Character Profile: Why No More?

This book being based on a true story made the characters lack imagination, which is something I don’t enjoy. When you can picture a character and make them your own it’s something that can make a book even better, and in this book there is no chance to do that. Also the book is limited in main characters, only giving useful information about two of the main character Steve and Nathaniel. The book’s main focus however was on Nathaniel having lots of Background information on him, because Steve who wrote the book also has been looking into his past since he met Nathaniel. In my opinion Steve really should have taken more time to tell the reader about himself since he was the character who’s mind you really got to see into, yet you learnt virtually nothing about his past. Also the only real main characters in the book were Steve and Nathaniel. It doesn’t follow anybody else close enough to consider them an important role in the book. It’s a story of how friendship can change what sometimes seems impossible. For the reasons above I couldn’t give profiles for more characters because nobody was important enough, and also not enough information was given about anybody else.

Character Profile: Steve Lopez

Name: Lopez, Steve
Date of Birth: 1953, N/A
Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California
Ethnicity: Caucasian/Latin American

Background Information: Steve Lopez didn’t talk much about his personal life previous to meeting Nathaniel. His childhood was not brought up in the book except a few sentences about being raised in Los Angeles. However his past jobs were brought up having written for Time, Life, Entertainment Weekly, and Sports Illustrated. Now he works at L.A. Times, where he started the column about Nathaniel. He has a wife named Alison and a young daughter named Caroline, who was only 2 years-old when Steve first met Nathaniel. Besides these small facts brought up in the book he didn’t really tell the reader much about his background.

Characteristics: Steve is a very nice man, which is easy to say but he shows in the book how genuinely nice he actually is. He befriended a homeless man, who he discovered has a mental illness and still remains his friend trying to help him get his life together. He’s tolerant, many times in the book he’s put up against aggravating obstacles and still remains remotely calm and never over reacts. That’s to me is a strong trait to have, patients he said is something he never thought he’d contain but it really shows in the book that he must in order to put up with Nathaniel. Steve is a loving father and husband, who when not working or helping Nathaniel is always enjoying time with his family. 

Character Profile: Nathaniel Anthony Ayers

Name: Ayers, Nathaniel Anthony
Date of Birth: January 22nd, 1951
Place of Birth: Cleveland, Ohio
Ethnicity: African-American

Background Information: Nathaniel lived with his family in Cleveland, where eventually his father left to live in Los Angeles, California. He then became focused on music and was considered musically gifted, being able to play many instruments beautifully. During a time where race was becoming a large scale issue, he spent all of his time practicing on his double bass. Getting into music schools and still practicing getter better and better he finally auditioned to the famous Julliard and got in. However on his second year there he had a mental break down, and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. He was then institutionalized after having public outbursts and with the fall of mental hospitals, was put to the streets.

Characteristics: Nathaniel at first was a homeless street musician, with the appearance of any homeless person on the street. Wearing dirty clothes that don’t match, but playing beautiful music on a violin with two strings. He’s a very kind, well mannered person throughout the novel, however he has dramatic mood swings where he will get very anger and even violent towards people. He’s stubborn and ignorant to anybodies ideas but his own. But the point of this book was helping to change him, so he became more and more trustful of others further in the book.

The Soloist: Book Review

The book "The Soloist" was a book about a homeless street musician who suffers from schizophrenia, yet plays the violin with incredible talent. He is discovered by an L.A. Times columnist who wants to learn about his story, which turns out to be an amazing discovery. I feel that this novel is more aimed towards an older reader, not because of complex topics or a wide vocabulary, but because it loads you with lots of information and takes a long time until something exciting takes place. The book is separated in to Three Parts, the first being introduction where the main characters are introduced and the theme of the book is roughly explained. Part two is more of following the main topic in some parts but basically is loading you with information about the "cause" they’re working hard on, to end the horrible living conditions for mentally ill homeless people who have nowhere to go except the streets. While reading part two there was many times I wanted to put the book down and end my misery, but reading through all the boring stuff a some times was worth it. Nathaniel’s life and his outburts of rage were interesting. Part three is obviously the conclusion, which doesn’t seem to really end the book. As you may know by now the book (which is a true story) is being turned into a movie, so hopefully they make the movie more exciting than at times a bore. I give this book 4 out of 5 bravo’s.

