Zak Nelson Reading Logs for May ffth

The Soloist
Log 1
April 29
Chapters: prefae!1! and 2
The prefae introd"es Ste#e Lope$! %riter for Los
Angeles ti&es' (t see&s that he fnds interest in the
ho&eless #iolin player )ea"se he *"st needs a story to
%rite a)o"t' The #iolinist see&s a #ery interesting
harater in the %ay he is plaed in a #ery lo% position!
yet re&ains passionate a)o"t his &"si' (t see&s to &e
he is &ore passionate a)o"t his &"si than s"r#i#ing
)ea"se %hen Lope$ asks hi& %hy he perfor&s here he
says it is )ea"se the +eetho#en stat"e gi#es hi&
inspiration' (f he %as &ore onerned a)o"t s"r#i#al! the
#iolinist %o"ld ha#e said the plae he plays attrats the
&ost &oney' ( a& "rio"s ho% this )ook %o"ld ha#e )een
di,erent if Lope$ %as not so intrig"ed )y this one
ho&eless &an'
(n the frst hapter! Lope$ ret"rns to the #iolinist!
diso#ering his na&e is Nathaniel Anthony Ayers and
&any other things a)o"t hi&' (n &y neigh)orhood! ( see
lots of street &"siians! often do%n in the s")%ay or o"t
in the side%alk' So&e ha#e e-tra#agant instr"&ents! like
a t%el#e.string g"itar or sa-ophone' /thers )"ild dr"&
sets fro& %hate#er they fnd' ( al%ays %onder a)o"t the
origin of these &"siians' Nathaniel0s &"sial origin %as
"n)elie#a)le' (t is interesting that the only to )ooks (
piked o"t for 1nglish 11 ha#e )een a)o"t people %ho
attended 2"lliard' +oth Christopher Ree#e fro& Still Me
and Nathaniel fro& The Soloist, the &ain harater!
attended 2"lliard' +ea"se of Still Me! ( kno% 2"lliard as a
#ery prestigio"s arts shool! so it %as a h"ge s"rprise to
fnd that Nathaniel attended there'
(t %as sad to fnd o"t %hat led Nathaniel to %here he is
no%' 3hen Lope$ inter#ie%s 4rofessor +arno,! a for&er
&"si teaher of Nathaniel!he said Nathaniel %as a
%onderf"l &"siian! )"t so&eti&es %o"ld &iss
assign&ents or not follo%s diretions' (t o"rred to &e
earlier that a possi)le a"se of Nathaniel0s do%nfall %as
the res"lt of a &ental illness! )ased on the %ay that he
interated %ith Lope$' (n the frst hapter! Nathanial %as
desri)ed as %riting things o"t on an i&aginary %hite
)oard as he spelled his and Lope$0s na&es' This
re&inded &e of a &anneris& of so&e %ho see &ore fro&
their o%n &ind than the o"tside %orld' Lope$ later
desri)es Nathaniel in this %ay: 5A si&ple 6"estion a)o"t
his lo#e for +eetho#en sends hi& on a 7ight thro"gh
"nhinged tho"ghts that 7oat thro"gh his &ind like %ind.
dri#en lo"ds'58p' 19: (t is sad to see s"h a talented
person lose e#erything )ea"se of another aspet of
the&sel#es' My &o& has a friend %ith Shi$ophrenia and
is an a&a$ing artist' She takes &ediation for her illness
and is an o#erall good person' ( think of hertro")les as (
think of Nathaniel0s' Lope$ learly sees good in Nathaniel;
as he fnishes the hapter he desri)es ho% there is still
sanity %ithin Nathaniel0s &ind! <=(n his sh"ttered %orld
there is order! logi sanity! s%eet relief' (f only for a little
%hile'5
Log 2
April >?
Chapters: > and @
The third hapter %as a&a$ing! )ea"se it sho%ed
ho% &"h people %ill help Nathaniel if the %ord gets o"t
a)o"t his talents and needs' (t %as a&a$ing to see ho% Al
Rih! C1/ of 4earl 4iano Aro"p A&eria! ga#e Nathaniel a
ello and #iolin' (t %as interesting to see that the frst
thing Nathaniel said %hen he %as gi#en the instr"&ents
%as! <( an0t o#er that'5! )ea"se it sho%s that Nathaniel
still feels responsi)le for his o%n ite&s' +efore this point!
Nathaniel said his life long drea& %as to get his strings
replaed on his )eat "p #iolin %ith %riting on it' Nathaniel
said he o"ld still get a lot of so"nd fro& only t%o strings'
(t0s a %onder the things he %ill )e a)le to do %ith fo"r'
3ith Lope$ ha#ing the instr"&ents stored at La&p! Nto
get &ore help'
The Bo"rth Chapter
(n this hapter! the instr"&ents fnally arri#e' (t
see&s that it is &"si that &akes Nathaniel0s %orld &ake
sense! as it is interestingly desri)ed! <(0& diso#ering
tho"gh! Nathaniel isn0t alone' M"si is an anhor! a
onnetion to great artists! to history and hi&self' Cis
head is flled %ith &i-ed signals! a frightening *"&)le of
frat"red &eaning! )"t in &"si there is )alane and
per&anene' < 8>D: (n this hapter! %e see a lot in %hat
Nathaniel #al"es' (t is interesting to fnd that he prefers
playing in the &o"th of the t"nnel o#er Skid Ro% )ea"se
there are fe% people aro"nd and no people to thro%
igarettes on the gro"nd' (t again sho%s that he is not
playing to attrat &oney and attention! )"t to f"lfll his
o%n internal desires'

Log >
May 1
Chapters: D! E! and F
(n Chapter Bi#e! Nathaniel )egins to play his
instr"&ents at La&p' /f interest in this hapter is that
La&p %as fo"nd to help speifally the ho&eless
s",ering fro& &ental illness' ( %onder %hy this type of
ho&elessness is so o&&on' Nathaniel)ea&e
ho&eless)ea"se of his shi$ophrenia! )"t ( %onder ho%
&any people &ay )e dri#en insane fro& li#ing on so little
for a long period of ti&e'
(t is interesting to see ho% Nathaniel treats his
instr"&ents' Ce learly en*oys the opport"nity to )e a)le
to play s"h fne instr"&ents! )"t he also see&s to dislike
playing at La&p' Ce atte&pted to take the instr"&ents!
