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Scarecrow
A novel, eight years in the making, Scarecrow 'is a novel of many dimensions: sex, drugs, mythology, witchcraft, violence, deformity, tenderness, fear, diabolic possession, reincarnation, schizophrenia, spiritual torment and death.'
Part detective novel, part acid trip and part love triangle gone haywire, released in 1974, Scarecrow is Hernton's first and only published novel.
Part detective novel, part acid trip and part love triangle gone haywire, released in 1974, Scarecrow is Hernton's first and only published novel.
293 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1974
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 22, 2026
First published in 1974 and never printed again, Scarecrow is Calvin C Hernton’s only published novel. Hernton was better known for his poetry and nonfiction but this lone work of fiction really stood out to me. There is a video of a poetry reading where Ishmael Reed is introducing Calvin C Hernton. In this introduction he gives an overview of Hernton’s career and calls Scarecrow a "suppressed classic”. This, among other complimentary words, had me interested in reading Hernton’s sole novel.
For over a year I’ve searched for a way to read this. The vast catalog of the Chicago Public Library was without a copy and the few listings that are online often go for around $200. Without much background on the book it was hard to justify a high price tag. I was lucky enough to find an ebay listing for a discharged library copy (shoutout to the Middletown Wisconsin Public Library) which had recently been dropped to an asking price of $25.
Scarecrow, is the story of our protagonist Scarecrow. He is a Black man who has a history of dating white women. He has recently divorced from his wife and looking to travel by sea from New York City to England with his new partner, a Black woman named Maria. Before leaving New York Scarecrow is visited by his ex wife. They get into an argument and he kills her. He decides to cut up the body and pack the parts into separate bags in his suitcase to bring on the trip. Disposing of her body in the Atlantic Ocean.
As the story progresses we get some of the backstory of Scarecrow and his interactions with white women that have led to this history of attraction. On the boat we meet a vast cast of characters. We learn more about Maria as well as another woman Hellos, who is a hippy adjacent white woman who shows her attraction to Scarecrow. The love triangle that Scarecrow finds himself in makes up a decent portion of this narrative.
Much of this book is the discourse between characters. Not always the most interesting, it does color the characters and the world they live in. The course of the rest of the book is spent on the transatlantic voyage as the ship travelers interact in various ways. At one point Scarecrow accidentally takes LSD that he finds in Hellos room. In the aftermath of the trip it is revealed that Hellos has gone missing and is presumed dead. Scarecrow, already paranoid about disposing the body of his ex wife, worries that he is to blame. An investigation into the disappearance of Hellos has his plan in jeopardy. Maria, who has been sexually aggressive towards Scarecrow and jealous of any other attention he is receiving goes in and out of favor of Scarecrow, culminating in a dramatic argument between the two.
Overall, I really liked the setup and tone of the novel. It took Hernton 8 years to write this novel. While it was published in 1974 it clearly is set in the mid 1960s. There are many references to the fashion, culture, and trends of the day. Overall the book is most closely aligned with the writing of authors like Thomas Pynchon and Ishmael Reed. There is a Crying of Lot 49 tone to the paranoia of the book as well as the kinds of characters we interact with. The setting of the ship really feels like the transatlantic trip that Hicks McTaggart takes in Shadow Ticket, especially given the surrealism of the book’s events.
Calvin C Hernton, known more for his nonfiction, had written multiple books on the sexual relations between white and Black people. Much of this novel feels like a way for Hernton to explore the more extreme aspects of his research in a fictional landscape. I have not read his nonfiction works but I would like to in anticipation of a reread of this novel. Much of what Hernton portrays in the attraction between Black and white people is based in trauma. He also explores Black attraction through Scarecrow and Maria, something that is seen as a self fulfillment and ego boost rather than actual attraction. None of the characters on display are very admirable and most are self centered in their motives. It is an interesting and at times entertaining book but I’m not sure how effective an overall message was in portraying these ideas.
It is clear Hernton was not a novelist. While there are a lot of outstanding elements in this book, it does hold the flaws of a typical debut author’s novel. The pacing feels off as much of the first half is dialogue that often feels like redundant bickering than an enlightening character development, the latter half feels like it's introducing this murder mystery plot just as the book is wrapping up. While I enjoyed the book, I mainly enjoyed this due to my interest in books of this era and style and even still I didn’t find this to be a standout from its contemporaries.
