My Pretty Pony

by Stephen King, Barbara Kruger (Illustrator)

Published by Knopf and The Whitney Museum of American Art jointly in 1989.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery

100 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

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

[Theresa (mysteries.and.mayhem) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you heard the comparison between a person's concept of time and a roll of toilet paper? The closer you get to the end, the quicker it runs out. That's essentially what this story is about.

My Pretty Pony is a short story about a grandfather nearing the end of his life sharing knowledge with his young grandson. The lesson is how to hold onto time. I believe it hit home with me because I'm creeping into the section of the toilet paper roll where it starts unspooling quicker than I'd like it to! No toilet paper is mentioned in this story. You can trust this story is more eloquent than that!

What I love about the story is the pure love of the grandson for his grandfather. I love the beauty in the description of the apple orchard where grandpa is sharing his wisdom. I love the juxtaposition of youth vs elderly. I love the perspective of time as something we might possibly be able to hold onto. How do we do that? Grandpa will share his wisdom with you too, if you read the story (found in the Nightmares and Dreamscapes collection). Four stars.

[Ben Vogel · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read this short story in my early 20's. Just re-read again at 45 as I watch my children grow up at amazing speed and life begins to fly by. If this story helped me to appreciate to take the time on the important things while there is still time, and I think it may have added to that awareness long ago, then I am grateful beyond the simple words of a story and a lesson well told.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of an old man and his grandson, wherein the former teaches the latter the importance of the 'pretty pony', the 'real' time when a person is between fourteen and sixty years of age. Nothing typically horrifying here. However the importance of time is what is focused upon as terrifying due to its nature of duration in a human's life.

As per King, this piece is a reminiscence of a character who was supposed to be a protagonist in a violent story, which was abandoned by King while writing as Richard Bachman. In that story, the protagonist is supposed to remember his times with his grandfather, the part which was picked for writing this short story.

[Surbhi Gupta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how King just doesn't give out the moral, but centers his entire story around it so that somewhere deep inside you, you can feel what he talks about, way before he actually get to it.Also,a whole lot of poignant lines and a very beautiful end.

[Janith Pathirage · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know which category this story falls under. Its definitely not a horror story. It was bit wired but .. I don't know. There are such Stephen King stories. I don't get it but I like it. Guess this is one of those narratives which has lot of hidden messages and enigmas. To unlock them you got to read very carefully. Should read this again sometime.

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

He made sense on the relativity of time. It makes sense why time flew so fast for my grandparents while being so slow to me as a kid. Now it is flying for me too. Great analogy I have used since.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Amie Clostio · Rating 3 out of 5]

From Nightmares & Dreamscapes

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little mini story actually left something to think of. Not the usual King but a very very good one.

I love how the small details plays nice role in this. I love how the moral is not laid out there on a brightly lit display.

One the Pretty pony is gone, there's no way to bring it back...

Book #52 of 2024..
Stephen King#35

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is more of a collector's item than a good read. It was first published in an extravagant limited edition for the Whitney gallery, then as an oversized limited edition with a thick cardboard slipcover case. The packaging is special, but the story inside is forgettable. Something about how time flies.

[B. Zelkovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grim and gritty, fatalistic yet resonant, this story had a poignancy I don't often think of when I think of King. There are no demons, no ghouls, the only haunting done in this story is by time, as it prowls behind the characters. The foreshadowing was fantastic and the characters and descriptions are wonderful, even if unpleasant. As usual with Mr. King.

[Aaron White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story doesn't have a lot of plot (unusual for a King book). But it's short length dispenses with that need. The story I found to be beautifully written, and truth. The art of this book, while I understood a little, I did not find to be very interesting or beneficial to the short story. But King's story is gold.

[Maria Charcut Rector · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nice change from King's many other wonderful works. This beautiful illustrated, oversized book tells the story of a young boy, his grandfather, and a pocket watch. It's their conversation in regards to not taking a single minute of time in life for granted.

[hardcover_bitch_book]

good short story but always liked his short ones

[Alex]

False

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audio version of this story is read by Jerry Garcia. About an hour long, it takes you to another place and time.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que lindo cuento! Emotivo, sentimental...
No me costó tanto la tradución, se puede leer bastante bien...

[Eileen Winterhalter]

wasn't able to get to the book to read it.

[Joshua · Rating 2 out of 5]

My first impressions on this story is that it is just ok. I appreciate it when Stephen King moves away from the horror genre, for example I think "Dolores Claiborne" is a wonderful novel and its really more of a drama. Anyway, maybe it is as simple as I really just did not connect with the characters in the story and that's why my rating is lower. Some people seem to really love this story and that's probably due to connecting with it personally. It has its moments, and on some level I think there is a good idea here. Truly, this may be a story I need to go back reread before I give a final verdict on it.

[Rhonda Gregware · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a pretty complete library of Stephen King's writings but did not have My Pretty Pony. At the time it was published I could not afford to purchase the book and was too busy running a household (through many military moves) and raising children to think too much about it. Yesterday our family had early Christmas (it seems that there's always someone in the family traveling so holidays are flexible). The biggest gift surprise came from my oldest son, who somehow found and gifted me with a copy of this book. The presentation of the book is special, but the short story within is even more so. What a special gift this is to me.

[Jeff Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short story expanded as a book deserves a short review. It's a cute, little story about a grandfather parting wisdom about time to his grandson. It's simple and the message could be received by anyone from young to old. There's not enough time in this world, and we take it for granted when we're young. And the time that we wish we could escape, like during troublesome times, that is when time really slows down.

The Barbara Kruger artwork is fun, and adds a bit of character to the oversized behemoth of a red book. A fun little novelty that would be fun to own for myself, if the price is right!

It's worth reading it as part of the more widely available collection, Nightmares and Dreamscapes, if curious.

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first encountered this story when I was training at a local library and wanted very much to own a copy. This pairing of a Stephen King story along with art work by Barbara Kruger as part of the Artists and Writers Series , Whitney Museum of American Art, is so well paired. I enjoy King's short stories and have often wished some were illustrated. Well, I waited 35 years to get reunited with this book and it was worth it! It's a masterpiece of not wasting time and appreciating the time we have.
Another great one by Stephen King!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stephen King is quite a surprising author. You think you have him figured, then, he produces this story. King, synonymous with the ‘horror genre’; this is furthest from it. The story revolves around time well spent between grandfather and one of his children, Charlie. Whimsical stories and imparted knowledge.

What brings this story down though, is, I am not sure of the relevance of the books title to the actual book.

[Wendell Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unusual early work by Stephen King, and not his usual horror genre. This is a short story in a large scale format on thick paper with large unusual modern illustrations that accompany but do not always illustrate portions of the story. The story attempts to be a moralistic parable but something was lost in the telling and the format. Not my favorite work by one of my favorite writers.

[James Biser · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story is a great interaction between a young man and his grandfather who is about to die. Clive, the young man, learns what it means to be alive and what it means to be young. The grandfather explains that when you are young it is like having a pretty pony.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version, read by Jerry Garcia. Definitely a thought-provoking story especially when it's read by the instantly recognizable late musician.

[Gerry Pelser · Rating 5 out of 5]

My fave Steve King short story. It is beautiful, just simply beautiful.

[RosMadder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not really sure about this one

[Stephen Byrne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just a nice family story with meanings. Short, beautifully written but too similar to hundreds of short stories I've read and found boring over the years.

[Devonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written short story about a Grandfather sharing his perspective on time at different stages of life with his grandson.