Tambourines to Glory: A Novel

Not fully developed. In some ways it seems trite - background/set-up, predictable good vs bad plot arc, and a happily-ever-after ending.

The author was part of the Harlem Renassiance. A poet and playwright, but wrote some novels and short stories.

This one was published in 1958, is about two friends, Essie Belle Johnston and Laura Reed who, after reflecting on their poverty, decide to set up a church on the street corner, 126th and Lenox to be exact, to raise people up from the gutter but also to make some money in the process. Essie is a good singer, Laura is a good hustler. And they find that passing the tambourine is a good source of money. They become the Reed Sisters.

They first invest in a Bible, then a rented space, then a bigger rented space and finally take over an old theatre that becomes the Tambourine Temple. Laura enjoys the wealth, buying fur coats, cars. show more Essie continues to look down on this but still enjoys the comforts, finally having a home where she can bring her daughter to. She doesn't quite "turn a blind eye" to Laura's avarice but she tolerates it.

In the end it is a morality tale but I wondered about the characters that Hughes create. None are truly sympathetic but Essie does redeem herself in the end. show less