When Ishmael Reed called this a “suppressed classic” I think it is due to Hernton’s coverage of more extreme and taboo subjects. The inclusion of sex and violence at the level it is described here definitely was more boundary pushing in 1974 but by 2026 I’m not sure it really feels that noteworthy compared to much of what is out there.
Along with his nonfiction Hernton was primarily known as a poet. There actually is a recently published collection of his selected poetry that was just released by Wesleyan University Press in 2023 that I highly recommend. The surrealist and experimental elements of this novel definitely feel like they are sourced from his poetic prowess. The acid trip that Scarecrow goes on is the clear highlight of this book and worth reading for it alone. This section is the strongest writing by far and makes me want to reread the book just to experience it again.
There are themes that I really liked seeing in this book. The ending offers a reflection that Scarecrow and Maria were searching for something more in their relationship just to find the same patriarchal power structure in Black America that they find in white America. While not the most revelatory thing in today’s world, its interesting to see that idea so clearly stated here.
Hernton used the metaphor of a scarecrow a lot in his career. He discussed scarecrows a lot in his poetry as well as here in this novel. Often comparing the scarecrow to the Black male in America we get really interesting explorations into the similar ways in which both are seen as a threat, both seen as field workers, and how both are to be filled with nothing of substance and that their internal thoughts and feelings are not to be valued. This is a really creative and unique comparison that I have never seen explored before and something Hernton offered a lot in his reflection on them.
Overall, I wish this book wasn’t so hard for people to acquire. While far from perfect it is worth reading, especially if you are a fan of Reed and Pynchon. Hernton was sorely neglected in his lifetime and I hope his work can receive reevaluation. While I think his poetry was his strong suit, I do think this novel offers a lot of great concepts and is unique to much else I’ve read. I will be rereading this in the future.
For over a year I’ve searched for a way to read this. The vast catalog of the Chicago Public Library was without a copy and the few listings that are online often go for around $200. Without much background on the book it was hard to justify a high price tag. I was lucky enough to find an ebay listing for a discharged library copy (shoutout to the Middletown Wisconsin Public Library) which had recently been dropped to an asking price of $25.
Scarecrow, is the story of our protagonist Scarecrow. He is a Black man who has a history of dating white women. He has recently divorced from his wife and looking to travel by sea from New York City to England with his new partner, a Black woman named Maria. Before leaving New York Scarecrow is visited by his ex wife. They get into an argument and he kills her. He decides to cut up the body and pack the parts into separate bags in his suitcase to bring on the trip. Disposing of her body in the Atlantic Ocean.
As the story progresses we get some of the backstory of Scarecrow and his interactions with white women that have led to this history of attraction. On the boat we meet a vast cast of characters. We learn more about Maria as well as another woman Hellos, who is a hippy adjacent white woman who shows her attraction to Scarecrow. The love triangle that Scarecrow finds himself in makes up a decent portion of this narrative.
Much of this book is the discourse between characters. Not always the most interesting, it does color the characters and the world they live in. The course of the rest of the book is spent on the transatlantic voyage as the ship travelers interact in various ways. At one point Scarecrow accidentally takes LSD that he finds in Hellos room. In the aftermath of the trip it is revealed that Hellos has gone missing and is presumed dead. Scarecrow, already paranoid about disposing the body of his ex wife, worries that he is to blame. An investigation into the disappearance of Hellos has his plan in jeopardy. Maria, who has been sexually aggressive towards Scarecrow and jealous of any other attention he is receiving goes in and out of favor of Scarecrow, culminating in a dramatic argument between the two.
Overall, I really liked the setup and tone of the novel. It took Hernton 8 years to write this novel. While it was published in 1974 it clearly is set in the mid 1960s. There are many references to the fashion, culture, and trends of the day. Overall the book is most closely aligned with the writing of authors like Thomas Pynchon and Ishmael Reed. There is a Crying of Lot 49 tone to the paranoia of the book as well as the kinds of characters we interact with. The setting of the ship really feels like the transatlantic trip that Hicks McTaggart takes in Shadow Ticket, especially given the surrealism of the book’s events.
Calvin C Hernton, known more for his nonfiction, had written multiple books on the sexual relations between white and Black people. Much of this novel feels like a way for Hernton to explore the more extreme aspects of his research in a fictional landscape. I have not read his nonfiction works but I would like to in anticipation of a reread of this novel. Much of what Hernton portrays in the attraction between Black and white people is based in trauma. He also explores Black attraction through Scarecrow and Maria, something that is seen as a self fulfillment and ego boost rather than actual attraction. None of the characters on display are very admirable and most are self centered in their motives. It is an interesting and at times entertaining book but I’m not sure how effective an overall message was in portraying these ideas.
