De ballade van de flexibele kogel

by Stephen King

»Die Ballade von der flexiblen Kugel« ist No. 22 der Stephen King Story Selection ( Blut). Sie umfasst ca. 91 Manuskriptseiten.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Thriller, Audiobook, Science Fiction

197 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1986

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s not that this was a bad story, it just took way to long to tell it. My only thought after reading it is......maybe Jimmy McGill’s brother Chuck on Better Call Saul wasn’t actually crazy after all.....

[Lizi · Rating 4 out of 5]

მეტი შეგეძლო, კინგ

ცუდი არ იყო ყოველ შემთხვევაში✨

[ნინო ქერდიყოშვილი · Rating 4 out of 5]

ობიექტურობას სტივენთან ნუ მომთხოვთ. ეს მიყვარს

[Elene · Rating 3 out of 5]

დიდი შთაბეჭდილება ვერ დამიტოვა.შეიძლება,მეორედ წაკითხვის დროს უფრო დამაინტერესოს მარა ახლა ვერა.სიუჟეტს დიდად არ ვერჩი,სულ უინტერესოც არ ყოფილა,მაგრამ ჩემთვის იმ ენით იყო ნაწერი ზოგი რომ იძახის ფსიქოლოგთან რა უნდა შეშლილი და გიჟი ხოარ არისო ;დ

[Abandoned Asylum · Rating 3 out of 5]

კარგია, და მეორე წაკითხვაზე უფრო მეტი გავიგე და მომეწონა.

მაგრამ 3 🌟 იმის გამო, რომ ეიბლისტური(ableist) ენაა მაინც. ადრე ამას არ მიაქცევდნენ ყურადღებას, "საგიჟეთი" და "შეშლილი" ჩვეულებრივ სალაპარაკო ენაში იყო დანაშაულის გრძნობის გარეშე.
ახლა ის მაინც ვიცით, რომ ვინმე ამ სიტყვებით რომ მოიხსენიებს ფსიქიკურ მდგომარეობას, ეგ თანაგრძნობის გამომხატველი არაა მინიმუმ.

ეს არც მეტიჩრობა არ არის, არც მოდა. რაც უნდა კარგი თუ დიდებული ნაწარმოები იყოს(გინდა ძველი, გინდა ახალი), რამე ნაკლი თუ აქვს, რაც ადრე ეკიდათ, რასიზმი იქნება ეს, ეიბლიზმი, ჰომოფობია, სექსიზმი თუ სხვა, უნდა ვთქვა შეძლებისდაგვარად ყოველთვის.
ფსიქოლოგიური პრობლემა და აშლილობა ჩემთვისაც აქტუალურია. და ამიტომაც.

[Frida Hultgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this in Swedish but this is the only version on here I could find.

[Dimitri Shiukashvili · Rating 3 out of 5]

მისის ტოდის მოკლე გზას მაინც მირჩევნია.

[Benedikt · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Skeleton crew)
After reading a short story now and then i can finally say i came full circle. Most of the short stories where good. I still prefer a longer book but want to read every King so 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️

[Nika Vardiashvili · Rating 4 out of 5]

საკმაოდ მსუყე მოთხრობა. სიგიჟედან, სიგიჟემდე.
Fornit Some Fornus

[Jason Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for the penultimate entry in Skeleton Crew. This was a study in how madness slowly comes about, and there's a supernatural element thrown in the mix for shits and giggles. But, 42 pages is a long way to go to get to a satisfactory eight page ending. At least it was in this case. It wasn't bad at all, certainly no time waster, but it also wasn't a wowzer. But as I've stated in some of my other reviews, that seems to be par for the course for this collection. As usual, the writing was fine, and I had no problem soldiering on, though I never totally understood the metaphor (if that's the right word) of the flexible bullet. I mean, I understood it in one sense, but it also seemed kind of... dare I say it... yes I do. Dumb. I thought it was dumb. Sorry uncle Stevie. But, like I said, the ending was good.

One more story to go; let's finish this bitch.

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

ამ პატარა მოთხრობით გავიცანი სტივენ კინგი და უკვე ძალიან მომწონს.მიუხედავად იმისა, რომ მოთხრობაა,პატარაა და რთულია გარემოს შექმნა და პერსონაჟების კარგად ჩვენება, კინგმა ეს საქმე ათიანზე შეასრულა.
წერის სტილი საკმაოდ კარგი და მარტივი აქვს.სწორედ ამიტომ,როგორც იტყვიან,წყალივით იკითხება.გარდა ამისა მწერალი ეხება ისეთ თემებს,როგორებიცაა სიგიჟე, ან თუნდაც ალკოჰოლიზმი.
მოთხრობას განსაკუთრებულ პეწს სძენს განსაკუთრებული პერსონაჟები–ფორნიტები.სწორედ ისინი არიან მთავარი მოვლენების წარმმართველნი.
რაც შეეხება მთავარ სათქმელს, შეიძლება კინგს ასეთი რამ ჩაფიქრებულიც არ ჰქონდა. შეიძლება უბრალოდ საწერ მანქანას მიუჯდა და ფორნიტებმა, ფორნუსის მტვერის დახმარებით, დააწერინეს ეს გიჟური მოთხრობა.
Fornit Some Fornus

[Miku · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pewna grupka znajomych spotyka się na przyjęciu. Trafia się tam jedna osoba, która opowiada o tym, że spotkała pewnego pisarza. Pisarz ten od samego początku wydawał się osobą chorą psychicznie, ale King tutaj zrobił tę chorobę zaraźliwą, ponieważ te same objawy zaczęły się ukazywać u opowiadającego.

