By Steve Lopez - The Soloist: A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music (3/18/08)

WRITTEN WITH ELEGANT SPARENESS, THERE ARE NO PUNCHES PULLED IN THIS PORTRAIT OF NATHANIEL AYERS, BUT GOD DO YOU ROOT AND HOPE AND PRAY FOR HIM. MANY BOOKS CLAIM TO BE ABOUT REDEMPTION AND THE AFFIRMATION OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT, BUT THAT ARE FALSE GOSPELS. THE SOLOIST IS SINGULARLY AND UNFORGETTABLY TRUE IN ALL RESPECTS. STEVE LOPEZ IS A TERRIFIC REPORTER. THE SOLOIST IS POIGNANT, WISE, AND FUNNY. STEVE LOPEZ PUTS A FACE ON MENTAL ILLNESS AND IN DOING SO SHOWS US HOW FRIENDSHIP CAN ALTER THE LIES OF BOTH THE DISENFRANCHISED AND THOSE WHO REACH OUT TO THEM. THE SOLOIST IS A POIGNANT REMINDER THAT NO LIFE IS INSIGNIFICANT. AN UTTERLY COMPELLING TALE.