Author: Steve Lopez
Nominated By : MaryEl Hansen
non-fiction
Review From:
Good Reads
Scurrying back to his office one day, Lopez, a columnist for the L.A. Times,
is stopped short by the ethereal strains of a violin. Searching for the
sound, he spots a homeless man coaxing those beautiful sounds from a
battered two-string violin. When the man finishes, Lopez compliments him
briefly and rushes off to write about his newfound subject, Nathaniel Ayers,
the homeless violinist. Over the next few days, Lopez discovers that
Nathaniel was once a promising classical bass student at Juilliard, but that
various pressures—including being one of a few African-American students
and mounting schizophrenia—caused him to drop out. Enlisting the help of
doctors, mental health professionals and professional musicians, Lopez
attempts to help Nathaniel move off Skid Row, regain his dignity, develop
his musical talent and free himself of the demons induced by the
schizophrenia (at one point, Lopez arranges to have Ayers take cello lessons
with a cellist from the L.A. Symphony). Throughout, Lopez endures
disappointments and setbacks with Nathaniel's case, questions his own
motives for helping his friend and acknowledges that Nathaniel has taught
him about courage and humanity. With self-effacing humor, fast-paced yet
elegant prose and unsparing honesty, Lopez tells an inspiring story of
heartbreak and hope.
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