The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music
Steve Lopez. Blackstone Audiobooks, $19.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-1-4332-1522-3
Perhaps the fact that William Hughes is an accomplished musician and a political science professor allows him to slip so easily into both the voice of free-associating, schizophrenic, homeless musical prodigy Nathaniel Ayers, and the more professional voice of LA Times columnist Lopez. Lopez stumbles across Ayers playing his violin on the street a few blocks from his downtown office and writes a column about him that piques the public's interest. This begins an inspiring tale of a friendship rife with triumphs, disappointments, and human kindness. Hughes reads Lopez's narration with the casual authority of one telling his own story. When the dialogue is Ayers', Hughes makes a subtle but effective vocal shift to make him sound more loose and free, but also more anxious. A Putnam hardcover (Reviews, Feb. 18).
Details
Reviewed on: 04/28/2008
Genre: Nonfiction
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-4332-1519-3
Analog Audio Cassette - 978-1-4332-1521-6
Hardcover - 391 pages - 978-1-4104-0876-1
Hardcover - 273 pages - 978-0-399-15506-2
MP3 CD - 978-1-4332-1523-0
Paperback - 304 pages - 978-0-425-23836-3
Paperback - 289 pages - 978-0-425-22600-1