Synopsis:

Why can people be so cruel to each other? In his search for answers, Bob Van Laerhoven concentrates on individuals, but ideologies, religions, and political structures shimmer in the background.

Through ten stories set in different countries and eras, Van Laerhoven takes us through the destructive consequences of our passions as a common thread, from contemporary Syria to Algeria in the 1950s, and the civil war in Liberia to the uprising in Belgian Congo in the 1960s.

The ten stories in SCARS OF THE HEART highlight the dark side of love, which fuels our violence, inner loneliness, and greedy egos.

Praise for Scars Of The Heart:

SCARS OF THE HEART received a New York Book 2024 Festival Honorable Mention in the category Anthologies/Compilations and a Gold Book Award 2024 from Literary Titan.

“SCARS OF THE HEART Heart by Bob Van Laerhoven is a compelling collection of short stories that delve into the profound impacts of war… The settings range from the war-torn Middle East to World War II and Nazi Germany, bridging past and present to create relevant and relatable narratives. I finished the book with immense respect for the author’s raw and heartbreaking portrayals of reality. The non-war stories are equally compelling, showcasing Van Laerhoven’s versatility and skill in crafting riveting tales. Fans of Roald Dahl or Edgar Allan Poe will appreciate the beautifully crafted stories in SCARS OF THE HEART. For those who enjoy well-constructed plots and complex characters, this collection is a must-read. I highly recommend this book to anyone who can endure the psychological turmoil and pain depicted, as it offers profound insights into the atrocities and resilience of life.”
~ 5-stars Literary Titan Review

“In SCARS OF THE HEART, Bob Van Laerhoven has taken a most controversial subject and written ten short stories around it. Each story is unique in its own right but the same theme is carried through each one. The author holds the reader’s attention in each story for different reasons… Each story has a different tale and lesson to be learned and each title is more intriguing than the last. Bob Van Laerhoven has highlighted the atrocities that were committed during the various wars throughout the ages, how nobody is ever allowed to forget them, and how it affects vulnerable youngsters growing up as they learn the truth–as seen through the eyes of a relative, family friend, or even history–of what happened to their family, village, and country. This is a most interesting anthology and will give readers much food for thought. It is a profound read and I will be sure to reread some of the more intriguing stories because there is so much to learn from them.”
~ Reviewed by Bernadette Longu for Readers’ Favorite – 5 stars

“Mr. Van Laerhoven is an artist with words who paints in all mediums.
He also has the ability to make you think and feel.
In this collection of short stories his talent is on display with a heavier hand in horror and angst, and it works well. There is no sugar coating what the characters see and do, and yet it is so real, you can picture each part of it, and will find the stories will not go away when you finish them…
These stories are wonderful, unsettling, and should be on your list to read. Highly recommended.”
~ Hussong’s Cantina – Amazon.com

“SCARS OF THE HEART is a collection of short stories by Bob van Laerhoven that explores the darker sides of the human psyche and the complex nature of human relationships. Laerhoven brings together narratives on the themes of love, loss, revenge, and redemption. Each story is complete on its own, yet together, they paint a vivid picture of the scars that life can leave on the heart.
While SCARS OF THE HEART is an intriguing collection, some readers may find the intensity and dark themes challenging. Laerhoven does not shy away from depicting violence and emotional suffering. While these align with the subject of the stories, they can be unsettling. Additionally, the complex nature of some stories may require careful reading to fully appreciate the symbolism they embody. For fans of thought-provoking and emotionally resonant fiction, I give it five stars out of five.”
~ 5-Star Review David Ikediuwa – Goodreads

 

Bob Van Laerhoven was gracious enough to tell us a bit more about his life and writing…

MARY-OF-MICE

by Bob Van Laerhoven

My life until age 69 was varied: I wrote my novels, practiced aikido, danced the bachata, and partied with a tight group of friends. All this ended abruptly when a sepsis infection went for my throat. I survived but paid a hefty toll. The sepsis turned me into a disabled wheelchair user and plunged me into a deep depression.

I sought closure and thought I wouldn’t live much longer, so I tried to write a last novel. I couldn’t understand why it didn’t seem to work. I was a seasoned author with almost fifty traditionally published books. I also had oceans of time: it’s incredible how fast you are reduced to a loner when it’s difficult to leave the house.

Two years of fruitless groping in myself for a story, several false starts, and a growing feeling of failure went by. I wrestled with the sense that I lost my style and, subsequently, the talent to create with words. The world around me grew darker with the day.

One sleepless night, I was musing about my beloved female American Stafford, who had died years ago, and the pain and the loss that stayed with me all this time. She was three when I met her. Her life had been horrendous: in the daytime, her owner chained her to a dirty and worn doghouse, and at night, she roamed restlessly around a yard of car wrecks, scratching the ground at the gates in fruitless attempts to escape this hell of loneliness. She moaned and whimpered and barked for hours on end.

