THE SOLOIST A Lost Dream, an Unlikely Friendship, and the Redemptive Power of Music

William Hughes's easy conversational style captures the heart of this memoir of the friendship between L.A. TIMES columnist Steve Lopez and homeless musician Nathaniel Ayers. Lopez discovers Ayers on Skid Row, not far from the city’s Beethoven statue, playing a two-string violin. Ayers was once a musical prodigy who played bass at Juilliard until schizophrenia loosened his grip on reality and a promising career. What begins as a good idea for a column becomes a transforming friendship for both men. Hughes hits no wrong notes in his narration. He is especially impressive in rendering emotions that run the gamut from wonder and awe at the power of music to Ayers's random profane outbursts when paranoia kicks in. A.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: NOVEMBER 2008]