| "Man With a Belly" | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Short story by Stephen King | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| Language | English | ||
| Genre(s) | Crime short story | ||
| Publication | |||
| Published in | Cavalier | ||
| Publisher | Fawcett Publications | ||
| Media type | |||
| Publication date | 1978 | ||
| Chronology | |||
| |||
"Man With a Belly" is a short story by Stephen King. It was published in Cavalier in December 1978. [1]
The story opens with John Bracken, a hitman, in the James Memorial Park of an unnamed town; he is waiting for Norma Correzente, who is due to walk home from a casino through the park at 11:00 PM. Bracken has been paid $50,000 (equivalent to $224,000in 2022) by Norma's husband, the 78 year-old Mafia Don Vittorio "Vito the Wop" Correzente, to rape her as punishment for her compulsive gambling. Correzente considers that ordering this deed will show him to be "a man with a belly". [lower-alpha 1]
After a violent struggle, Bracken rapes Norma in the park, then passes on Correzente's message that he now considers "that all debts are paid and there is honor again". Norma subsequently persuades Bracken to escort her to her secret second apartment, where they have consensual sex. Afterwards, Norma sets out her hatred of Correzente. The following day, Norma offers Bracken $100,000 (equivalent to $449,000in 2022) of her own money to impregnate her so she can trick Correzente into believing she is giving him an heir, leaving her free to gamble (and enabling her to "kill him with the truth" in the future). Bracken agrees to the deal, and 10 weeks later Norma tests positive on a pregnancy test.
Seven months later, Correzente's consigliore Benito "Benny the Bull" Torreos summons Bracken to Correzente, who is dying and wishes to ask Bracken a question. Torreos informs Bracken that Norma has died in childbirth. Knowing that he will be hunted down if he refuses, Bracken visits Correzente, who informs him that he suffered a stroke while attempting to impregnate Norma, then later suffered a second, larger, stroke while arguing with her. Norma in turn injured herself while running to summon help, leading to her own death during labour. Correzente expresses suspicion that the baby - which is in an incubator - has blue eyes, despite both he and Norma having brown eyes. Bracken rejects the implication that he is the father, saying "I have my own belly. Do you think I would take my own leavings?" and that the baby's eyes will turn brown, though Correzente will not live to see it.
One of a series of stories that King submitted to men's magazines, "Man With a Belly" was originally published in Cavalier in December 1978. It was later published in the November/December 1979 issues of Gent . In 2017, it was included in the crime anthology Killer Crimes edited by Richard Chizmar and Brian James Freeman. [1] [3] [4] [5] As of 2022, "Man With a Belly" had not been collected or adapted. [6] Writing in 2014, Michael A. Perry and Patrick McAleer describe "Man With a Belly" as one of King's "lost" works. [7]
Rocky Wood considers that the story "has some plot holes and is somewhat unsatisfying" [8] but felt that "all three main characters are conceptually interesting and the storyline bold". [9] Tyson Blue considers the story to lack "King's trademark characteristics of good storytelling and characterization". [10] Patrick McAleer suggests that the story "serves as an example of [King's] critical eye on social and cultural norms". [11] Stephen J. Spignesi notes the story as an example of King's "forays into the 'crime story' genre". [12] Michael R. Collings describes "Man With a Belly" as "a tale of murder and revenge, with over-tones of gangster society that foreshadows Thinner's Ginelli". [13]
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Called the "King of Horror", his books have sold more than 350 million copies as of 2006, and many have been adapted into films, television series, miniseries, and comic books. He has also written approximately 200 short stories, most of which have been published in book collections. His debut, Carrie, was published in 1974, and was followed by 'Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand and The Dead Zone. Different Seasons, a collection of four novellas, was his first major departure from the horror genre. The novellas provided the basis for the films Stand by Me and The Shawshank Redemption. King has published under the pseudonym Richard Bachman and has cowritten works with other authors, notably his friend Peter Straub and sons Joe Hill and Owen King.
There have been many books published about Stephen King and his works.
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Randall Flagg is a fictional character created by American author Stephen King, who has appeared in at least nine of his novels. Described as "an accomplished sorcerer and a devoted servant of the Outer Dark", he has supernatural abilities involving necromancy, prophecy, and influence over animal and human behavior. His goals typically center on bringing down civilizations through destruction and conflict. He has a variety of names, usually with the initial letters "R. F." but with occasional exceptions, such as Walter o'Dim and Marten Broadcloak in The Dark Tower series.
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Alice Hardy is a fictional character in the Friday the 13th franchise. Alice first appears in Friday the 13th (1980) as an artist working as a camp counselor. She is portrayed by Adrienne King—who reprises the role in the sequel Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981) and the fan film Jason Rising (2021). Alice's creator, Victor Miller, scripted her as a flawed character, envisioning her in an affair. Once production began on the original film, budgetary constraints limited the deeper exposition intended for Alice's character.
The Opener of the Way is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by American writer Robert Bloch. It was released in 1945 and was the author's first book. It was published by Arkham House in an edition of 2,065 copies. A British hardcover was issued by Neville Spearman in 1974, with Panther Books issuing a two-volume paperback reprint in 1976. An Italian translation, with the stories reordered, appeared in 1991. The collection was never reprinted in the United States, but its contents were included in the 1994 omnibus The Early Fears.
Fearful Pleasures is a collection of fantasy and horror short stories by author A. E. Coppard. It was released in 1946 and was the first collection of the author's stories to be published by Arkham House. It was published in an edition of 4,033 copies.
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Michael Robert Collings is an American writer, poet, literary critic, and bibliographer, and a former professor of creative writing and literature at Pepperdine University. He was Poet in Residence at Pepperdine's Seaver College from 1997 to 2000.
According to books by Tyson Blue, Stephen J. Spignesi, and Rocky Wood et al., there are numerous unpublished works by Stephen King that have come to light throughout King's career. These allegedly include novels and short stories, most of which remain unfinished. Most are stored among Stephen King's papers in the special collections of the Raymond H. Fogler Library at the University of Maine, some of which are freely accessible to the library's visitors. However, others require King's permission to read. Additionally, there are a number of uncollected short stories, published throughout King's long career in various anthologies and periodicals, that have never been published in a King collection.
"The Glass Floor" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the autumn 1967 issue of Startling Mystery Stories. It was King's first professional sale.
"The Night of the Tiger" is a short story by Stephen King. Originally written in the 1960s, it was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction in February 1978.
"I Was a Teenage Grave Robber" is a short story by Stephen King. It was first published in the fanzine Comics Review in 1965; a rewritten version was published in 1966 under the title "In a Half-World of Terror". It was King's first independently published story.
"Pinfall" is an unpublished short story/film treatment by Stephen King and George A. Romero. It was originally written by King as a segment for the 1987 anthology film Creepshow 2, with Romero developing it into a script, but was never filmed. In 2016, a comic book adaptation of the story was produced by Jason Mayoh.
People, Places and Things is a short story collection by Chris Chesley and Stephen King, self-published in 1960.
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