The Soloist: Chapter 29-End

Nathaniel’s sister Jennifer finally comes to Los Angeles to visit her brother and also attend a court appearance in order to take over his financial affairs. Steve drivers her around to see places where Nathaniel would sleep and play music, also showing her famous tourist sites. Also Nathaniel finally gets to meet a musician who he deeply admires, Mr.Yo-Yo Ma. While talking to Yo-Yo he is completely overwhelmed, and having Yo-Yo let Nathaniel play his cello makes him even more ecstatic. Towards the end of these chapters Nathaniel gets a suprise from Steve and Ben Hong, the music studio which Steve promised him was now done and filled with new instruments such as an upright piano and bass. He was as excited or even more excited than a child at Christmas. After that Mr. Hong invited Nathaniel to see him preform at Disney Hall, which Nathaniel deeply enjoyed. Once the concert ends and they leave he tells how we would love to join an orchestra and says he’s determined to play concerts, he never wants the concert to end.

The Soloist: Chapter 26-28

Steve decided to visit Julliard in New York to walk the halls which his friend walked thirty years before him. While there he looked into student files to see Nathaniel’s marks, all A’s his first year. However during his second year his marks begin to drop, even failing some classes. His mental illness was affecting him greatly, but playing music was the only time he was sane. He had to play in front of three judges in order to keep his scholarship and even with his illness he managed to keep the scholarship, only to be sent to Belleview in a straight jacket. However the most climatic part of the book so far was in these chapters, when Nathaniel turns on Steve for the first time. Nathaniel threatens Steve telling him “LEAVE NOW, AND DON’T COME BACK OR I’LL KILL YOU!”, also cursing and constantly threatening to kill Steve. This made him really look at everything he’s done for Nathaniel over the past year and a half. So he left him alone for awhile and eventually biked to the tunnel where Nathaniel told him how he couldn’t believe he said those things. This chapter was to me the climax of the book, nothing can beat this.

The Soloist: Part 3, Chapter 22-25

Part three seems to be the conclusion of the book in some ways, but in others it seems that new problems are coming up. Steve finally realizes that Nathaniel has never visited his house in fear of leaving his cart. So Steve convinces him to leave it at his apartment until he gets back, it took awhile to bring him around to the idea though. Meeting Steve’s wife and two year old daughter while visiting, and also while there he talked to his sister Jennifer on the phone for the first time in thirty years. Nathaniel now lives in his apartment and sleeps there every night, solving the sleeping on the streets situation. However he now seems more enraged with clients at Lamp, if they are smoking he will verbally attack them, and get aggressive. Steve wonder’s what he can do to help fix this, maybe by giving him something to do during the day. So he comes up with the idea to build a music studio for Nathaniel.

The Soloist: Chapter 18-21

These I found to be the most interesting chapters so far, having the most dramatic changes in Nathaniel’s thirty year routine. Since the start of the book he’s been very cautious and ignorant to the idea of people helping him, and also living indoors. The starting of chapter eighteen Steve fly’s to Las Vegas to a retirement home to meet Nathaniel’s Father, Nathaniel Ayers Sr. He interviews him and realizes how his father really never paid attention to his son, and it showed in every question he answered. However when asked what he would like his son to know he said “That I miss him, and I’m proud of him”. Next Nathaniel started to trust people a bit more, and also take small risks instead of being over cautious. He showed this by allowing his cart to be left in his apartment while he went to print off music sheets, something he would have never done when Steve first met him. The thing that was most important in these chapters however was the fact that Nathaniel was finally sleeping in his apartment, and is no longer stuck up in the way that he will never agree to sleep in it. He even signed a lease with no hesitation saying he will sleep in his apartment at least three times a week, which he has.

