About this title: A moving story of a remarkable bond between a journalist in search of a story and a homeless, classically trained musician, "The Soloist" is soon to be a major motion picture from DreamWorks, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey, Jr.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: New. 0399155066 SATISFACTION GUARANTEED! NEW Book! May have remainder mark. Most orders ship within 1 BUSINESS DAY with ORDER CONFIRMATION. Great Book at a Great Value! read more
Description: Very Good. 042522600X 26103 PB: spine smooth, text clean, cover has slight shelf wear-allow up to 21 business days for standard USPS media m ai l. wt1lbpf. read more
Edition: First edition.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780425226001ISBN:042522600X
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 289 p. Audience: General/trade. first paperback printing, complete number line, like new no creasing or writing read more
Edition: 1st Paperback
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Berkeley Books, New York
Date Published: 2008
ISBN-13:9780425226001ISBN:042522600X
Description: Very Good. No Dust Jacket. 8. Trade paper. Minor edgewear. (Misc Biog "L"-black/white & orange letters) "This is the true story of journalist Steve Lopez's discovery of Nathaniel Ayers, a former classical bass student at Julliard, playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles' Skid Row. Deeply affected by the beauty of Ayers's music, Lopez took it upon himself to change the prodigy's life-only to find that their relationship has had a profound change on his own life. " read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Berkley Trade
Date Published: 2008-09-30
ISBN-13:9780425226001ISBN:042522600X
Description: Very Good. Mild bumping and wear from handling; Mild rubbing to covers and spine; Mild tanning to page edges; Previous owner's address label on front cover inside; ** Free USPS tracking and confirm on US orders ** read more
Description: Very good. Hard cover book. Very gently read. Dust jacket has light wear. Owners name on the front fly leaf, all other pages are fresh and clean. Spine is straight. read more
Description: Good. Used copy-Because of our high volume, we can not accurately describe each book, so we list the MINIMUM condition you can expect; most are better than the condition listed. read more
"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 belongings heaped in a shopping cart,or observed a family huddled in a makeshift dwelling under a bridge,or visited a shelter where strangers simply exist side by side,unable to rest, keeping close watch around them,will emerge with a much different view of mental illness and homelessness. The saving grace in this book is not that Nathaniel Ayers was "cured," but that he found a community of musicians, friends, and fans who understand him, respect him, care for him and love him regardless of the ongoing challenges."
"A columnist for the Los Angeles Times comes across a homeless man playing a two-stringed violin, listens for a minute, and makes a note that he might be a good subject for an interesting column or two. Thus begins an unlikely and difficult friendship between Mr. Lopez and Mr. Ayers, an African-American who went to Juilliard where he started on his road to self-destruction. The story is told with a great deal of heart but not cloying sentimentality.
Mr. Lopez learns about music, about mental illness, and how the best intentions cannot always bring the results we want. Along the way, he also learns a great deal about himself. Mr. Ayers is intelligent, very likable in his good times, incomprehensible and sometimes cruel when his darker side takes over, and always someone to cheer for, no matter how little we can understand his life and his mind. He lives his passion for music, and lives courageously in a world most of us will never know. A very good read."
"I liked the film, and would recommend it, but the book is infinitely deeper and more interesting. As a beginning mental health professional dealing with a difficult population, everything Lopez says rings true. We want so much for there to be a breakthrough, a "solution," even a linear progression, but the best we can hope for is a connection that may lead to one and a half steps forward and no more than half a step back (and, often, it's really 3 steps back but sometimes 1 or 2 steps forward). Lopez isn't a mental health professional, or amateur, but a reporter who makes an unlikely friend, which changes his life, the friend's life and, to some extent, the life of Skid Row on Los Angeles. Nothing like the power of the media when it works.....
For those who haven't seen the movie or read teh book, the friend Lopez makes is a musician with schizophrenia who lives on the street. Once a student at Juilliard, he is now in his 50s, still playing on whatever instruments he can find, still defined by his passion for music. Few of us, however much we may have in the way of material goods or so-called sanity, have such a passion or a will to continue to do what we love. Lopez makes the point that in some ways Nathaniel's life is simpler: money has no place in his life. But he does have a struggle for survival, both internal and external, that most of us manage to miss.
This should've been subtitled "The Redemptive Power of Passion," but, in any case, it's a fascinating, inspiring, heartbreaking read, and I think it would be impossible to come away from this not wanting updates on Nathaniel."
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