)"t %as only s"essf"l the seond ti&e' (t is interesting
ho% Lope$ #ie%s this at the en of the hapter! saying <(n
&y e,ort to help hi&! ( ha#e s"eeded only in f"rther
o&pliating his life' Ce0s o"t there %ith t%o #iolins and a
ello! in#iting a &"gging' Ce! of o"rse! is the hallenged
one! )"t in the ontest of %it and %ill! he0s %inning' (t
isn0t e#en &"h of a ontest'5 This sho%s ho% Lope$
respets the %ay Nathaniel hallenges hi&self! e#en
%hen it defes Lope$'
(n Chapter Si-! Nathanielfnally sees a dotor for his
shi$ophrenia' This hapter had one &ain i&portant
point: that shi$ophrenia patients do not reo#er )y
diagnosis! )"t )y onnetions' ( )elie#e that is e-atly
%hat %as %rong %ith the treat&ent of people %ith speial
needs %ho %ere instit"tionali$ed' /ne &ore people
started onneting to those %ho are disad#antages! the
disad#antaged )ea&e &ore s"essf"l in life and li#ed
longer' (n Nathaniel0s ti&e a%ay fro& ho&e! his
disonnet has likely &o#ed hi& e#en f"rther fro& reality
than %hen his stress.ind"ed shi$ophrenia frst kiked in'
(n Chapter Se#en! it is interesting to see Lope$0s
onern for Nathaniel )ea"se Lope$ is afraid so&eone
&ight &"g Nathaniel for his instr"&ents! not tr"sting that
Nathaniel is onealing his instr"&ents %ell eno"gh'
3hen Lope$ deided to spend the night o"t %ith
Nathanial in the Toy Gistrit! it felt like a good ti&e for
the& to as' This is a&a$ing to see! kno%ing that Lope$
has an entire fa&ily and a steady *o) as a *o"rnalist! )"t
is still %illing to e-periene a night helplessness'
Log @
May 2
Chapters: 9! 9!and 1?
Chapter 1ight fo"ses on the friendship )et%een
Nathaniel and 2oseph R"sso %hile they attended 2"lliard'
Bro& this hapter! ( got an i&age of the press"res of
going to 2"lliard as %ell as the s"rfaing of Nathaniel0s
shi$ophrenia' /ne of their for&er lass&ates o&&itted
s"iide' ( %onder ho% &"h of the stress that lead to the
s"iide had to do %ith the shool' ( %onder a)o"t this
)ea"se ( )elie#e in a pre#io"s hapter! Lope$ said that
Nathaniel0s shi$ophrenia a&e fro& stress' The hapter
ends %ith the )eginning signs that Nathaniel &ay not )e
&entally sta)le after he snaps at 2oseph! alling hi& a
raist! e#en tho"gh *oseph had )een one of the fe%
st"dents %ho s"pported and )elie#ed in Nathaniel'
(n hapter Nine! Lope$ str"ggles to kno% if he has
earned the right to tell Nathaniel he needs psyhiatri
help' Lope$ says that Nathaniel dra%s a%ay fro& it like
he dra%s a%ay fro& the idea of li#ing inside' Bro& this
in6"iry! Lope$ seeks ans%ers fro& others %ho kno%
so&eone %ith shi$ophrenia! parti"larly Stella Marh! a
&other of a son %ith shi$ophrenia %ho is a)o"t
Nathaniel0s age' The )est ad#ie she gi#es is to see
Nathaniel not as a shi$ophreni &"siian! )"t a &"siian
%ith shi$ophrenia' The di,erene is s")tle! )"t it &akes
the point that people sho"ld kno% the person )efore the
disa)ility' Another i&portant thing that Ms' Marh says is
for Nathaniel to get )etter! he %ill need &edial
attention' (t is so&e%hat ironi in this )ook that the
dotor says the )est %ay to heal is thro"gh onnetions!
not a diagnosis! %hile so&eone %ho ares for so&eone
%ith shi$ophrenia )elie#es that the )est %ay is to o)tain
&edial therapy' (t see&s Ms' Marh &ay )e a good
person for Lope$ to go to if he needs help'
(n Chapter 1?! ( en*oyed %athing Nathaniel and
Lope$0s friendship gro%' They do this )y "nderstanding
eah other0s needs' Lope$ 6"ikly learned in the
)eginning that Nathaniel %ill &ost likely only en*oy his
o&pany if Lope$ talks to hi& in.)et%een piees instead
of d"ring' Ste#e does %hat he an to help Ganiel!
sleeping o"tside %ith hi& o#ernight and fnding Nathaniel
a ne% apart&ent' Lope$ see&s hesitant %ith all the gifts
and hanges Lope$ &ake in Nathaniel0s life; )"t! he also
o&es to "nderstand Lope$! tr"sting that e#erything
Lope$ has done is to help hi&'
As a res"lt! Lope$ %illingly takes lessons to i&pro#e
his already a&a$ing &"sial skills! and attends a
rehearsal at Gisney Call'