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Most Helpful Reviews
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Liked It “A friend gave me this book, as it was a book that her community of Thousand Oaks, Ca had selected as a group read. I live in Seattle, but it didn't matter. I got around to reading this book about a 50ish Julliard-trained musician who had lost touch with his family and reality. His mental...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “It's good, but I just can't get through it....maybe I have heard too much about it already....maybe I'll just watch the movie....I know, that's a cop-out.” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“A friend gave me this book, as it was a book that her community of Thousand Oaks, Ca had selected as a group read. I live in Seattle, but it didn't matter. I got around to reading this book about a 50ish Julliard-trained musician who had lost touch with his family and reality. His mental illness had driven him to the streets of L.A. where a newspaper columnist happened upon him and could tell with even his untrained ear that the homeless man was pulling out some pretty amazing sounds from a two-string violin. Through a series of newspaper columns, the public begins to reach out to Mr. Ayers, the musician and the man, with gifts and services. Over the course of more than a year the newspaper man begins to wonder who's life changes more in the end-- his or Mr. Ayers'.”
Karen K wrote this review yesterday. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This is proof that music has a powerful impact on the human mind. But likewise, the human mind is a deep and mysterious thing. Lopez gave Nathanial a new chance at life, but he got much more in return through is interaction with Nathanial. It is a good story for the holidays about gifts given and gifts received.”
Pamela K wrote this review 3 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Moving. Piqued interest in music and mental illness. ”
empiregirl wrote this review Sunday, November 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Loved it!”
Phyllis P wrote this review Sunday, November 1 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Makes you realize the diversity of the homeless. That they are not all drug addicts and losers”
Diane S wrote this review Thursday, October 22 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“It's good, but I just can't get through it....maybe I have heard too much about it already....maybe I'll just watch the movie....I know, that's a cop-out.”
Neisha D wrote this review Tuesday, October 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“the book is real good based on a man who is homeless and the gift he has for music. it's based on a true story in los angeles. it also tells about the mental disorder this man was living with.”
rosie wrote this review Tuesday, October 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A moving story of the remarkable bond between a journalist in search of a story and a homeless, classically trained musician—destined to be a major motion picture from DreamWorks, starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. When Steve Lopez saw Nathaniel Ayers playing his heart out on a two-string violin on Los Angeles’ skid row, he found it impossible to walk away. More than thirty years earlier, Ayers had been a promising classical bass student at Juilliard—ambitious, charming, and until he gradually lost his ability to function, overcome by schizophrenia. When Lopez finds him, Ayers is homeless, paranoid, and deeply troubled, but glimmers of that brilliance are still there. Over time, Steve Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers form a bond, and Lopez imagines that he might be able to change Ayers’s life.”
wisdom wrote this review Friday, November 13 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“A vivid biography of an unlikely friendship. A L.A Times columnist meets a homeless talented musician with schizophrenia. A well written book that takes you into the mind of Steve Lopez and gives you the insight of having an impossible friendship that is comparable to a grown man and an infant. As you read this book, you wonder "When will Ayers break Lopez's heart?" "Will Ayers ever be cured?" Ayers is a surprising character who never fails to deliver a twist or a turn to the rough friendship and Lopez delivers a clear memory with humorous and sarcastic undertones.”
Melissa D wrote this review Friday, October 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book was powerful and moving. It teaches everyone the underlying meaning of friendship, and all that friendship brings along with it. The two main characters, Nathaniel Ayers and Steve Lopez, meet unexpectedly and one thing leads to another and they both end up depending on the other. Nathaniel, a Juilliard drop-out with schizophrenia, and Steve Lopez, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, end up saving each other. The book was written in first person, allowing readers to feel the characters' feelings more deeply. The motif of homelessness occurs throughout the book. ”
Colleen F wrote this review Friday, October 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
