Lit Fic 22: Remember Heart of November? A Recap
What has happened to Hairball?
I stopped posting this novel when Safari stopped accepting Substack. It has taken me this long to figure out how to post on Substack: use Chrome. Simple, eh? I must be slow? Obtuse? Computer illiterate? All of the above?
Remember Heart of November? It’s a novel I’m working on and posting (irregularly) here on Substack.
It’s about a high school student who travels to the Democratic Republic of the Congo because, in elementary school, he studied the DRC and wanted to learn first hand about the largest French-speaking country in the world. Plus, it’s about him becoming interested in buying and selling rare books. It is also about his relationship with a girl he met in elementary school and subsequently married. The novel starts as she is telling him she wants a divorce.
All three plots •Congo •Marriage •Bookseller converge and mesh together.
Here is a long-ish recap of what Hairball has been through thus far. Each chapter has at least one past adventure and one present adventure. Time is fluid in Heart of November (
I’ve done a lot of editing and what you read here is not the final version. In fact, the version I have on my computer isn’t the final version either. It is being improved. However, please read and if you so desire, send me comments, criticisms, or accolades.
The next installment is coming soon, I promise. By soon, I mean, this month. Cheers!
There are two stories here:
Hairball and his future wife (Roberta) meeting in elementary school, working together in junior high, and falling in love after high school. This story also includes Hairball becoming a rare book buyer and seller and his adventures in the book trade in England.
The other story is Hairball’s sometimes violent experience in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as he tries to learn about the Congo, save a woman’s life, and survive multiple murder attempts.
Chapter One — Our Hero remembers meeting his future wife after she tells him she’s divorcing him.
Chapter Two — Hairball works with his future wife (Roberta) in elementary school and ends up being a community college English teacher.
Chapter Three — Hairball argues with Roberta, who becomes his current wife, and contemplates a job change; one that she will regret.
Chapter Four — Hairball argues with Roberta and gives his presentation to his elementary school classmates about the Congo.
Chapter Five — Hairball attends an auction for rare books. In his explanation of Congolese history he starts a riot in his elementary school. Roberta is not surprised.
Chapter Six — Hairball flies to the Congo, meets a pimp/drug dealer (Kurtz), a hat and ladies undergarment salesman (Sakombí), an Australian woman (Amelia), and a sex slaver (Tipu Tip). Roberta is surprised he’s not in high school.
Chapter Seven
Kurtz sells Amelia to a sex slaver (Tipu Tip); Tipu agrees to sell her to another sex slaver; Hairball and Sakombí got to a festival where Hairball sees Amelia being raped.
Chapter Eight
Hairball and Sakombí track down Kurtz and force him show where Amelia is; he refuses. Kurtz gets stabbed in the back by his girlfriend’s daughter and Hairball & Sakombí take him to a woman who can save him. Later, Kurtz is almost eaten by a snake but is saved by a strange woman (Nyoka).
Chapter Nine
Hairball dines with Sir Clive while in the past Hairball threatens Kurtz with death.
Chapter Ten
Part One: Kurtz’s back is bleeding but he takes Hairball and Sakombí to Tipu Tip’s hideout.
Part Two: Hairball’s future wife exposes herself in a dark movie theater.
Part Three: Hairball, Sakombí, and Kurtz argue with Tipu Tip and his men. Violence ensues.
Chapter Eleven
Hairball and his current wife argue about him leaving her alone while he traipses off to a rare book auction.
Amelia takes control and aims to free Tipu’s sex slaves.
Chapter Twelve
Hairball and his current wife argue, again. Hairball remembers his mother disguising a forced move as a wonderful opportunity.
Chapter Thirteen
Violence erupts, Amelia is wounded, slaves are saved, and Sakombí finds a doctor for Amelia.
Please feel free to contact me about this story and any others. I’d love to hear from you.