Declare Books In Favor Of The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
| 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 |
Steve López
Hardcover | Pages: 273 pages Rating: 3.9 | 9136 Users | 1452 Reviews
Point Epithetical Books The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
| Title | : | The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music |
| Author | : | Steve López |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary 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 |
Relation Conducive To Books The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
"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.
Rating Epithetical Books The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Ratings: 3.9 From 9136 Users | 1452 ReviewsAssessment Epithetical Books The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
This is soooooo good. Its so heartwarming, I guess you can say. Haha. Its a book for everyoneeeeThis book is not a novel, though that is unclear from the cover of my edition. It is a true story based on investigative journalism, which eventually tells more about the author than the subject. So I tried not to judge it by the standards of a novel.The trouble is that Lopez is a journalist, and has been for decades. So he writes like one. The tropes of newsmen get old fast, which is Ok in newspapers b/c you're probably only reading one article anyway. But it gets pretty tiresome in a long book
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
Thank you Steve Lopez for reserving us a front row seat at this symphony in the big city in "The Soloist." The story was both eye-opening and heartbreaking, a score of stunning human crescendo and stark morendo, blowing the doors wide open on the stigmas and misconceptions associated with mental illness and homelessness. We are glad that Nathaniel Ayers has emerged from the shadows and that his story has been told. Anyone who has ever passed a person sleeping in a doorway or with their
"The Soloist"'s story is so well-known at this point -- grizzled newspaper columnist befriends once-promising classical musician whose schizophrenia has left him long homeless -- that there's little need for me to recount it here. Steve Lopez's writing is less that of a top-tier author and more that of a solid reporter (today's poetry is tomorrow's birdcage liner), but the true story is well-served by Lopez's relatively unadorned and straightforward prose.While Nathaniel Anthony Ayers's story
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
This is one of my favorite music-centered books I've read in my life. Lopez perfectly blends the dizzying world of schizophrenia with the counter-dizzying world of music in a story that will charm musicians and laymen everywhere. Being a real person, Nathaniel was not just dialogue and description on the page, but he walked and spoke and pushed his cart through the room as I read. Lopez's wording was straightforward, journalistic, and simultaneously deeply personal. Although I have never seen
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