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The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music Hardcover | Pages: 273 pages
Rating: 3.9 | 9136 Users | 1452 Reviews

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Original Title: The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
ISBN: 0399155066 (ISBN13: 9780399155062)
Edition Language: English
Literary Awards: PEN Center USA Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction

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"When Steve Lopez sees Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles' Skid Row, he finds it impossible to walk away. At first, he is drawn by the opportunity to crank out another column for the Los Angeles Times, just one more item on an ever-growing to-do list: "Violin Man."

But what Lopez begins to unearth about the mysterious street musician leaves an indelible impression." "More than thirty years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliard - ambitious, charming, and one of the few African-Americans - until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by a mental breakdown. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is alone, suspicious of everyone, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there."

From an impromptu concert of Beethoven's Eighth in the Second Street tunnel to a performance of Bach's Unaccompanied Cello Suites on Skid Row, the two men learn to communicate through Ayers's music.

The Soloist is a story about unwavering commitment, artistic devotion, and the transformative magic of music.

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Title:The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Author:Steve López
Book Format:Hardcover
Book Edition:Deluxe Edition
Pages:Pages: 273 pages
Published:April 17th 2008 by Putnam Adult (first published January 1st 2008)
Categories:Music. Autobiography. Memoir. Nonfiction. Biography. Mental Health. Mental Illness

Rating Containing Books The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Ratings: 3.9 From 9136 Users | 1452 Reviews

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There was a homeless guy that my dad let stay in our unfinished house when I was a kid-- Greg. He stacked up all the slate tiles neatly... and sliced apart the antique bannister poles. I fell once and he rushed over with a first aid kit and doused my knee with witch hazel and bandaged me up. Then he stole the radio and threatened to kill my dad with a baseball bat. After he got violent, cops came, and Greg didn't come back to the house. As a kid I was fascinated and terrified and curious, and

I had seen the movie without reading the book. The movie was very good; the book was excellent! I appreciated the author's writing style, honesty, and vulnerability as he told this true story. I had two key take-aways from reading this book: I have a new appreciation for and interest in classical music, and relationships change our brain chemistry. Steve Lopez's relationship with Nathaniel Ayer was complex and not easy, but it was a special and rich relationship for both of them. It actually

As another reviewer has pointed out, the story and movie has had plenty of publicity and I see no reason to tell it over again in my review. Debated on 3 or 4 stars. Gave up and settled on 4. The book was a struggle to listen to. An eye opener to the struggle of the homeless, especially how really bad the homeless plight was (and still is apparently) in Los Angeles. Steve Lopez calls Los Angeles the homeless capital of the USA in the book. Recently the current governor of California Gavin Newsom

3.5 Stars - There are some great things about this book that kept me interested and connected to the story, which is actually great. Mental illnesses became something I took a lot of interest in quite a few years ago. "The Soloist" deals with schizophrenia through the eyes of Steve Lopez, a journalist who meets Nathaniel, a musician that lives in the streets of the underworld of Los Angeles who ended up there after having been a Juilliard student because of his mental illness. The story of their

Interesting story told in a news reporter style. A story about a friendship between a newsman and a mentally ill gifted musician who lives on the streets near Skid Row in Los Angeles. Nathaniel Ayers was attending Julliard when his life was turned upside down by the onslaught of schizophrenia. He is forced to leave Julliard and ends up a home less bum. Steve Lopez discovers Nathanial and tries to help him. The relationship helps both of them, but is fraught with tensions and conflicts along the

I just finished this book and am having a hard time coming up with words to describe how I feel about it. Steve Lopez is a columnist for the LA Times who stumbles across a homeless man in a tunnel who is playing a two stringed violin. Mr. Lopez begins talking to the man, who obviously has a mental illness, and learns that he previously attended Juliard on a scholarship for the bass. Mr. Lopez leaves the meeting thinking that if this mans story checks out it would be an interesting column....and

This story could be straight out of fiction -- a seasoned journalist discovers a talented, homeless, mentally ill musician, befriends him, struggles to improve his quality of life, and finds him outlets for his talent. It's no Disney movie, though, and I give Lopez credit for acknowledging the three-dimensional aspects of this story. If the schizophrenic musician resists others' attempts to offer him housing, to what extent should his wishes be respected? Is it possible to eliminate the ego