It is clear Hernton was not a novelist. While there are a lot of outstanding elements in this book, it does hold the flaws of a typical debut author’s novel. The pacing feels off as much of the first half is dialogue that often feels like redundant bickering than an enlightening character development, the latter half feels like it's introducing this murder mystery plot just as the book is wrapping up. While I enjoyed the book, I mainly enjoyed this due to my interest in books of this era and style and even still I didn’t find this to be a standout from its contemporaries.
When Ishmael Reed called this a “suppressed classic” I think it is due to Hernton’s coverage of more extreme and taboo subjects. The inclusion of sex and violence at the level it is described here definitely was more boundary pushing in 1974 but by 2026 I’m not sure it really feels that noteworthy compared to much of what is out there.
Along with his nonfiction Hernton was primarily known as a poet. There actually is a recently published collection of his selected poetry that was just released by Wesleyan University Press in 2023 that I highly recommend. The surrealist and experimental elements of this novel definitely feel like they are sourced from his poetic prowess. The acid trip that Scarecrow goes on is the clear highlight of this book and worth reading for it alone. This section is the strongest writing by far and makes me want to reread the book just to experience it again.
There are themes that I really liked seeing in this book. The ending offers a reflection that Scarecrow and Maria were searching for something more in their relationship just to find the same patriarchal power structure in Black America that they find in white America. While not the most revelatory thing in today’s world, its interesting to see that idea so clearly stated here.
Hernton used the metaphor of a scarecrow a lot in his career. He discussed scarecrows a lot in his poetry as well as here in this novel. Often comparing the scarecrow to the Black male in America we get really interesting explorations into the similar ways in which both are seen as a threat, both seen as field workers, and how both are to be filled with nothing of substance and that their internal thoughts and feelings are not to be valued. This is a really creative and unique comparison that I have never seen explored before and something Hernton offered a lot in his reflection on them.
Overall, I wish this book wasn’t so hard for people to acquire. While far from perfect it is worth reading, especially if you are a fan of Reed and Pynchon. Hernton was sorely neglected in his lifetime and I hope his work can receive reevaluation. While I think his poetry was his strong suit, I do think this novel offers a lot of great concepts and is unique to much else I’ve read. I will be rereading this in the future.
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March 28, 2010I touched looked at her one more time. My eyes started to burn. Wet watery drops started to fall out my left and right eye. My straw like skin felt like it was burning in a room of blazing hot fire. The left part of my chest started to feel like it was bubbling inside. I feel on the ground falling asleep.
"Hey little guy. Come on wake up, wake up, Cliff said."
My eyes started to slowly open.I felt loose but heavier than ever. "Cliff is that you,I said?"
He looked at me. Almost like he had never seen me before and got real close um in my face.
"How do you know my name! I hope you ain't wondering around this farm eating my crops little boy, she screamed!"
What was she talking about I'm nearly 55 years old. Why is she acting like she don't know me.
"Cliff its me Scarecrow,I said."
"You Scarecrow. No way your Scarecrow wheres your straws you got human flesh.If your scare crow than I must be seeing things, she said."
"Human flesh,I whispered to my self."
I looked at my hands, they were strong and tight. I felt like i had the energy of 20 men running through my skin. I don't how. or what happend to me, maybe I was given a seccond chance of life real, sweet old life. But fro some reason i didn't like it. I just wanted to be with someone. but I coulnd't remember.
"Hey little guy. Come on wake up, wake up, Cliff said."
My eyes started to slowly open.I felt loose but heavier than ever. "Cliff is that you,I said?"
He looked at me. Almost like he had never seen me before and got real close um in my face.
"How do you know my name! I hope you ain't wondering around this farm eating my crops little boy, she screamed!"
What was she talking about I'm nearly 55 years old. Why is she acting like she don't know me.
"Cliff its me Scarecrow,I said."
"You Scarecrow. No way your Scarecrow wheres your straws you got human flesh.If your scare crow than I must be seeing things, she said."
"Human flesh,I whispered to my self."
I looked at my hands, they were strong and tight. I felt like i had the energy of 20 men running through my skin. I don't how. or what happend to me, maybe I was given a seccond chance of life real, sweet old life. But fro some reason i didn't like it. I just wanted to be with someone. but I coulnd't remember.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews