The Soloist
As seen:
By Steve Lopez
avg rating
1 review
When Steve Lopez sees Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles’s skid row, he finds it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years ago, Ayers was a promising student at Julliard – ambitious, charming and hugely talented – until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is homeless and paranoid, but glimmers of his earlier brilliance are still there.
Over time, the two men form a bond, and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayer’s life. For each triumph, there is a crashing disappointment, yet neither man gives up. Their friendship will changes both of their lives in ways that neither could predict. Poignant and ultimately hopeful, The Soloist is a beautifully told story of devotion in the face of seemingly unbeatable challenges, and the inspiring power of music.
TweetReviews
This novel proved to be not such a hit with the bookclub. We all agreed that it felt like a series of articles rather than a flowing novel. We also had the impression that a lot of the very complex issues dealt with in the book were only really skimmed over. There could have been a lot more depth to the book which would have engrossed us a little more.
I'm not sure if this was the librarians in the group but we thought that having an appendix with fulltext or references of the actual articles which created the base for this novel would have been interesting.
Most of the group felt very bored with the novel and would not recommend it to a friend. Overall we gave the book an average of 4 out of 10.
