Boris Vian was not just a novelist, but a jazz musician, critic, poet, and playwright. He mingled with cultural icons like Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Raymond Queneau, Jean Cocteau, and Jean-Paul Sartre in the vibrant Parisian scene of the forties and fifties. Beyond his musical ventures, he translated American hard-boiled crime novels and stumbled upon the works of an African-American writer named Vernon Sullivan.

I Spit on Your Graves is a gripping tale of a 'white Negro' seeking revenge on a small Southern town for his brother's lynching by an all-white mob. This novel, upon release, became a bestseller in France and controversially linked to a copycat crime. Initially believed to be Sullivan's work, it was later revealed to be Vian's own creation under a pseudonym!

This book is an extremely violent and sexy hard-boiled novel that delves into themes of racial and class prejudice, revenge, and justice. It stands out as a literary oddity, having been penned by a jazz-loving white Frenchman who had never set foot in America.