It's bark is worse than it's bite.... (Cujo - Stephen King)

Member Name: phoenixcage

Product:	Cujo - Stephen King
Date:	22/01/02 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good plot structure

Disadvantages: Slightly Boring, Not his usual best

Rather a disappointment here by King...don't get me wrong, though, i am a huge fan of King and love nearly every novel he has written...except this...

Cujo...a 200 pound Saint Bernard dog...unfortunately bitten by a rabid bat one day and contracts the disease. Meanwhile, we are introduced to a young boy and his family. Tad is the young boy, his mother and father are Vic and Donna. Vic and Donna have big problems, you see, Donna is having an affair and Tad - a busy office-man - is going to have his biggest account at work pulled out. Things seem bad enough...until the car breaks and Donna takes it to the local hick mechanic, Joe Camber (bit of an approprite name, eh?). Well, Joe is the owner of Cujo...what happens is possibly the worst circumstances that ever could have...Joe is killed by Cujo, he's cancelled the mail and Tad and Donna are trapped in the dysfunctional car...miles from no-where...hmmm, what to do, what to do?

Although Cujo does have great potential as a story (the film was pretty good), i don't think King has crafted it to his full potential...I think that there may be reasons fo this. We all know of his Cocaine habit and a number of books were written during this period (IT, being the main one), i believe (correct me if i'm wrong, please) that Cujo may be the product of a deeply traumatised King...that would explain the sheer boredom of the book. He really doesn't adhere to his usual style in the novel and the suspense, although shocking in comparison to real life, falls far short of his usual.

Cujo should be read however, as a real King fan will do so...but it is unadvisable for a first book, it'll only put you off King for life. Try reading some of his psycho-power books...Firestarter is a good one to start with, it's where i got hooked.

Summary: