“No monsters, Tad.”

Book 10 in my project of reading/re-reading the whole Stephen King bibliography

Wow, this is an absolutely incredible novel. I find myself at a loss for words when it comes to writing this review. No matter how hard I strive to describe to you the simple yet incredibly effective plot, it seems insufficient. The masterful descriptions of the very real horror within these pages are truly chilling. And when the point of view of the dog is revealed, those beautiful parts have a moving depth that is truly remarkable. I cannot recall a single instance in which I felt so strongly for a "villain". This book is truly a masterpiece of the horror genre. It is definitely one of my all-time favorite Stephen King books. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a passion for reading and a taste for the macabre.

**"Cujo": A Tale of Slow Build and Intense Conclusion**

This book is extremely slow but the last part is incredibly impactful and painful to say the least.

In fact, it's a 3.5.

The story is divided into two acts that encompass the entire history of the Trenton family and the Camber family. More of the former than the latter. And although I liked it, it's not a story I would recommend to someone who wants to start reading Stephen King.

Now, the first act tells us a bit about the life of each family, what they want and the conflicts that are about to unfold. On one hand, we learn that Vic Trenton is suffering from his wife's infidelity with a rather violent and obsessive guy. His son Tadder is a child with a latent fear of his closet, where there is a supposed monster. In the other family, we see how Charity plans to go with her son to visit her sister but first she must get rid of her husband Joe Camber; who is a man with a really bad temper and someone very abusive. And finally, there is the catalyst that makes the plot gain momentum; Cujo, the famous pet dog of this last family who, due to a bat bite, will contract rabies and will stop being friendly and harmless.

From here on, significant plot spoilers.

The problem with the first part is that it is very tedious. At least, for me personally, getting into the skin of each character bored me. There were many detailed descriptions of their lives that I felt didn't advance anything. But curiously, the story does tie the threads for the second turning point, however, it can be quite slow and tiring. Although it is also true that the second act is sublime because we have the hell that Donna and Tad have to go through inside a car because of Cujo's murderous instinct. And these chapters are truly an explosion because they leave you quite intrigued and tense as you read.

I will say that "Destiny" did everything and even the impossible for the poor Donna to suffer. Literally, either she died or the dog died... Or the son. In my perception, it's a book that plays a lot with destiny and uses it as an excuse for all the things to happen in favor of the plot and the tragic ending it reaches, which can even be comic and unbelievable.

Now, proof that "Destiny" intervened are the following: That Vic had to leave because of problems with some harmful cereals commercials; that Charity won the lottery; that the Camber's son knew that Cujo was sick and still did nothing; that this same child (Brett) insisted to his mother all the time to find out how the dog was and never managed to do it for some reason; that Vic, Donna's husband, had his premonitions and nightmares about something attacking his family and only reacted very late; moreover, Joe Camber and his friend also died to leave the path of suffering free for Donna and her son and the latter suffered mortal wounds but, still, fought until the end.

It was 3 days of hell for Donna and Tad; with heat, locked up and almost suffocated, dying of hunger and with a fear of a dog that didn't stop attacking them until exhaustion at any slightest noise and yes, the end is sad, because of the two deaths that enclose it. And above all, Donna is undoubtedly the protagonist of the whole story and the only one with whom I could empathize. The others I didn't really care much about.

The good: A second act that you won't want to stop reading with a heartbreaking ending.
The bad: The first act is slow and boring for those not used to King's detailed and overly chewed descriptions.

4.5 Stars.

  "He always tried to be a good dog." I had put off reading this book for years because it's a known fact that something bad happens to a dog. However, it occurred to me that one of my favorite King reads is Pet Semetary, and that involves a cat, my preferred furry friend.

  So, as I reached about 100 pages in, I was surprised to discover that there's a lot more going on here than just a story about five-year-old CUJO the dog, his unfortunate encounter, and his sickness. And aside from the lack of chapter breaks, it is really a good read!

  But, I knew the bad was coming. Bad things always happen in Castle Rock, like crazy, hungry monsters in a closet and an old granny who predicts that something foul is on the way.

  And, then there's the ending. Oh my gosh! I like that King left us with these lyrics from an old folk song too: "I'm tellin you so you know, I'm tellin you so you know, I'm tellin you so you know, Ole Blue's gone where the good dogs go."

  *** As for the movie, I had to check that out too. It pretty much mirrors the novel, except for one unexpected major difference that I thought was a bit lame, and I won't reveal it here. ***

This review of "CUJO" by Stephen King starts with the initial hesitation to read due to the known fate of the dog. But as the reader delves in, they find that there's more depth to the story than expected. The lack of chapter breaks doesn't detract from the enjoyment. The anticipation of the bad event builds, and the ending leaves a lasting impression. The inclusion of the folk song lyrics adds a nice touch. The review also briefly mentions the movie, noting a major difference that the reviewer doesn't want to spoil. Overall, it's a positive review that encourages others to give the book a chance.

If indeed, what you say doesn't matter, but how you say it, let me rate (almost) with excellence (and) this book by King. Because, in Cujo, Stephen King starts from a simple idea (a remarkably huge Saint Bernard dog is infected by the rabies virus and is gradually led to uncontrollably aggressive/murderous behavior), and in a masterful way, he builds around it a 384-page story that is cleverly structured, where agony and fear prevail.

Fun fact: In 1971, when taking his car for repair to a garage somewhere in Maine, Stephen King himself found himself in a situation similar to the one he describes in his book, when a Saint Bernard dog (not rabid, though) lunged at him growling. The dog was called Cujo, was usually friendly with people, and the owner's response to King's reasonable puzzlement as to why it reacted that way when it saw him was: "Maybe it didn't like your shirt"!

What a truly scary book it is!

A lovely, furry, and cuddly St. Bernard is what comes to mind initially. Everybody simply loves the St. Bernard. It is indeed a life-saving breed, known for its kind and gentle nature.

However, that was until Cujo developed Rabies. And from that moment on, the story takes a terrifying turn. The rest of it is a spine-chilling tale that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Interestingly, there is also a good film based on this story, starring Dee Wallace. The film manages to capture the essence of the book and bring the terrifying events to life on the big screen.

  ”But time passed. Five years of time.
The monster was gone, the monster was dead. Frank Dodd moldered inside his coffin.
Except the monster never dies. Werewolf, vampire, ghoul, unnameable creature from the wastes. The monster never dies.
It came to Castle Rock again in the summer of 1980.”

It was 1982 when I first opened the pages of Cujo and read those lines. The book's cover jacket, with its unforgettable snarling fangs of an angry dog, had already piqued my interest. But it was inside where the real magic lay. I didn't know who Frank Dodd was at that time as I hadn't read The Dead Zone. This was my very first encounter with Stephen King's work, and I was completely transfixed by his imaginings of this place in Maine. I was 14 years old then. I would have told the 4-year-old Tad not to worry. After all, monsters don't exist in the back of a young boy's closet. Or do they? King made me believe that they might. Tad's dad read “The Monster Words” for his son: ”Nothing will touch Tad, or hurt Tad, all this night. You have no business here!” With those words, the monster seemed to have been vanquished. But only until the lights were turned off, and the latch on Tad's closet door popped free from its base.



I wasn't afraid of dogs. In fact, it was quite the opposite for me. So, it was no coincidence that after seeing a classmate hold that book in his hands, I begged my mom for a ride into town to get it. Soon after those monster words, Cujo chased a rabbit through the back fields of the Cambers and down into that cave. The story had truly begun its journey into a place I never thought a book could take me. I experienced fear for the dog, and then fear for the people.



You could say that the villain of this story is Cujo, but it's not that simple. I remember my 14-year-old mind grappling with that thought. The true villains here are rabies and coincidence. There are so many coincidences that it almost seems like a conviction that crosses more than one character's reasoning. I also recall being struck by the adult themes that I had never encountered in a book before. It wasn't just about sex, although there is some of that. To build the story, King deposits different types of families and situations in life. Different backgrounds and different futures. In the years to come, I would become accustomed to these and other situations in his books. But at that time, the way things were described was completely new to me. I know that the ending is what I thought of most back then, and it still is now. There is pain on all sides. Near the end, trapped in the car with Tad, the character Donna's thoughts are both prescient and moving: \\"Surely everything that had gone before had been a dream, little more than a short wait in the wings.\\"

It might just be me, but I firmly believe that the novel Cujo is far more disturbing and intense than its film adaptation.

When I was reading this book, I was completely enthralled. I couldn't put it down as the vivid descriptions and the intense storyline kept pulling me in.

Interestingly, as I was reading, I would often let the film characters (that I remember visually) play out in my mind to the novel. It was a strange yet captivating experience.

I'm so glad I finally got around to reading this. I used to watch the film with my mom, and it was quite nostalgic for me. However, it was a nostalgia in an odd, maybe even dark way. Lol.

The novel truly delved deeper into the psychological aspects and the horror elements, making it a much more impactful and memorable read compared to the film.

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone who loves a good horror story and wants to experience the true essence of Cujo.

**** 4.1 STARS ****

King is truly the master when it comes to building tension. Cujo, yet another horror classic penned by the king of horror, is a prime example of his prowess. Among the recent horror books that feature a dog as the central character, I would rate Cujo on par with Thor by Wayne Smith, but it falls slightly behind Watchers by Dean Koontz. Cujo truly excelled whenever the titular character made an appearance on the page. The tension was almost tangible when the 'rabid' Cujo was stalking his human prey. The anticipation and fear that built up with each passing moment were truly captivating. And let's not forget the ending! It was simply great! The fact that Cujo is killed by a 'bat', twice, is a quite clever touch by King. It adds an unexpected twist to the story and leaves the reader with a sense of satisfaction and awe.

FORMULA ANTIMOSTRO
Per Tad
Monsters, stay out of this room!
The space for you is not enough.
Under Tad's bed there is no place,
And whoever tries will be roasted!
In Tad's closet there is no space
And for whoever tries it will be a torture!
Don't lean out of Tad's window
You would see things that would make you tremble!
No vampires and werewolves and living dead
There is no place here for the bad guys!
Nothing will harm Tad all night long
To whoever tries, a fistful of blows!

When I was a child, I was attacked by two Maremma Sheepdogs one morning while I was going to school. The providential intervention of two ecological operators avoided the worst, but since then I have remained with the phobia of dogs to the point that for years I was unable to pet a small dog or would change my way if I crossed paths with any of its larger counterparts.

Cujo was lying in the semi-darkness of the garage. It was hot inside, but outside it was even worse... And then there was also the glare of the sun outside which was unbearable. It had never been like this. To tell the truth, he had never noticed the different intensities of light before. It was a new thing in his life. It hurt his head. It hurt his muscles. The light hurt his eyes. He was hot.

Over the years, my terror of dogs has become fear and finally just discomfort, although sometimes I have relapses. So I was finally able to read this book, bought in a Mondadori about twenty years ago together with about a dozen other Stephen King novels on sale at half price during a promotion, and left to molder on the shelves of my library because I couldn't even look at its cover without feeling bad.

When he slept, he had dreams of unusual and pleasant vividness. In one of those dreams, he had torn THE BOY, he had ripped open his throat and then dug out his smoking innards. He woke up sweating, with nervous twitches all over his body.

A great story with well-delineated and developed characters that you can read almost all in one breath until the pitiless end, unfortunately spoiled for me by a couple of reviews. And I loved how the late psychotic policeman Frank Dodd from Salem's Lot has practically become the boogeyman of Castle Rock.

She saw his big fangs. And again she had that terrible feeling that the dog was looking at her, not a woman who had been accidentally trapped in a car with her little son, but Donna Trenton, as if he had been there all the time waiting for her to arrive.

We are not at the level of the previous Salem's Lot or the subsequent Pet Sematary that I read and reread like crazy in my youth, but here you can breathe all the atmospheres of King's golden years, with a Castle Rock that couldn't be more alive and the tragedy of the Trevor family will probably remain impressed in my memory forever.

Greenhouse effect. The flyer said that the temperature inside a parked car in full sun could rise up to 90 °C with the windows up and therefore it was cruel and dangerous to lock an animal inside while going shopping or to the movies. A short, cracked laugh escaped her. The roles had been reversed, hadn't they? It was the dog that had locked people inside.

And now let's also try to watch the movie, also bought on DVD years ago and still shrink-wrapped.

All hail the King.

Since awarding Empire Falls a perfect five stars back in March, I have endured a rather disheartening streak. Out of the past 10 books I've begun since then, I've had a whopping seven DNFs (Did Not Finish). This was truly starting to cause me some concern. Was it conceivable that Empire Falls had such a profound impact on me that nothing else could capture my interest simply because it wasn't that particular novel?

In a fit of exasperation, I returned to the well of Stephen King, delving back into those early works that I had never gotten around to. I picked up Cujo with some mild reservations, as it isn't typically regarded among his very best, boasting an average rating of 3.64 here on Goodreads. Now, it's important to note that Cujo is no Empire Falls; we're comparing apples and oranges. However, from a sheer entertainment perspective, it was precisely what the doctor ordered.

This story is about far more than just a rabid dog. There are numerous lives intertwined within this narrative, all of which are affected in various ways. And, as is always the case with King, these characters are masterfully brought to life.

Somehow, I had forgotten just how terrifying this author could be. There are certain scenes in Cujo that were so intensely suspenseful that I found myself literally on the edge of my seat. They will undoubtedly linger in my mind for quite some time. Wow.

Cujo easily earns a five out of five stars for successfully pulling me out of one rather difficult reading slump and for being an incredibly engaging, suspenseful, and scary story. Thank you, young Steve.

Oh, and by the way, I believe your name is William. If you happen to come across this review and you're still waiting for me to accept your friend request, the reason I haven't is because your review of Cujo spoiled the ending for me. Thanks a lot, arse. Kids, always use spoiler tags.

Previously, I read between high school and attending the University of Minnesota. Mr. King is truly the Shakespeare of writers in our contemporary era, although perhaps lacking a bit in the humor department. His works are simply outstanding.

Every story he pens seems to have a unique charm and depth that draws the reader in and keeps them engaged from start to finish. His ability to create vivid characters and complex plotlines is truly remarkable.

It's no wonder that he has received such high praise and acclaim. I would rate his works a perfect 10 out of 10 stars. They are not only entertaining but also thought-provoking, making the reader reflect on various aspects of life.

Whether you're a fan of horror, mystery, or just great storytelling in general, Mr. King's books are definitely worth checking out. You won't be disappointed.

Written in 1981, could this book potentially verge on being a modern classic? Jeez Louise! How on earth does a writer like Stephen King manage to create such a terrific suspense and horror tale centered around a Saint Bernard? Well, that's a question only Stephen King can answer! This is an outstanding read that delves deeper into the darkness of claustrophobic scenarios. It explores the terrors that can lurk in closets, cars, and dead ends themselves. Moreover, it also touches on themes of change, love, and of course, a big dog... a big rabid dog named Cujo!

One of Stephen King's most horrific early works, along with Pet Sematary, this book firmly belongs in the horror camp. It's like a Castle Rock jam that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I'd rate it 8 out of 12.