The Soloist [Paperback]

Mark Salzman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 1995

As a child, Renne showed promise of becoming one of the world's greatest cellists. Now, years later, his life suddenly is altered by two events: he becomes a juror in a murder trial for the brutal killing of a Buddhist monk, and he takes on as a pupil a Korean boy whose brilliant musicianship reminds him of his own past.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of Iron and Silk offers a quirky and enjoyable about a one time cello prodigy cellist who is transformed by his involvement in a murder trial.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

YA-The difficulties encountered by "gifted and talented" children are dispassionately chronicled in this unusual story about a musical prodigy who as an adult must come to terms with his own mediocrity. When Reinhart Sundheimer's gift as a world-renowned cellist suddenly and inexplicably deserts him at age 18, he is bereft, for he knows no other life than that of the concert stage and is accustomed to adulation. As a college professor who has never learned social skills, he is aloof from his colleagues and spends his spare time practicing in the vain hope that his gift will return. Then, in one event-filled week, the outside world invades his insular environment. First, he is called to jury duty and, second, he agrees to give cello lessons to a 12-year-old prodigy. Interacting with other jurors during deliberations on a brutal murder case and reacting to the unpredictability of his student and the student's Korean family require emotional resources that he never knew he possessed. Both experiences result in personal insight that allows him to accept his limitations as a musician and gives him courage to broaden his horizons as a man. YAs are sure to empathize with the troubled protagonist.
Jackie Gropman, Kings Park Library, Burke, VA
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; First Vintage Contemporaries Edition edition (February 7, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679759263
• ISBN-13: 978-0679759263
• Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #145,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How many lives does Mark Salzman have?, May 28, 2002

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Soloist (Paperback)

THE SOLOIST is a fine novel, interweaving three stories that all center on the narrator: the rise and fall of a child prodigy cellist, the sole member of a jury at a murder trial who finds meaning in a defendent's case, and a teacher of a budding, gifted young Korean cellist. Each story has its own cast of characters beautifully realized, but most important - each aspect of this tripartite novel is told with such informed authority that imagining the author in anything but an autobiographical mode is next to impossible. Just as in his previous novel LYING AWAKE which dealt with the inner thoughts of a cloistered nun, Salzman here shows us he has a thorough understanding of music, music making, and the sociology and philosophy of our court system and our education system. Not that he stops at reportage. Hardly! It is simply his depth of knowledge about everything he writes make his novels deeply committed and inspiring. The reason for writing THE SOLOIST is probably one of encouraging his readers to live in the moment. But it is the loving manner of relating his tale that gets us there, almost without knowing we've arrived. A fine book to encourage a whole town (Pasadena) to read and share as is the goal here. Well worth anyone's time.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars subtle, simple and beautiful, February 20, 2001

By 

Sundareshvar - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Soloist (Paperback)

If Mark Salzman published a shopping list I would read it. His writing is magical. The Soloist is deceptive in its simplicity. It would be easy to underestimate this book because Salzman's straightforward, unpretentious writing belies the complexity of the ideas he is communicating. There are three or four different themes expressed in alternating chapters: A cellist crippled by his need for perfection, a trial, zen theory and practice, the relationship between teacher and student. There are several more subthemes going on as well. Salzman weaves them together so skillfully that you barely realize that each theme slowly permeates the others with exquisite subtlety. The Soloist is a book worth reading slowly and with full attention It is a deeply satisfying read, in the same way that a subtly seasoned meal, savored at leisure, leaves one feeling fully nourished. Thanks once again, Mr. Salzman! Well done!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Musician Begins to Live Again, October 30, 2003

By 

Timothy Kearney (Haverhill, MA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Soloist (Paperback)

THE SOLOIST was a book that caught me by surprise. I purchased it on impulse, and like many impulse buys, it sat on my bookcase for quite a while until I had time to read it. I finally had the opportunity to read it while snowed in during a major winter storm, and I believe I read it in one sitting. There are so many elements in this book that make it a compelling read. The main character Renne is lonely and isolated. Readers immediately like him, and probably feel sorry for him since he appears to be a washout both musically and personally. Readers will get a sense that he is sad, but not tragic, and has the potential for a fuller life.

In the book, Renne looks back reflectively at major events in his life. Renne was once a child prodigy, studied with a great master of the cello, but his success was fleeting. By the time he reached adulthood, he lost the promise of his youthful musical career. His life is somewhat empty. When he is not teaching cello at a university, he is alone in his apartment. Three things change this drastically: he is a juror in a murder trail, he meets a love interest, and he encounters a young six year old child who may also be a prodigy. In the murder trail, Renne dares to be the lone voice of conscience. His love affair was doomed from the beginning since the woman was married, but it was an important first step for Renne. His tutoring the young potential prodigy is the most powerful aspect of the book. In this relationship, Renne may be facing his own childhood when he sees the young boy who is pressured by immigrant parents much in the same way he was pressured by his Jewish parents who escaped Nazi Germany. The changes that all three bring about happen rather quickly, but it is entirely believable.

This work is no longer new, but it is likely that readers, who are new to Salzman via the publication of his most recent work TRUE NOTEBOOKS, will be interested in his other works. THE SOLIST will show the gifts he has as a writer and was able to share in with his charges in TRUE NOTEBOOKS.