At last, neighbors started complaining, and the police confiscated the dog. Although she didn’t show aggressive behavior, she was considered “dangerously frantic.” When I met her, she waited for her execution in a kill pen. She sat in a cage, trembling, pushing herself against the farthest wall, staring at the ground. I usually don’t use the cliché “broken heart,” but at that moment, It happened: the dog didn’t even look at me, but I felt a stab of overwhelming pain in my heart, and I knew I had to adopt her.

I did and called her Lientje. The name popped up in me the moment I led her out of the kennel. “You are Lientje from now on, and we will become great friends,” I told her. Our relationship turned out to be more than that. Lientje’s unconditional Love was bottomless. When we looked into each other’s eyes, there was that indescribable feeling of being connected, of understanding. I called her my furry soulmate.

After five unforgettable years, my furry soulmate died unexpectedly from a fast-acting brain cancer. I was devastated. It felt as if I had lost a piece of myself. I called Lientje every night, imploring her to visit me to let me know there was an afterlife and telling me we would be reunited. During those nights, there were moments when I had the impression I felt her weight against my thigh, and it was as if I could hear her deep, satisfied sigh, which, in life, she always did when she lay beside me on the couch or my bed. Each time this happened, I burst into tears.

On a particular night three months ago, it was different. The despair of my loss was always there, but suddenly, I remembered why I had called her Lientje. It felt like a prompt, a message. I couldn’t sleep anymore, got out of bed, went into my study, and looked at the tower of boxes in a corner, where I kept my archive of decades as a full-time author.

Twenty-two boxes.

I must confess that, at that moment, my heart sank into my shoes. I didn’t even know if I had kept the long-forgotten manuscript I suddenly wanted to find.

It was four a.m., and it was cold in my study. Yet I took the first box of the pile.

What I called “my archive” was a chaos. I had kept my manuscripts, interviews, guest posts, short stories published in magazines, and reviews of my work in all kinds of newspapers, weeklies, monthlies, and old cassettes with television interviews, but I had never cataloged anything. I didn’t know if I would find Mary-of-Mice in that mumbo jumbo.

I was lucky – or had some ghost guided me? Almost two hours later, I was already reading the fairy tale I had written as a seventeen-year-old dreamer. I was devastated at that time because my first Love had just left me, and I was sure I would never be able to love again.

Mary-of-Mice was blond and a dwarf who performed in a small circus show while traveling in the rural regions of a USA-like country. Nobody except her companion, the gnarled old horse trainer Wlaza, and her talking dog Lientje knew Mary was, in fact, a nymph. Lientje and Mary were the openers of the evening shows. When the spots above the piste appeared, they stood in a red light cone and recited a poem. Every night, the audience became deathly silent. Mary and Lientje had the magical power to induce Love in even the brutes of humans when they recited a different poem each night with their voices blending beautifully together.

For instance, one like this:

Thou blind fool, Love, what dost thou to mine eyes

That they behold and see not what they see?

They know what beauty is, see where it lies,

Yet what the best is, take the worst to be.

I tried to remain calm when I read Mary-Of-Mice and failed miserably. All the hurt from Lientje’s death merged with my surprise that I had written an unfinished story about her in my teenage years and that she had come into my life more than forty years later.

I didn’t feel only sadness. An intense sense of wonder came over me, of being confronted with a sign that Lientje was with me again and tried to help me.

She seemed to whisper in my ears: “You know what to do.”

Three weeks later, I finished writing Mary-Of-Mice into a novella of seventy-eight pages, filled with Love, wonder, and self-sacrifice.

These are the last three sentences.

She walks in beauty, like the night

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

And all that’s best of dark and bright

Meet in her aspect and her eyes;

Thus mellowed to that tender light

Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

Tonight, I’ll ask Lientje to recite those sentences with me.

First poem extract: Shakespeare’s Sonnet 137

Second poem extract: Lord Byron- She Walks in Beauty

 

Book Details:

Genre: Psychological Thriller, Suspense-Drama, Historical Literary Fiction
Published by: Next Chapter
Publication Date: May 28, 2024
Number of Pages: 245
ISBN: 9784824193995 (ISBN10: 4824193990)
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Kobo | Goodreads

 

Author Bio:

A full-time Belgian/Flemish author, Laerhoven has published (traditionally) 44 books in Holland and Belgium. As a freelance travel writer, he explored conflicts and trouble spots across the globe from the early 1990s to 2003: Somalia, Liberia, Bosnia, Sudan, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Mozambique, Kosovo, and Myanmar… to name a few. Echoes of his experiences on the road trickle through in his novels.

Catch Up With Bob Van Laerhoven:
www.BobVanLaerhoven.be
Goodreads
BookBub – @BobvanLaerhoven
Instagram – @bobvanlaerhoven
Threads – @bobvanlaerhoven
Twitter/X – @bobvanlaerhoven
Facebook

 

 

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