Cujo: A Novel

I've been fascinated by Cujo ever since I was like 11 or 12 and was horrified by the original DVD cover when I saw it at Wal-Mart in the early '00s. Looking at it now, it's clearly a bad photoshop job (which in a way makes it even more unsettling), but the image of that snarling dog with gigantic teeth and eerily human looking eyes, juxaposed against a blue sky with fluffy white clouds, terrified me for years as I avoided it in the DVD department at any given store. Beneath all this, I was curious about the movie itself. I eventually saw the movie and loved it (and as soon as the Special Edition was released, with less horrifying cover art, I snapped it up). But I never read the book... until now. This was the first full Stephen King book I ever read, and it won't be the last. Its relatively slow pace may surprise some people - the book doesn't get to the main setpiece, Donna and Tad trapped in their car by the rabid St. Bernard Cujo, until almost halfway through - but King's writing and excellent character work kept me engaged the whole way through. I was as engaged with the stupid cereal commercial subplot as I was with the horrifying main plot. And as frightening as this book is, it's also absolutely heartbreaking, especially if you're a dog lover like myself. The glimpses into Cujo's deteriorating mental state, and his sendoff... poor thing. He was a good boy who deserved so much better. And I don't wanna spoil it, but that's not the only heartwrenching thing that happens. In short, this is an excellent book that I'd recommend to anyone interested, but be warned that it packs an emotional gut-punch. Not bad for a book written by a guy who was so drunk and stoned that he barely even remembers writing the thing. Or so I've heard. I've come across conflicting reports as to what the writing process here was really like, so I don't know for sure what happened. What I do know is that King made a masterpiece with Cujo.

We return to the setting of Castle Rock, Maine. A town that is still haunted by the grizzly murders that took place some years ago. In the story we meet The Trenton's, Donna and Vic and their son Tad. They are a family who moved to Castle Rock from New York. Donna ends an affair that doesn't end well and Vic might loose his job. Then there are the Cambers, Joe and Charity and their son Brett. Joe is a mechanic. He's the kind of person you'd want to meet when your car breaks down, but not the kind of person you want to be married to. He abuses and controls his wife, Charity who despises her husband behavior and attitude. She does not want her son to turn out like his father. They have a dog named Cujo who get bitten by a bat and becomes rabid. Cujo's condition gets worse over time turning him from the good-natured dog he was into a bloodthirsty killer. Donna and Tad are trapped inside her Pinto as Cujo attacks them. The characters are all suffering some sort of crisis, big or small before Cujo makes his first kill. Donna and Vic's marriage is being tested, while Charity is worried about her son and his upbringing. In the end Cujo wasn't just one another one of Stephen King's monsters. He was also victim himself. He was the victim of a disease no one suspected and no one thought of preventing with a simple shot. The books is also about timing. Had Donna gotten her car fixed before or had the hole been found by the previous owner of the Camber's property. It is basically a story about how little things that go ignored could end up with huge consequences. Reading Cujo felt like it was taking longer than it should have. In my case, I had been neglecting my reading now and then. But one thing to note is that the book is with out chapters. The build-up has very interesting character development. So when Cujo takes a bite, you aren't left completely unsympathetic with each death and you can't be be unsympathetic towards Cujo either. This is also a story without a bad guy. The only person that comes close is Donna's lover. You'll see what I mean. In the end, I recommend this book because it has interesting characters who are so drawn to their troubles which seems meaningless when the real tragedy strikes. But I can't say it's one of my favorable novels by King. I say this with unease because I am a huge fan of Stephen King, but maybe Cujo is that could've been formatted better. But at least the plot and the story is top notch.

Always a hard read but truly enjoy a good Stephen King book. Anyone who reads Stephen King should read this one.

A Tad sad but still a really good read. I collect King books and I usually read them multiple times. I’m not certain if I will read this one again bc it tugged my heartstrings more than I was prepared for.

More terrifying than the movie! King takes you on a ride with some of the people in Castle Rock. And of a good dog named Cujo that was bitten by a rabid bat. It was not his fault that he went bad. It was the rabies. You will shiver, you will shudder and you will not be able to put the book down.

