The Hawk and the Sun: A Novel

by Byron Herbert Reece, Hugh Ruppersburg (Foreword)

Set in the small-town, pre-civil rights South, The Hawk and the Sun is the story of one day in the life of Dandelion, a physically impaired man who is the sole black resident in the town of Tilden.

Years before, the birth of a mixed-race child to a white prostitute had precipitated an outpouring of hatred against Tilden's black citizens, all of whom but Dandelion had been driven from town. In this atmosphere of smoldering self-righteousness, Dandelion survives on handouts and what little he can earn from odd jobs. Finally, the town turns against him as well.

Seen hurrying from the house of the neurotic Miss Ella as her screams fill the air of an August morning, Dandelion is apprehended and falsely accused of rape. Before the day's end, he is tortured and lynched. In his rendering of Dandelion, of those who murdered him, of those who looked the other way, and of the lone white man who stood futilely against the mob, Byron Herbert Reece brings his readers face to face with the horrifying spectacle of collective fear and racism.

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1955

Reviews

[Lin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The only black man in a small Southern town gets falsely accused of an atrocity that never happened. The men of the town torture him before killing him. The writing is not politically correct by today's standards, so perhaps do not read it if you are sensitive to the language, because this book was written halfway through the 20th century. That was a different time and and it is an education unto itself in reading this book. It was a difficult and disturbing read.

[Kathy Piselli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably the creepiest lynching story I've read. Reece does such an excellent job of portraying not only the characters, but the inevitability of the actions which flow like molasses. You want this lynching to not happen, and it seems unbelievable that it would happen, and yet it does anyway. It isn't sugar coated. God glares down, disapproving.

[Carol Frazer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read....