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.