Nie podobało mnie się to opowiadanie. Było dla mnie zbyt przegadane i nie potrafilam się w nie odpowiednio wczuć. Może gdyby to było trochę dłuższe to gdzieś prędzej bym się w tej historii odnalazła.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story about paranoia. The story is very funny because of the irony. It is interesting when the author talks about this being the genesis of insanity.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was creepy as hell. The story was so off the rails that I began to doubt my own sanity. Definitely, one of the best short stories King has ever done.

[Russell Howcroft · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was slightly drawn out but the slow build up to insanity and the crazy ending was worth it. Typewriter elves...

[Amie Clostio · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
From Skeleton Crew

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read as part of the collection Skeleton Crew sometime in 2008.

[Josh Olds · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Flexible bullet” is a term that King has used to describe insanity: it will eventually kill, but how long it takes, and how much damage it does before death are impossible to predict. So this is a story about some authors slowly losing their sanity.

The main character is Henry, a fiction editor for Logan's magazine. Henry receives an unsolicited short story from up-and-coming novelist Reg Thorpe, and considers the story to be very dark, but also a masterpiece. In writing back and forth with Thorpe, Henry discovers that Thorpe believes that tiny elves called Fornits have brought him good luck. Henry is encouraged by Thorpe’s wife to indulge Thorpe, so he does with gusto—eventually coming to believe the in Fornits himself.

It’s an excellently paced descent into madness and, since this is King, you honestly don’t know if the Fornits are real, imagined, or something in between. Through it all, King speaks to the madness that can come with success. A lot of writers have dealt with mental instability. King himself went through a dark period of drug and alcohol abuse that was just coming to light as this story was published. It’s an autobiographical tale, then, in many ways. In the story, Henry survives his insanity. Thorpe does not. King seems to be musing which one he is going to be. Fortunately for us all, King battled his demons and survived.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 3 out of 5]

A retired magazine editor shares a story with his friend about the essence of madness, found within the troubled mind of a first-time author who wrote the best short story he ever read. The author Reg Thorpe explains how typewriters contain fairy-like creatures that inspire ideas for stories at the cost of driving the author mad with delusions and paranoia, bringing out the worst of whoever decides to put their talents to use in their own craft.

Great writing style and build up in this one, but the payoff was kinda silly and longwinded.

[Amit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't like it much. The main character is Henry, fiction editor for the struggling Logan's magazine. Henry receives an unsolicited short story from up-and-coming novelist Reg Thorpe, and considers the story to be very dark, but also a masterpiece. Through his correspondence with Thorpe, Henry learns of—and, due to Henry's own alcoholism, eventually begins to believe in—Thorpe's various paranoid fantasies...

[Odisseas Panagopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Η ελληνική έκδοση από Επιλογή περιλαμβάνει τρία διηγήματα :Η μπαλάντα της ελαστικής σφαίρας(The ballad of the flexible bullet, 1984),Αντικαπνιστική ΕΠΕ(Quitters Inc., 1984) και το Κομπιούτερ των Θεών (Word processor of the Gods, 1983).Απολαυστικός και στην 'μικρή' φόρμα ο Κίνγκ με αστείρευτη φαντασία και ολοζώντανος ήρωες. Προτείνεται ανεπιφύλακτα!

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much too long, and it’s another story in SKELETON CREW where the outermost framing device is unnecessary. There’s simply no reason why this needs to be told in the form of someone telling the story. It doesn’t add to it, and in a lot of ways it feels like filler.

But the meaty core of the story is solid!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather compelling read by King. The story revolves around a writer and the issues he has around producing another article/ piece. Stephen King chose this work to re introduce the theme of addiction with an overly obsessive writer. In this case it worked really well.

[Zachary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The descent into madness described in such vivid detail. The interaction between Reg and Henry as they convince each other to the brinks of insanity is brilliant. Also love the fantasy aspect of the Fornits

[Nika Janjaria · Rating 5 out of 5]

ალბათ საუკეთესო ამ ჟანრში <3

[Philip · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn’t remember this one but thoroughly enjoyed it this time. The idea of transference of psychosis is creepy but also provides a good foundation for a few SK gems.

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

ცოტა რთული მაგრამ საინტერესო

[თორნიკე ბაკურაძე]

¶

[ლუკა ჭყოიძე · Rating 2 out of 5]

მცირე მოთხრობები არა, რა, დიდო მეფეო. რომანები კი ბატონო, უდავოდ, მცირე მოთხრობების უმეტესობა კი ნააჰ...

[Dana Schmidt · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't follow the story