Steve's articles in the LA Times, he opens a world to a stranger that he met on a street corner, living on Skid Row, and whose world revolves around nothing but music. Music takes Nathaniel into a mind of his own world that no one seems to understand.
Beethoven rules his life. Nathaniel receives an opportunity to meet Yo Yo Ma who attended Julliard the same time he attended classes before his breakdown. Yo Yo gives Nathaniel an opportunity to play his cello.
Many times Steve wants to give up on Nathaniel, but he perseveres and makes a break through. This book is moving and a whole new world opens to some of us that is unaware of of the struggles of mental health. You appreciate those who work hard to help change their lives and their world they live in.
The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Date undefinedA film version of Steve Lopez's chronicle of his friendship with homeless man Nathaniel Ayers, a gifted musician who briefly attended the Juilliard School before falling prey to schizophrenia, is about to be released. One wishes for its success, since the story the author tells is so compelling it needs more than he can give it.
This is not to denigrate the importance of Lopez' book. There is no doubt that he is a dedicated journalist and a man of more than usual sensitivity. While he tries to help Nathaniel, who despite his charm and talent is obviously a seriously ill man, he worries about compromising his journalistic integrity, of neglecting his family. The Soloist paints a disturbing portrait of the inadequacy of America's safety net for those who cannot cope with modern life due to mental illness, and offers vivid thumbnail sketches of some of the people at the front lines of the battle.
Still, in the end this reader was slightly disappointed, though loath to admit it. Though a few scenes have a heart-wrenching immediacy--a meeting between Nathaniel and famed cellist Yo-yo Ma, for example--too often Lopez' workmanlike prose falls short of truly bringing either the story or the frequently hellish milieu in which it is set to life. Nevertheless, enough of a sense of the unique, arduous but rewarding relationship that exists between these two people comes through that The Soloist is still well worth reading. I'm eager to see the film version too.
The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Date undefinedI scrambled to read Steve Lopez' book prior to the upcoming movie release. I was disappointed to hear that Dreamworks had pushed it back to Spring 2009. "Budget reasons" were supposedly behind this very late move - so late, in fact, that I'm seeing ads all over and magazine story tie-ins left and right. Looks like the studio was more than halfway pregnant for a Fall release. It's got to be a kick in the nether regions for Robert Downey Jr., who was hearing very strong Oscar buzz for his portrayal of writer Lopez.
None of that, however, gets in the way of my admiration for this excellent book and its protagonists. What started out as a thought for a topic for a couple of columns for Lopez evolved into a true and lasting friendship, despite significant challenges and roadblocks along the way. It would have been easy for Lopez to move on to other things. Instead, he demonstrates a depth of character not shared by most of us. His commitment to Nathaniel Ayers is exemplary. Likewise, Mr. Ayers perseveres and reveals himself to be both a gifted musician and - when at peace with himself - a good friend.
Lopez shows the reader that there's no happy, shiny ending to his friend's affliction. That doesn't mean there aren't small victories seeded in the disappointments and frustrations. The author's talent is the he makes us readers revel in those advancements and commiserate in the sorrow. You want the best for the both of them.
