43 pages • 1 hour read
Steve LopezThe Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship
Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 2008A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Before You Read
Super Short Summary
In The Soloist by Steve Lopez, journalist Lopez meets Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless musician with schizophrenia, who once attended Juilliard. Lopez investigates Ayers's situation, building a friendship and helping him connect with resources like the Los Angeles Men's Project. Despite initial resistance, Ayers begins using a music studio and a new apartment, experiencing gradual progress amid ongoing challenges. The book includes sensitive topics on mental illness and homelessness.
Reviews & Readership
Review Roundup
Steve Lopez's The Soloist is praised for its heartfelt depiction of a unique friendship and its compassionate exploration of homelessness and mental illness. Reviewers appreciate Lopez's engaging narrative and empathetic portrayal, though some critique the book's pace and occasional predictability. Overall, it effectively highlights the transformative power of music and human connection.
Who Should Read The Soloist?
A reader who appreciates profound human stories with themes of friendship, music, and mental illness would enjoy Steve Lopez’s The Soloist. Fans of A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar and Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl will find similar depth and emotional resonance.
RecommendedReading Age
16+yearsBook Details
Values/Ideas: Loyalty & Betrayal
Mental Illness