The Soloist: Chapter 17

I chose to do this chapter individually because it starts and ends with Nathaniel’s first lesson with Snyder. However half way through the chapter a sort of flashback type thing happens. Steve explains it but he fused it as a flashback to one of Nathaniel’s teacher who had to deal with him when he was first started to have outbursts. The teacher’s name was Gary Karr, and he noticed that the outburst seemed to be because of a mental illness, not just because of what Nathaniel said was racially motivated attitude. Once the topic switches over the lesson again, it tells how impressed Snyder was with Nathaniel’s playing, and even thinks he might be a musical genius. At the end of the lesson Snyder tries to convince him to keep having lessons in the apartment and in a way gets through to him. Nathaniel brought up how he thinks that every criminal will walk through the door and steal everything he has, and how he prefers the tunnel to play under. But Snyder just tells him “Think of this as a clean, quite tunnel”.

The Soloist: Chapter 15-16

In these chapters the book went from Steve trying to convince Nathaniel to use an apartment building for music lessons, to a whole chapter about his childhood. The apartment that Steve is trying to get him to move into overlooks the Lamps garden, which is a beautiful quite garden that is rich with trees and the sound of birds singing. Although Nathaniel is still stubborn to the idea of living inside, he agrees to take lessons from offering cellist player for the Los Angeles Philharmonics Peter Snyder, whom he met in the Disney Hall. Next thing I knew the topic quickly changed to Nathaniel’s childhood, from being in a loving family who believed there children should be exposed to the arts, to having his father leave and moving in with his mother’s new husband with his siblings. The chapter showed how he changed from sad that everything changed to adulthood, realizing that he shouldn’t be sad. Eventually he found music again and devoted himself to it one hundred percent. 

The Soloist: Part 2 (Chapter 13)

So you know, this book is separated into three parts, and it seems to be part one is information so you have an understanding of the situation they are trying to embrace and also the introduction to story. I will touch more on this in my overall review of the book. During these chapters the book is totally steered towards the poverty and problems faced in Skid Row. I chose to cover just these two chapters because it’s when the mayor asks Steve if he can come with him to Skid Row to live it first hand. The mayor sees what horrific problems are faced only a block away from the Town Hall, such as the many crack heads, prostitution, and unsanitary living conditions. The mayor then tells Steve he had no idea it was this bad, and guarantees 50 million dollars to Skid Row to fix housing problems and to clean up the streets. However Steve is happy the mayor wishes to do this, but knows it won't help his friend Nathaniel.

The Soloist: Chapter 9-12

The book has sort of gone off the topic of Nathaniel's life and moved towards loading you with information about the "cause". In this case the cause being mentally ill people living in poverty on the streets of Los Angeles, Skid Row in particular. These chapters were very long and touched on may things as well as keeping a steady flow of information about what is going on with Nathaniel, it was confusing to having so much thrown at you when your reading. Steve finally got Nathaniel to stop sleeping on the streets as much, by getting people from Lamp (center for the mentally ill) so he can have a bed and even shower. However the main topic of these chapters which made them so long was Nathaniel’s first visit to the Disney Hall, to which he had made a small stage on the streets when Steve found him that was called “Little Disney Hall”. He had always wanted to go there and when he did Steve noticed that Nathaniel could socialize with anyone in the building about music, as if he has been one of them and never on the streets. 

The Soloist: Chapter 3-8

Getting past the introduction of the main two characters (Steve and Nathaniel) chapter 3 started to get into more of the background information of Nathaniel’s life. It touches on the schools he went to, along with people who knew him better than anyone else. Steve tells about his family life and about his mental illness, how the pressures of Julliard had effected him. These chapters were interesting because of learning about his early life and also about his illness, Steve talking about things Nathaniel did in Julliard when he first started having hallucinations. Besides looking into Nathaniel’s life more, during these chapters Steve ended up getting Nathaniel all new instruments, new violins and cellos. These new instruments made Nathaniel ecstatic, only having a very old violin with two strings on it to begin with. These chapters also show how bizarre Nathaniel can be at times, still very smart but at times so stubborn he gets upset and looses touch with reality. 

