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Title: Cujo by Stephen King ISBN: 0-451-16135-1 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.98 (200 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Stephen King rabid dog story about the perils of inaction
Comment: I always think of Stephen King's "Cujo" as his version of "Hamlet," simply because Donna Trenton's inability to act reminds me of the Prince of Denmark's refusal to do what needed to be done in time for it to matter. Given that starting point it makes sense that this is the first Stephen King novel that avoids the supernatural, save for a small inconsequential moment. This time we do not have telekinetic power, vampires, a haunted hotel, the end of the world, psychic ability, or pyrokensis. In "Cujo" we have a two-hundred-pound Saint Bernard who pursues a rabbit into a bolt-hole and is bit by a rapid bat and ends up terrorizing a trapped mother and son in a broken down car. For "Cujo" to be about the perils of inaction, the danger has to be more realistic for the lesson to be worthwhile.
I was really surprised to go back and see how much King crammed into this novel. We are introduced to the cast of human characters, which are basically divided into the Trenton and Chambers families. Vic Trenton is a New York adman with a partner and small agency trying to hold on to his last account who moves to Castle Rock, Maine seeking peace away from the big city. His marriage is on the rocks, which explains why Donna is having an affair, but they both love their four-year-old son, Tad. Joe Chambers does auto repair out of his garage and does not treat his wife Charity right. Cujo is the best friend of their ten-year-old son Brett.
While circumstances align to put Donna and Tad in peril, we learn a whole lot about Vic Trenton's ad campaign for the Sharp Cereal Professor, which blows up in his face. Actually this is my favorite part of the novel and I really like the way Vic finds a way to "bury" the old fellow. The problem is that this is more interesting to me than what is happening back at the Chambers farm with Cujo, which just keeps dragging on and on. Not that the situation is unrealistic, in terms of what happens in the car where Donna and Tad are trapped by Cujo, but that the situation is established fairly early in the book and you know it is not going to be resolved until the end. When you go and see a movie you can lose all sense of time and not know that you have reached the end, but with a book you always have a rough idea of how many pages are left. It would be impractical to have a book where there were 50-100 blank pages at the end, or (surprise) another story, but that would have helped this novel.
"Cujo" is also in the running for being the biggest downer of all of King's novels and the fact that a character we remember fondly from another novel gets killed does not help us think back on the novel favorably. Looking back on King's career "Cujo" seems to be a start of a darker period in his stories where, as King would say, the Dionysian darkness is not dispelled by the Apollonian light. It seems that what bit poor old Cujo when he stuck his nose into that bolt-hole got a piece of King as well.
Rating: 4
Summary: Is Cujo the sequel to The Dead Zone?
Comment: it just could be. in the dead zone there was a castle rock serial killer named frank dodd, and in the course of in the book he meets his demise. now in cujo, KING eludes to dodd's evil spirit (or the evil that possessed dodd) somehow entering the dog cujo. an evil that never dies...just takes new forms. now i know most of you think of the lame movie when you hear CUJO, but the book is more about a family struggling to stay together then the rabid dog. you can tell KING was going thru some hard times when he wrote this novel, it shows (by his own admission in his book On Writing, he says he was doing a bunch of coke during the writting of cujo). the rabid dog is almost an after-thought for most of the story...and when ol' CUJO does show up it freaks you out. check it out. -erik
Rating: 4
Summary: The Cujo Review (very original)
Comment: "Except that the monster never dies. Werewolf, vampire, ghoul, unnamable creature from the wastes. The monster never dies." This quote is typical to the horror genre, in that most horror novels focus on some monster or beast whose whole existence revolves around killing, maiming, or tormenting the innocent. This book shows how the monster affects the relationships the characters share. Even though the creature happens to be just an ordinary dog, it is their relationships that help them overcome the evil that "...never dies."
In a little town called Castle Rock, Maine a dog named Cujo contracts rabies. His symptoms go unnoticed until he becomes violent. Believing every other person is the cause of his unbearable pain; he begins his rampage around the outskirts of Castle Rock. Having car trouble, Donna Trenton and her son, Tad, decide to take the car to a local mechanics house to see if he can fix it. When they get there, however, they find no one home and soon after their car dies. With Cujo patiently waiting outside they find themselves in a standoff with a mindless killing machine.
Castle Rock, Maine provides an excellent choice for the setting. Many horror novels occur in small town settings. This is because they are the best choice for the genre. Usually in small towns nothing happens out of the ordinary. Almost everyone knows everybody else which makes it easier to connect characters. Characters can be killed off easier without anyone noticing. Quiet, peaceful places, rural areas present a perfect scene for serial killers, or in this case a dog, to roam around killing whom they please.
The characters of the small, peaceful, little town of Castle Rock at first seem fitting for the dull, "little town lives", expected of people that live in a rural area. Mainly dynamic characters all with a dark secret or fear, they seem more fitting for a soap opera rather than of a horror novel. They all have a fear or secret that they conceal. Donna Trenton fears her secret affair with Steve Kemp might one day leak into the public. Tad Trenton fears the beast that comes out of his closet every night threatening to kill him. Vic Trenton fears the loss of the Sharp account that keeps his family afloat during tough financial times. Charity Cambers fears her husband's abuse might one day impact their son. This adds a little too much drama, but still proves positive for the book.
The plot of Cujo is a giant flashback of a mysterious narrator. Only at the very end does someone start speaking in third person past tense. The plot is good, but the many coincidences and happenstances in it make the story a little unbelievable. The fact that someone nearly saves Donna 4 times from her impending doom but something happens or comes up at the last minute that prevents her rescue proves a tad beyond belief. A dog (granted a large dog) gets it's neck nearly severed by a car door, numerous ribs smashed in, and an eye gouged out and still has enough energy or will to take down a full grown human being attests to the inconceivable role that fate plays in this book. Even in a small town scene, 2 of 4 deaths could not go unnoticed for days (people in rural areas are distant but still stay in contact). With all of these under consideration the plot seems a little stretched, but it still retains some redeeming qualities (bloodshed, gore, etc.).
After Stephen King sets the setting, he doesn't really exploit their northern accent very much. He uses a northern "Maine-ish" accent that draws out certain vowel sounds (a's, e's, i's, o's, u's). At some points it seems as if Mr. King is poking fun or attempting to add a little humor to the action/terror-oriented book.
With the typical and not-so typical horror motif throughout this book, combined with the drama and sometimes-unbelievable coincidences, I give this novel a 4-star rating. I recommend that if someone would like to read a Stephen King book to give this one a try. If you like a little drama and comedy mixed with your horror flick then try this novel (plus Stephen King wrote it, so you have his credentials to go with it.).
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Title: Christine by Stephen King ISBN: 0451160444 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: June, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Firestarter by Stephen King ISBN: 0451167805 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 02 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Shining by Stephen King ISBN: 0743424425 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 28 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Pet Sematary by Stephen King ISBN: 0743412273 Publisher: Pocket Books Pub. Date: 01 February, 2001 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: It by Stephen King ISBN: 0451169514 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: June, 1997 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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