Strange Fruit by Lillian Smith, published in 1944
This extremely controversial novel was published in 1944 and was banned in many states. The author, Lillian Smith, chose the title after hearing Billie Holiday’s performance of the song Strange Fruit written by Abel Meeropol. The song presents a graphic description of lynching.
In her novel, Smith describes a mixed-race romance while detailing the turbulent, traumatic race relations of this period. The conclusion of the novel describes the lynching of an African American man who was unjustly accused of murdering the White lover of the African American heroine.
The last chapter depicts the fear and subjugation experienced by the heroine and her family who are left to suppress the aftermath of their traumatic encounter within themselves in order to survive.
