The Stephen King Master Thread

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Cujo (1981)
Another book done! This is a gripping read, and the fact that it's a shorter length than King's novels traditionally are helps a lot. The story, the first set fully in the fictional town of Castle Rock, juggles a number of characters and for the most part keeps them somewhat separate, and yet they all fit together very well. And at the centre of it all is a heart rending story of a dog who can't resist the disease that's taking him over.

As I began this, I felt that the writing was a bit trashier than usual. This could be due to King being at the height of his various drug and alcohol addictions at the time, but there was a throwaway soap opera element to the story that I wasn't sure about. It's extremely impressive that this ends up being one of the novel's strengths because I became very wrapped up in the characters and their problems. I couldn't believe how invested I was in whether Vic and Roger's breakfast cereal ad campaign would work out or not.

The entire second half of the novel becomes tightly focused on two characters trapped and fighting for their lives. It's a powerful read with a resolution that has a lot of impact. There's a truthfulness and simplicity to Cujo which works incredibly well to its benefit. Cujo himself isn't a bad dog or an evil presence, he's a victim too, and we can sympathise with the majority of points of view given here (well, maybe not Steve and Joe).

There is a darker, slightly supernatural element to the story which comes from an unexpected place and is left to tease us without a proper resolution. What is in Tad's closet? There are numerous explanations that can be given to this, but the mystery is extremely enticing. There are also some welcome call backs to the events of The Dead Zone and it's nice to see King establishing direct links between his books.