The Soloist

The Soloist by Steve Lopez is his memoir of his times with Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man who has an amazing musical talent. Lopez is a columnist for the LA Times when he meets Ayers playing a broken violin on the streets of LA. Ayers pushes a full shopping cart around LA and practices his violin when he can. After some research, Lopez discovers that Ayers was a student at Juliard before being diagnosed with schizophrenia. Lopez begins a friendship with Ayers which is challenging and difficult most of the time, but very rewarding as well. Read this book if you like memoirs, if you like stories of friendship, or if you're interested in the film. I give it an 8 out of 10.