Book Review | Book Chatter

The University that I work for is in the process of selecting the Freshman Common Reading book for 2009-10. When I was asked to be on the panel, I jumped at the chance. One of the books being considered is The Soloist by Steve Lopez.

Steve Lopez, a reporter for the Los Angeles Times discovers a man by the name of Nathaniel Ayers, living in a tunnel off of Skid Row. The unique thing about Nathaniel, is that in addition to his shopping cart, his other prized possession, is a beat-up, violin which he plays with as much passion as a concert violinist.

Lopez, intrigued by his story, begins to delve into the Ayers’ life and finds that although he is now homeless, he was once a student of Juilliard and was forced to end his musical education when he developed Schizophrenia. Lopez, through research and the desire for Ayers to have a better life, contacts a local treatment center and so begins Ayers’ journey to recovery.

This is a story about friendship but there are also some very strong themes here. As Lopez chronicles Ayers’ life via his newspaper column, he also opens the eyes of local politicians to the problem of the mentally ill in and around Los Angeles that are homeless and not capable of seeking treatment on their own.

The story is a little slow at times, because there are a lot of setbacks but there are also several moments that brought tears to my eyes. Several readers of Lopez’s column donate instruments to Nathaniel and when he is presented with these instruments, it’s clear that for him, music is his true therapy. The same can be said when he is presented with a trip to Walt Disney Concert Hall. It’s a very touching scene.

As for the Freshman Common Reading Panel, I still have other books to read before my meeting which is scheduled for mid-January, but because this book deals with many different themes (race, the homeless, the mentally ill, politics, etc.), it would appeal to many different readers.

The Soloist is being made into a movie that will star Robert Downey Jr. as Lopez, and Jamie Foxx as Ayers. I think the casting is spot on. The scheduled release date is April 2009. If you’d like to read some of the original articles, click here.

The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty is about Kara, who in a moment of carelessness causes an accident that changes her life and the lives of those around her, forever.

I can’t imagine what it would feel like to kill someone, even if by accident. The grief, to me, would be so overwhelming and to be the parent of the person that caused such pain, would be very difficult to deal with as well. Moriarty does an excellent job of portraying what such a situation would feel like. She looks at it from all angles and doesn’t take sides.

The scenes between Kara and her mother, Leigh are filled with tension but as flawed as Leigh is, I can relate to her on so many levels. She is like the “mom that tries too hard”. Tries too hard without seeing who her daughter really is.

Although I found myself crying a couple of times while reading it (and this hasn’t happened in years) I did find this to be a story about hope. The hope of something better to come. The hope that one day you will be forgiven. The hope that with each day, the pain of loss will lessen a bit. Although this story has to deal with the dynamics between mother and daughter, I don’t feel that you need to have children in order to appreciate what each character is going through.

I’ve never read anything by Laura Moriarty, but she has instantly become one of my favorite authors. I thank Jennifer over at Book Club Girl for sending me the book. Jennifer also hosted an on-air radio show with Laura Moriarty. I found the discussion to be very thought provoking. If you’d like to check it out, click here.

The Rest of Her Life would make a wonderful book club pick and it would be interesting to see how the other members relate to each character. I highly recommend it.

Chatting with friends about books and life…