He Has The World On Two Strings

Steve Lopez, L.A. Times

March, 25^th, 2009.

To the naked eye they're just a lost soul on the streets, but have you ever gotten to know about them and their story? Nathaniel Anthony Ayers is a homeless musician on the streets of Los Angeles, to some he may look like just another bum on the street, but to me he's an extraordinary and poetic musician.

The first time meeting Nathaniel was because of his astonishing musical talents, playing in places ravaged by the noise of street cars and sirens yet having unearthly concentration. Just that was impressive, but being able to play such beautiful music on a broken old violin with two strings is something else.

Talking to Nathaniel at first you could tell he seemed suspicious of me, still very kind but almost cautious as if I might be his imagination fooling him. After listening to him you could tell he wasn’t mentally fit, having a difficult time keeping his thoughts from reality. Over a few weeks and contacting relatives I found out some interesting things, one thing in particular came as a large surprise.

Nathaniel was born in Cleveland, Ohio.  Went to high school at the Cleveland Settlement School, afterwards he won a scholarship to the music school at Ohio University. Later flew to New York for an audition to get into Julliard, which he became a student for a few years.

In the fall of 1972, on his third year at Julliard Nathaniel started suffering from confusion, anxiety, and hallucinations. Having made many public scenes Ayers was soon taken to Belleview Psychiatric Hospital, and was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia which forever changed his life.

Nathaniel told me when we were talking one day that “If you want to talk to somebody that knows me best, you should call Harry Barnoff”.

Harry Barnoff was Nathaniel’s music teacher who told young Ayers that “you will have to stop slacking and practice more to make it to such high class schools as Julliard”.

“Next thing I knew… he got a scholarship” said Barn off about after Nathaniel’s audition.

“He had the talent, that’s for sure” said Homer Mensch a bass teacher who still teaches at Julliard.

The Real Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers

Knowing that this book is based on a true story, it made me wonder just who exactly Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Anthony Ayers are. Looking through video’s I found one about how Steve gave Nathaniel an award because of everything that has happened over the years with the articles, book, and even new movie. The award was given to him on Beethoven’s birthday, him being one of Nathaniel’s favorite composers.

Actually seeing and hearing Nathaniel play in this video is what really made me want to have it on my blog. While reading the book its always describing how well he can play but I have never gotten to actually hear him until now. Also you get to see what the real Steve Lopez looks like, him being the narrator in the novel you really get inside his head so it was nice to see the actual person who’s thoughts your reading.

Introduction

The novel "The Soloist" by Steve Lopez, is a true story about how a middle-aged journalist noticed a homeless man playing classical music on the streets of L.A. and heard how well he was playing with only a two stringed violin that was in questionable shape. Knowing that everyone has there own story, he decides he wants to learn more about this "Violin Man" and starts talking to him and trying to learn about his story. So far i have only read up to chapter 3 in this book but already Steve has discovered many things about this homeless man (Nathaniel Anthony Ayers) that nobody would have guessed by simply looking at him. Steve being the narrator in this book, speaks of things in his perspective. So it's him telling the story about how he met this troubled man and explains to us what he was thinking during the novel. So far this book has been interesting and descriptive, really allows the reader to wonder about this mans past and also his future.

"The Soloist" Movie

This is the trailer for the new movie based around Steve Lopez's incounter with this homeless musician. The movie is going to be in theatres on April 24th, 2009 and has a cast of such celebrities as Jamie Foxx and Robert Downie Jr. Just by watching the trailer I can tell that they have followed the book closely making sure everything was covered. It's sometimes a dream crusher when movies are made from books, having built up your own image of your favourite characters or favourite part in the book. However for me having started reading this book after already knowing about the movie, it took away some of the personal imagination and gave me what the characters look like. All in all this looks like a well made movie and as far as i know it follows the book fairly closely, it should be able to satisfy all the viewers that have previously read this novel.