LUNCH...AND THE SOLOIST

from L
to C
date Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 11:40 AM
subject Re: lunch on wednesday?

are you free for lunch on wednesday? i was gonna meet up with angela and am hoping you'd be free to catch up with us! details aren't ironed out yet.

oh yeah, i know you're an avid book reader...any recommendations? It's kind of my new years resolution to read more non-fiction/fiction books that are not of religious, engineering, or science related =P

L
---
Yeah, lunch on Wednesday sounds good, I have a dentist's appt at 3 so around noon would be great. Where do you want to meet?

And about that book recommendation, I'm glad you asked. I recently finished a book called The Soloist, a memoir written by LA Times columnist Steve Lopez, about a musician named Nathaniel whom he meets on the streets of Los Angeles. At first he is merely intrigued by Nathaniel's story - a talented musician living homeless on Skid Row - and turns it into a series of columns for the newspaper. The friendship develops into much more than that, as Lopez learns more about Nathaniel's past at Julliard, his schizophrenia, and how this sickness has affected him, his family, his music, and his ability to live a normal life.

The cover is blue and has a violin on it. Let me know how you like it!

The Soloist is being turned into a movie opening mid-09, with director Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice), starring Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel and Robert Downey Jr. as Steve Lopez.

P.S. A actually knows the character Ben Hong from the book, who's a cellist for the LA Philharmonic and also an MV rider. It was through A that I discovered this book - he's been hearing all about the backstory from Ben and former PR rep for the LA Phil Adam Crane, another name that appears a number of times in the story. I've had the pleasure of meeting both of them at various concert dates in the last couple of years!

C

About the book and author: "Unlikely friend, advocate"
Here's a brief article about the movie on obsessedwithfilm.com
And its IMDb page

Below, from L to R, Joe Wright, Jamie Foxx, Ben Hong, Nathaniel Ayers at the Walt Disney Concert Hall; scenes from the upcoming movie.