How does he do it... (Cujo - Stephen King)

Member Name: i_p_jones

Product:	Cujo - Stephen King
Date:	29/09/00 (39 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It was written!

Disadvantages: Takes a short while to get going, some sub-plots get tedious

So far, other books by King I've read are The Dead Zone and Firestarter. Don't get me wrong, these are fantastic novels (I've written DooYoo reviews on them as well) but they seem a bit far-fetched.

But when I read Cujo, it was so real it could have been based on a true story. It is a simple plot really, a 200 pound St Bernard, normally wouldn't hurt a fly, gets infected with rabies and goes wild, holding a mother and her son hostage.

When I was reading this, the one thing that struck me was how well paced it was - I must have read over 130 pages one evening! And for me, that's a _lot_.

This story is true-to-life, in the way King handles marriage problems, father-and-son bonds, city vs. country life. That's what makes it so easy to follow and _believe_.

King cleverly writes a lot of this from the viewpoint of the dog - not many authors can do that! But through this you can see what is happening to Cujo - he is suffering, he does not want to be doing what he is doing but he cannot help it.

Unlike The Dead Zone and Firestarter, this book has some real horror in it - especially when Vic Trenton is sat in his son Tad's bedroom - read it and see! That bit was a REAL spine chiller.

I described Firestarter as King's best... Cujo easily overtakes it.

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