It is a story I have long planned to read, and I finally got a round tuit. Cujo is a big, well-loved Saint Bernard, and he lives with the Cambers (THE MAN, THE WOMAN, and THE BOY) in Castle Rock, Maine. He is bitten by a rabid bat, and the dreadful virus soon begins to take hold of the canine. THE MAN owns a garage, and when Donna Trenton and her son, Tad, drive her unreliable Pinto to Camber's place for repairs, they are greeted by the rapidly declining dog. King introduces some supernatural elements here, and I expected that. Tad, Donna, and Vic Trenton all seem to have premonitions, and there are many references to at least one of King's characters from earlier works. It is not made clear, however, whether telekinesis, spirits, or something else altogether is responsible for the "monsters" in the kid's closet. We do learn that monsters take many forms in real life: a rabid dog, a belligerent and vindictive man, an abusive spouse, poverty. Even machinery and monstrous heat can seem to take on lives of their own. The Kindle version I read was very poorly edited, and I found that to be an enormous distraction. A typo here and there is one thing. The ebook is lousy with 'em! Also, at one point King writes that Donna steps out of her car in her tennis shoes. A couple of pages later, she is wearing sandals. Maybe not a big deal to others, but it really took me out of the moment, and I was quite disappointed to find such a major goof. Despite these shortcomings, the book is a worthwhile read, and I would recommend it. I especially liked Brett Camber, and, of course, Cujo.

Overall a pretty good book. Tensions are kept high mostly without issue, and the actions are handled well. Not the best I've read, but I have few flaws with the end product. The lead up to Cujo going crazy was rushed with the disease progressing in a matter of days instead of weeks to months, but the symptom progression was handled well. I appreciate the book not acting like it was a sudden on/off switch, and instead showing how over time the dog got more and more sick until it went crazy. My biggest complaint is the author's focus on the women's breasts. Every time a new woman is introduced or appears for the first time the author pauses to specifically describe them. That alone wouldn't be nearly as bad if the author didn't pause an action scene in order to describe them once, there's a time and place to be describing the sagginess and neither of them are while a rabid Saint Bernard is lunging for your throat.

I decided to reread the King classic after hearing the author talk about the book online with his son Joe Hill. The book is much denser than the movie, with a lot more going on. And, of course, the ending in the book is famously different from the ending in the movie. After reading this, I then read the short story "Rattlesnakes" in the book YOU LIKE IT DARKER: STORIES. This story takes place 20 years after CUJO, during covid, and continues the story of Vic Trenton. Fun!

Not read yet but am sure I will love it

Avec Cujo, Stephen King livre un roman d’horreur aussi poignant qu’angoissant, où la tension monte crescendo jusqu’à une conclusion bouleversante. Ce livre, qui pourrait aisément être le scénario d’un excellent film d’horreur (et qui l’a d’ailleurs été), captive par sa construction narrative dynamique : au lieu d’alterner entre différentes temporalités comme dans Ça, l’auteur nous fait naviguer entre plusieurs personnages et lieux, renforçant ainsi l’immersion et l’intensité du récit. Là où Cujo brille particulièrement, c’est dans la manière dont King parvient à rendre ses personnages profondément réalistes. Chaque protagoniste a un rôle essentiel et chaque moment compte, contribuant à une montée en puissance du suspense et de l’angoisse. Mais ce qui marque surtout, c’est l’humanité qui se dégage de ce roman, notamment à travers la figure de Cujo lui-même. Ce chien, décrit comme un good boy même après avoir sombré dans la rage, est un personnage tragique dont la descente aux enfers est aussi cruelle que déchirante. Contrairement à certains lecteurs qui y voient une simple histoire terrifiante sur un chien meurtrier, le roman montre avant tout l’impact d’une maladie implacable et la fatalité qui en découle. L’horreur de Cujo ne réside pas uniquement dans la menace qu’il représente, mais aussi dans la situation de survie intense et l’impuissance des personnages face à l’inévitable. Le roman frappe fort, tant sur le plan émotionnel que psychologique, et il est impossible d’en ressortir indifférent. L’équilibre entre l’horreur brute, le suspense et la résilience des personnages en fait une œuvre d’une force rare. En somme, Cujo n’est pas seulement un excellent livre d’horreur : c’est un chef-d’œuvre de tension et d’émotion, qui touche au plus profond et marque durablement.

Stephen King at his best describing a small rural community and its struggles with isolation and other human interactions. I found this hard to read - some tough issues and the ending not what I had hoped for. That being said, I am not disappointed with it but it takes a great writer to finish like this.

Para ser uno de sus inicios es un libro interesante. Empieza aburrido pero mientras más se lee mejor se pone.

Fantastic novel!! Stephen King never disappoints, as usual.