Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, The
The main character is Henry (usually referred to as simply "the editor"), fiction editor for "Logan's," a struggling magazine. Henry receives an unsolicited short story from up-and-coming novelist Reg Thorpe, and considers the story to be 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. Most notably, Henry and Thorpe believe that their typewriters serve as homes for Fornits -- tiny elves who bring creativity and good luck. The story, told from Henry's perspective as he relays it in anecdotal form at a barbecue, concerns Henry's descent into Thorpe's madness. Meanwhile, Henry also struggles to get Thorpe's story published, despite the fact that "Logan's" is in the process of closing its fiction department.
Characters
| Marsha | Paul's agent's wife |
| Meg | Wife of Paul |
| Paul | Writer and husband of Meg |
| Baker, Jared | Assistant fiction editor at Esquire Magazine |
| Bellis | Henry Wilson's Fornit |
| Bellis, Miss | Maiden name of Henry Wilson's mother |
| Dohegan, Jim | Boss of Henry Wilson at Logan's Magazine |
| Hagen, Tim | Writer |
| Jackson, Shirley | Wrote "The Lottery" |
| Lindsay, John | On the cover of Logan's magazine |
| Lockridge, Ross | Mentioned in passing |
| Moore, Marianne | Coined the phrase "Flexible Bullet" |
| Morrison, Janey | Jim Dohegan's secretary |
| Plath, Sylvia | Writer |
| Rackne | The fornit in Reg Thorp's typewriter. Brother of Bellis |
| Rivers, Andy | Editor of fiction for American Crossings magazine |
| Rulin, Gertrude | Black woman hired by Thorpe to help clean the house |
| Rulin, Jimmy | Son of Gertrude. Shot the Fornit in Reg's typewriter |
| Rulin, Mr | Husband of Gertrude |
| Sexton, Anne | Writer |
| Strong, Mert | Worked in Logan's publicity office |
| Thorpe, Jane | Wife of Reg |
| Thorpe, Reg | The writer that is slowly going insane |
| Updike, John | Writer |
| Vadar, Sam | On the board of directors for Logan's magazine |
| Wilson, Henry | Editor of fiction for Logan's magazine |
| Wilson, Mrs | Mother of Henry |
| Younger, Kate | Worked in Logan's ad department |
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