A Butterfly Dream on 126th & Lenox

My favorite author of poetry, Langston Hughes was also a novelist who wrote some really great books. Of the many books that he has written, my most recent read was Tambourines of Glory. Enmeshed in 156 pages is the story of how a church was built on the corner of 126th Street and Lenox Avenue in Harlem, NY. It is a really swiftly moving story that had it’s tender little moments as well as some really deep ones that just made me want to ride out the storm with a strong focus.

The main characters of this book are Essie and Laura. Essie is a woman with a purpose. She wants to start a church and does everything in her power to try to make it happen. She is very faithful and is constantly singing hymns and doing God’s work to try to draw people closer to him. Laura is a friend who has her back but is more in it for the money and the big things. She has a big heart for material things as opposed to God.

Essie raises money to put back into the church and to pay for a bible that Laura bought off of money she brought gambling. Laura gives her congregation scriptures to read, collects money in a tambourine and then uses it to go and buy big fur coats and fancy cars. Laura is a drunk. Essie is a mother trying to get her life together so she can have her daughter Marietta come up to New York from the south.

Together they form a church and do everything they can to encourage people to come to their church. They would stand on the corner under the indigo sky and sing hymns together. Laura had intentions more on getting people to spend money so she could have it for things other than building a church. Laura was not only a drunk but a woman who was seeing a guy named Buddy who Essie tried to warn her about and did not really like. Buddy was her day man and her night man, but not someone she saw walking through a shower of rice with. Buddy was disrespectful and seemed like the type of guy who was just about trying to use her to get things as opposed to saturating her with true love.

As the rainbow folds begin to shine clear, the truth about Laura comes out. She shows who she really is. It kind of shocked me to see the actions that she would take while at the same time being a minister and preaching the word of God. She was the same person who lead Essie to opening her heart to God.

Tambourines Of Glory is a really great book. My eyes were glued to the pages. Langston Hughes wrote words that were laced in rhythm. His language was really soulful. I enjoyed the way he made a story that I could actually see happening. Especially walking through the streets of Harlem on a Sunday. I love his poetry and really have to say that his storytelling is one to admire. The book almost seemed like a play because it was written in such an animated way and I loved that.

It is in that rock steady pulse and the harmonious tone. It is in the dynamics of each moment that really make the story swing. It is the way that I was taken into the story and it felt like home. Langston Hughes has a way of doing that with his writing. That is why I love his works so much. It’s like music that I can be brought home to and feel safe riding out his quiet storm. Tambourines of Glory is a great book and one I recommend to all book lovers. Also a great book for reading groups. The last pages of the book are actually questions to start up a discussion. I loved the read.