Angel of Harlem : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: A Literay Treasure!
Review:

Angel of Harlem is the story of Dr. May Edward Chinn.
As a young girl May was a trained concert pianist until a racist professor ended it all for her. May rose above all limitations and went on to become the first African American female doctor in New York during the 1920's. May was the first African American woman to graduate from University and Bellevue Hospital Medical College and she was also the first African American woman to hold an internship at Harlem Hospital. This story takes you through May's life and the many hardships she endured. The death of her fiancé, being forced give up a child and the racial and gender barriers she faced. Her father was a former slave and an alcoholic who also struggles through many things as does her mother who works endlessly as a domestic. Dr. Chinn was also an accompanist for singer Paul Robeson which opened the doors to the many friendships she had with the Harlem Renaissance's famed artists such as Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Claude McKay and Countee Cullen. This walk back in time is poetic. Haulsey's prose is so vivid you can hear the music and the voices of these famed legends. It was like I was sitting in the club right next to them. Dr. Chinn was a determined woman who became one of the first early cancer detection specialists and she treated the poor in her community for fifty years. Dr. Chinn's story is heroic. I truly enjoyed this novel. Haulsey has proven herself; she is indeed a gifted writer. Angel of Harlem is a literary treasure. A classic for years to come.

Reviewed by
Dawnny


Rating:
Summary: History Comes Alive
Review: Dr. May Edward Chinn, New York's first black female doctor, serves as the inspiration for Kuwana Haulsey's ANGEL OF HARLEM. So often, persons of historical significance are narrowed down to brief biographical sketches, but HaulSey has truly brought the life of Dr. Chinn alive in this stirring novel. Dr. Chinn's early childhood is explored, and her mother's lifelong commitment to her education is highlighted. Her father's narrow views of what was considered proper for women, strict rules and emotional distance, also had a strong influence on his daughter's life. In spite of her achievements, Dr. Chinn's life was far from easy. She became pregnant by her high school sweetheart, who upon learning this, he promptly ended the relationship. She was forced, by her parents, to give her child up for adoption.

In spite of the fact that she never completed high school, she was accepted at Columbia University where she first wanted to study music. Because of discrimination, she eventually changed her major and this led to her career as a physician. Dr. Chinn fought discrimination on two levels, race and gender but was persistent enough to succeed in spite of these limitations. In addition to her academic and professional accomplishments, her social life allowed her to cross paths with many notable Harlem Renaissance figures such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Fats Waller, and Madam C.J. Walker. She also served as a pianist who accompanied Paul Robeson in many of his early performances.

This book is a wonderful testament to the life of a truly amazing woman who was persistent enough to break down walls and bring down glass ceilings. While there were moments when I felt the story stalled, overall the author did an excellent job. She provided a thoroughly developed setting, and well developed characters. With great sensitivity the author addressed through the characters such issues as the role of women in society, the color complex, discrimination, teen pregnancy, homosexuality, and poverty through the lenses of the 1920's Harlem era. ANGEL OF HARLEM is not only an enjoyable read, but it is also a book that will encourage readers to embrace the past and make an extra effort to learn more about some of the trailblazers that have helped to make this country what it is today.

Reviewed by Stacey Seay
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers



Rating:
Summary: An Extraordinary Woman in an Extraordinary Time!
Review: If one believes that some people are truly destined for greatness regardless of their station in life, then Dr. May Edward Chinn is a perfect example. May is conceived as a "love child" of a married middle-aged former slave and an orphaned teenaged Indian maiden. The shame of their affair forces her parents to relocate to Harlem only to meet unemployment, impoverished living conditions, and rampant racial discrimination. Despite her father's negativism, chauvinistic views, and emotional abandonment, it is her mother's tenacity and belief in education that propels young May to become proficient in her studies and master the piano. Her dreams of studying at Julliard on a music scholarship are crushed by an unplanned teenaged pregnancy in which she unwillingly gives the child up for adoption. She eventually drops out of high school due to a lengthy bout of depression stemming from the adoption and deferred dreams.

Fate intercedes and through several well-timed networking opportunities along with a little name-dropping (and/or perhaps coincidence), she applies, is accepted, and enrolls at Columbia to study music only to be harassed by a racist professor. However, when one door closes, a window opens and through a series of what could be considered "divine" interventions, she changes her major to science and the rest is history. She eventually becomes the first African American female doctor in New York City and a renowned medical pioneer - however, her road to success is an arduous journey filled with racism, colorism, sexism (even from African American men), financial burdens, and familial strains which the author construes with great sentiment. There are wonderful episodes in which she falls in love, tours with Paul Robeson, dines with Zora Neale Hurston, and parties with famous Renaissance-era Harlemites like Jean Toomer, Fats Waller, Countee Cullen, and Langston Hughes.

