My review of James Kirkwood's novel "There Must Be A Pony!" 4 of 5 stars.

I found this novel in a used bookstore back when I was in my 20's, many years ago, and I bought it because of the title. I read it and adored it--if there had been Goodreads back then, I would certainly have given it 5 stars. It inspired me to read three others by James Kirkwood--PS Your Cat Is Dead, Good Times/Bad Times, and Some Kind Of Hero. all of which I loved. I also tried Hit Me With A Rainbow but disliked it and dnf-ed it.

This is the story of a rather Holden Caulfield-esque teenage boy whose mother is a slightly past her prime Hollywood actress. The major difference between Holden and the narrator here (Josh) is that Josh is almost relentlessly sunny whereas Holden is disillusioned. In fact, Josh is so agreeable and positive that he didn't quite ring true as a 15-year-old boy to me, and so I only give the book 4 stars upon re-reading it all these years later. There Must Be A Pony! is the story of a young man, his slightly unstable mother, a charming man they both adore, and a crew of side characters. When tragedy strikes and everything seems to go from wonderful to awful all at once, Josh and his mom find themselves in a sea of troubles. The title is taken from a joke about a man with twin sons, one an optimist and the other a pessimist. Their dad gives the pessimist a bunch of games and toys and things but the boy just sits there eyeing it all suspiciously. He gives the optimist a pile of dung, but the boy is thrilled and shovels through it excitedly. When the dad asks him why he is so happy, the son replies that "with all this horse (stuff), I figure there must be a pony!" It's an apt metaphor for what this novel is about.

As a grown adult re-reading the book now, and looking at mid-century mores from the vantage point of the 21st century, the constant--and I do mean constant--consumption of alcohol by everyone in the book except Josh becomes extremely tiresome. Even Josh himself remarks about how the adults around him can't seem to make the slightest move without needing a drink first. Near the end of the book, Josh's mother finds out a friend of hers is pregnant, so what does she do? She proposes a toast. Holy fetal alcohol syndrome, Batman.

Kirkwood can be howlingly funny and there are sections of this book that had me in stitches such as the pet parrot who can only ask "Are you a Communist?" At the same time, the plot of this book is often heart-breaking, so it gets both "funny" and "sad" tags from me. In sum, There Must Be A Pony! didn't mean as much to me in my 60's as it did in my 20's, but I'm glad I re-read it, and do recommend it if you can find it. Kirkwood's books all seem to be out of print now, which is a darn shame.