The Soloist

Steve Lopez is a really good writer and has one of the most interesting jobs you can imagine. He wanders the streets of Los Angeles (he used to wander in Philly) looking for a good story. He found one such story when he came across a homeless man playing a two-string violin on Skid Row.

Lopez got more than he bargained for. He did some digging and found out that 30 years earlier, the violin player, Nathaniel Ayers, had been a child prodigy on the double bass. He was one of the few African-Americans admitted to Julliard, but at the age of 19 he had a breakdown and was later diagnosed with schizophrenia. Like a lot of mentally ill people, he ended up living on the street, but he never lost his passion for music. After Lopez ran his first story, readers who wanted to help began sending him violins and cellos to give to Ayers. Thus began an intense relationship between the two men as Lopez tried to get Ayers off the street, into treatment, and back into the world of music. He was only partially successful -- Ayers continued to refuse treatment because of earlier bad experiences but eventually did begin sleeping at the Lamp Community, a facility that provides housing and other services for homeless people with severe mental illness. But most importantly, Ayers re-connected with some of the world's top musicians, particularly those at the world-class Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The story of their friendship is truly inspiring. In my bookclub, we debated whether or not they could really be considered friends, since their relationship was so unbalanced, but I believe that friendships can take on a lot of different complexions and in this case, they truly care about each other and each of them benefits tremendously from the relationship. I also really admired Lopez's honesty in reporting the story. He didn't try to sugar coat anything and constantly questioned his own motives and actions. The story is complex and troubling, but important.