An Exercise In REAL Terror (Cujo - Stephen King)

Member Name: wampyrii

Product:	Cujo - Stephen King
Date:	11/07/01 (107 review reads)
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Firstly let me start off by saying that I am no genius when it comes to reviewing novels. I am not going to give you some splurge about the artistic style etc. but rather to give general overview of the book and perhaps who it will appeal to. This IS all I have to offer here, but hopefully you will find this of some use anyway.

Cujo is one of Stephen King's earlier novels, written in the time when he could actually spin off a decent yarn without having to write over a thousand pages and disappear up his own rear end halfway in the process. These earlier novels may not have been as accomplished as far as literary style goes but here King at least demostrates the ease by which he could grip you by the throat and hold you transfixed to the pages until you turn the very last one. Cujo is no exception and propbably one of his better novels anyway.

The story is ourageously simple. A mother and her child run out of petrol in their car and are held hostage there by a rabid Saint Bernard dog which is intent on killing them.

That IS literally the entire plot, yet King manages to turn this into a superb novel. The woman tries to protect herself and more importantly in her eyes the life of her child from the relentless assault of the huge animal. The terror and despair of the human characters is expertly conveyed to you the reader through King's wonderfully accesible style and by creating a real-life monster based in the realms of every-day reality rather than decending into the depths of the supernatural, makes for a truly terrifying experience. This is something which could so easily happen to you and as a result you feel the terror of the main characters, empathising with every emotion which King portrays on the page. But we are never to forget those of the beast itself. Once happily playing in the fields, chasing rabbits etc. this dog was a family pet until infected with the rabies virus. Now, he is left confused by his actions and unab
le to prevent himself commiting acts which would once have been far from his thoughts. We are made to empathise with the 'monster' as well feeling both a great sadness and sorrow alongside our fear. He is not a figure of evil but a victim as well here.

Once again a Stephen King novel takes us on an exploration of palpable terror and of human emotion. It is an exercise in REAL fear rather than that created by other novelists - a real rollercoaster ride of emotions and one which will have you turning the pages faster than light in order to get to the conclusion. I guarantee that this is one novel which you will not be able to put down, and its size makes it manageable without a break as well...always a bonus in my eyes!

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