Ride a Cockhorse

April 29, 1991
Just before the opening of this painfully funny novel by the author of Lulu Incognito , mild-mannered Mrs. Fitzgibbons, a respectable New England widow and a stalwart home-loan official in a local bank, has awakened to a sudden personality transformation that will eventually lead to full-blown psychosis. At first feeling pleasantly buoyed, Mrs. Fitzgibbons confidently--and uproariously--seduces the high school's drum major; then she unleashes her newfound oratorical flourish and gargantuan ambition on her office mates. Before she finally goes overboard, she has unseated her boss, chalked up some stunning media coups, gained a cult-like following and begun shaking up the region's banking industry. The story itself is not lighthearted, and in fact depicts manic behavior quite accurately, but Kennedy's own antic joy in wielding language with uncanny comic precision will have readers laughing their way through his tale--until the conclusion startles them into realizing that Mrs. Fitzgibbons has been visited by a catastrophe, more exaggerated than most but sadly common. This is comedy made all the more potent by its last-minute kick.

June 1, 1992
This painfully funny novel by the author of Lulu Incognito focuses on a stalwart home-loan bank official whose sudden personality transformation leads to full-blown psychosis.