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Cujo

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Cujo by Stephen King is a terrifying tale of a friendly St. Bernard dog named Cujo who turns into a murderous beast after contracting rabies. The book follows the intertwined fates of the Camber and Trenton families as Cujo's rabies leads to a series of horrifying events in the small town of Castle Rock, Maine. The story is narrated in a gripping and suspenseful manner, with a focus on the psychological aspects of the characters and the escalating tension as the plot unfolds.

Cujo is praised for its realistic and plausible storyline that delves into the depths of human emotions and fears. Stephen King masterfully portrays the transformation of Cujo from a lovable pet to a deadly threat, without any supernatural elements. The book is noted for its atmospheric setting, building a sense of dread and apprehension throughout the narrative, making it a truly engrossing and thrilling read.

Characters:

The characters are multi-dimensional, dealing with personal crises, moral dilemmas, and circumstances leading to tragedy.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is marked by rich character development, emotional depth, and the use of first-person narrative to evoke intensity.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot revolves around a rabid dog that traps a mother and son, intertwining various character struggles and circumstances.

Setting:

The setting in Castle Rock, Maine, during a hot summer, contributes significantly to the story's tension and atmosphere.

Pacing:

Pacing varies; slow in the beginning but intensifies as the main plot unfolds, though some find it uneven due to side stories.
not so long ago, a monster came to the small town of Castle Rock, Maine. He killed a waitress named Alma Frechette in 1970; a woman named Pauline Toothaker and a junior high school student named Chery...

Notes:

Cujo is about a Saint Bernard dog that turns rabid and terrorizes a family.
The protagonist Donna Trenton and her son Tad get trapped in their car by Cujo.
Stephen King wrote Cujo while heavily addicted to cocaine; he doesn't remember writing it.
The book explores themes of marital strife and parent-child relationships.
King's writing often includes multiple subplots involving different characters.
The story takes place in Castle Rock, a fictional town frequently used in King's works.
Cujo is a tragic story that illustrates the consequences of neglecting pet vaccinations.
Multiple perspectives are used in the book, including Cujo's point of view.
Although marketed as horror, Cujo is more of a psychological study of fear and helplessness.
The book's ending is notably tragic, impacting readers deeply.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

Triggers include animal attacks, domestic abuse, themes of infidelity, and child distress.

From The Publisher:

The #1 New York Times bestseller, Cujo "hits the jugular" (The New York Times) with the story of a friendly Saint Bernard that is bitten by a bat. Get ready to meet the most hideous menace ever to terrorize the town of Castle Rock, Maine.

Outside a peaceful town in central Maine, a monster is waiting. Cujo is a two-hundred-pound Saint Bernard, the best friend Brett Camber has ever had. One day, Cujo chases a rabbit into a cave inhabited by sick bats and emerges as something new altogether.

Meanwhile, Vic and Donna Trenton, and their young son Tad, move to Maine. They are seeking peace and quiet, but life in this small town is not what it seems. As Tad tries to fend off the terror that comes to him at night from his bedroom closet, and as Vic and Donna face their own nightmare of a marriage on the rocks, there is no way they can know that a monster, infinitely sinister, waits in the daylight.

What happens to Cujo, how he becomes a horrifying vortex inescapably drawing in all the people around him, makes for one of the most heart-stopping novels Stephen King has ever written. "A genuine page-turner that grabs you and holds you and won't let go" (Chattanooga Times), Cujo will forever change how you view man's best friend.

Ratings (119)

Incredible (10)
Loved It (36)
Liked It (44)
It Was OK (22)
Did Not Like (5)
Hated It (2)

Reader Stats (211):

Read It (126)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (40)
Did Not Finish (2)
Not Interested (42)

2 comment(s)

It Was OK
2 months

Went from 4 stars to 3 stars. Still an interesting read.

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Stephen King is a hit or miss for me, I either really love it or not caring at all. But this one was great, creepy and intense. It's about much more then a dog having rabies

 
Liked It
4 months

Some things about this book didn’t age well. King’s excellence at memorable characters notwithstanding.

 

About the Author:

Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, and Doctor Sleep are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.

 
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