Hausley's writing and overall biographical presentation is suburb! Compassion and respect exude in her the depiction of Dr. Chinn, the woman; and the utmost humility is conveyed in the stories of her personal and academic trials and tribulations. Albeit, I found the pacing a bit slow at times, I quickly realized that this is not a story that should be rushed. It is history and Haulsey took her time to create an authentic early 20th century setting, complete with social attitudes, and wonderful descriptions of New York City's sites, sounds, language, and particularly Harlem's colorful clientele. The author left me in awe of Dr. Chinn and wanting to know more about her and the fate of other characters in the book. A job well done!

Reviewed by Phyllis

APOOO BookClub
Nubian Circle Book Club


Rating:
Summary: Exhilarating Read
Review: Kuwana Haulsey has written a stirring tribute honoring Dr. May Edward Chinn who was exactly as the title states. She was an angel for the people of the New York City area known as Harlem. The novel covers her 1896 birth in Massachusetts, moving to NY with her parents and living in dreadful poverty conditions. May was burdened with tremendous childhood and teen years of struggles and heart aches. Among them were an unplanned teen pregnancy, having to give her infant son up for adoption and afterwards suffering from severe depression. However, due to her mother's fortitude and continuous encouragement, May was accepted into college based on her extraordinary high scores, minus a high school diploma.

Facing enormous and threatening hardships throughout the enrollment of college and medical school; racism, sexism, financial difficulties and love affair barriers, May Chinn achieved what many dared her to accomplish. She became a doctor and is noted as the first Black female physician in New York. She served her patients diligently and tirelessly for many, many years. With amazing talents and working assiduously in order to aid the sick and needy that were in dire need of medical assistance, Dr. Chinn was definitely a woman who wore an invisible halo around her head. She was indeed the Black Angel of Harlem.

Angel of Harlem is definitely a great novel of worth. I was truly inspired by the biographical and historical information on this female pioneer's accomplishments. The sites of the NYC area, the Harlem Renaissance acquaintances (Zora Neale Hurston, Paul Roberson, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Fats Waller and a host of others) of Dr. Chinn, along with information surrounding her musical mastery were treats within the chronicle. Ms. Haulsey has penned a prized novel regarding a woman with phenomenal integrity and breathtaking compassion.

Readincolor Reviewer
Emily Means Willis

Rating:
Summary: A True Angel
Review: May Edward Chinn was the first black female doctor in Harlem. The Angel of Harlem is an accounting of the trials she experienced, through childhood, schooling and adulthood to reach this lofty accomplishment. Beautifully written, it seems that Kuwana Haulsey has captured the essence of such a historical figure in this fictional adaptation of her life. I'm so intrigued; I would like to follow up with researching Dr. Chinn to enhance my knowledge of another important progenitor in African American History.

As a child, May was the apple of her mother's eye. I was impressed that she was able to achieve solely on the great sacrifices her mother made for her education and social upbringing. Her father, sometimes in and out of the home, if anything was the catalyst to make her achieve high marks in her every effort. The relationships between her mother and father along with her own relationship with her father could best be described as strained. Her mother worked numerous jobs sometimes simultaneously to afford to keep May in a good educational environment. Her mother encouraged and praised her at every milestone.

As she progressed through school, sometimes attending private institutions, teachers and other prominent people recognized ambition and encouraged her potential. Truly demonstrating that people generally care and can look past color. The people who crossed May's path were truly extraordinary as well. Paul Roberson, Zora Neale Hurston, and Langston Hughes were some of those prominent people who were her running buddies during the Harlem Renaissance. She experienced many hurts through her life, including several failed romances. I was struck with her persistence and transcendence through an unparalleled life.

Ms. Haulsey writes beautifully. The Angel of Harlem is a wonderful blend of excellent writing, strong characterization and impressive research. Dr. Chinn is truly an example for women to follow. Although set in the early 1920's, most of the doors she forced open are being held open by African American women who still feel they have to strive twice as hard to be accepted. Reading books like this encourages us all to believe that soon those doors will swing on welcome hinges for future generations. This book should be counted amongst required reading for African American literature or history classes.