Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine
The #1 national bestseller for Stephen King’s rabid fans, Cujo “hits the jugular” (The New York Times) with the story of a friendly Saint Bernard that is bitten by a sick bat. Get ready to meet the most hideous menace ever to savage the flesh and devour the mind.
Outside a peaceful town in central Maine, a monster is waiting. Cujo is a two-hundred-pound Saint Bernard, the best friend Brett Camber has ever had. One day, Cujo chases a rabbit into a cave inhabited by sick bats and emerges as something new altogether.
Meanwhile, Vic and Donna Trenton, and their young son Tad, move to Maine. They are seeking peace and quiet, but life in this small town is not what it seems. As Tad tries to fend off the terror that comes to him at night from his bedroom closet, and as Vic and Donna face their own nightmare of a marriage on the rocks, there is no way they can know that a monster, infinitely sinister, waits in the daylight.
What happens to Cujo, how he becomes a horrifying vortex inescapably drawing in all the people around him, makes for one of the most heart-stopping novels Stephen King has ever written. “A genuine page-turner that grabs you and holds you and won’t let go” (Chattanooga Times), Cujo will forever change how you view man’s best friend.
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"One of my favorite Stephen King books of all time. A study of the effects of rabies from what I thought to be a completely different and unexpected perspective. I'm glad the producers of the film did not take this angle because it would have just come off cheesy regardless of what method they tried."
— doug (4 out of 5 stars)
“A genuine page-turner that grabs you and holds you and won’t let go.”
— Chattanooga Times" I'm a dog lover, but whoa does this book make you look at every pooch differently! ! Loved it! "
— Caroline, 2/16/2014" Having read a handful of other books by Stephen king, I found myself disappointed by Cujo. I never found myself "hooked" as I had been with his other books. Maybe it was also the fact I knew of the movie, and always hearing references to Cujo every time someone was talking about a big or mean dog, that I thought it was going to be better as well. "
— Crs, 2/2/2014" Not my favorite King outing, too much to try and make sense of, even knowing that you have to suspend any ideas of logic while reading this kind of fiction. "
— Susan, 1/31/2014" Cujo was a pretty good book, as most of stephen king's books are; it has multiple plots going on at once. Two families, the Cambers and the Trentons, are falling apart. Mrs. Camber is feeling abused by her husband, and wants to leave him, and take her son with her. She wants to visit her sister and in-laws in Connecticut. The Trentons are falling apart because Mrs. Trenton had an affair behind her husbands back, and he found out and feels that their relationship won't last. The Trenton's son, Tad is having nightmares, and believes that a monster is in his closet. In the meantime, the Cambers enourmous Saint Bernard, Cujo, chases a rabbit into a cave and get bit by a rabbid bat. Slowly throughout the book he get rabbies and goes mad. His size makes him the most dangerous; in Cujo's mind every person he sees is causing him his pain, every person he sees is making him sick, and he wants revenge against them. The dynamic character is Donna Trenton, the wife. The static characters are Tad Trenton, and Brett Camber, the sons in each family, they don't really understand what is really going on in their families. Cujo is probably considered a dynamic character because he does get the rabbies, and every person he sees he believes made him sick, even if he already killed his last victim. Cujo was a good book and if you enjoy horror books I think you should read it. "
— Kristina, 1/19/2014" watched movie "
— Maira, 1/18/2014" The only book ever to have actually scared me by just the text, not the cover. "
— Caroline, 1/18/2014" Not as good as some of his other works and with the bleak ending it left me a bit depressed but it was still a page turner. "
— Jp992751, 12/24/2013" This is the scariest King novel I have ever read. If you were ever afraid of monsters in your closet growing up then this book is for you. And in case you are wondering, there are more things to fear in this book than the rabid dog, though he too is pretty frightening. "
— Nicholas, 12/23/2013" This book was really well written and it honestly scared the crap out of me. "
— Bridget, 12/13/2013" I really enjoyed this book. I felt like I was right there in the car with the lady and her son. SK did a really great job with this one. I don't know if I liked this one more than It... but it runs a pretty close race with being on my SK favorites list. "
— Patrice, 11/29/2013" This has to have been the worst Stephen King book I've ever read... So far, really the only disappointment I've had with his stories in general. "
— John, 11/24/2013" First Stephen King book I ever read. I was about 14 and I hated to read. I remember my sister telling me how one of her friends had read it and had nightmares for weeks. Thanks Lindsay, I started reading it immediately. :) "
— Mark, 11/24/2013" Spine-tingling!! Read the book instead of watching the movie where they try to give it a happy ending. "
— Brittany, 10/17/2013" My dad wouldn't let me finish this because it wasn't "clean." This from the guy who took me to see Robocop when I was, like, 12. "
— Matt, 10/5/2013" Absolutely terrifying. I was bitten by a large dog as a child but can't imagine being stalked by a rabid Saint Bernard. Riveting, on the edge of your seat, all out scary! Well written page turner. "
— Dorsi, 8/26/2013" Again, much scarier than the movie, if you don't know what the effects of rabies on a dog are. I think it was much more sensationalized in the movie, but the book drew very close parallels to Old Yeller for me. "
— Lisa, 4/12/2013" i really suprised thast poor little tad would die. "
— Rafsyan, 11/12/2012" First book I ever read because my mom wouldn't let me see the movie until I read the book. "
— Dave, 9/28/2012" Movie was terrible. Book was very good. "
— Cindy, 8/9/2012" WOW. What a terrible ending. "
— Naturalnylon, 7/10/2012" Little long winded in parts, but still good. "
— Shawn, 4/12/2012" Stephen King is disgusting. And I'm a wuss and got scared. "
— Crizzle, 1/9/2012" Spare, surprisingly effective, and more genuinely heartbreaking than I expected. Like much early King, it's as much about the stress and strain of everyday life-- lost jobs, crumbling marriages, missed opportunities, fading youth-- as it is about the abnormal or the supernatural. "
— Scott, 11/19/2011" The movie was pretty good but not as good as the book. The ending was different which spoiled it. "
— Pru, 5/21/2011" Scared the shit out of me and I couldn't sleep for almost a week afterwards. Then again, I was like 8 the first time I read this freaky tale. "
— Amber, 5/20/2011" This is when I stopped reading Stephen King. Mad dog running around car for a hundred pages . . . UGH "
— Virginia, 5/19/2011" Not one of my favourite King novels. What can I say; I guess I'm more of a cat person. "
— Rosie, 5/13/2011" Best Stephen King I have read! Loved it! Everyone should read it! "
— Andrea, 5/1/2011" This is one of the worst books I have ever read. I wish I could take back every second I wasted reading it. "
— Blythe, 4/21/2011" Again, much more enjoyable before I had my own son! NOT a happy ending. "
— Stacie, 3/31/2011" We have owned a St. Bernard dog and it was hard to realize an evil dog. The story was, as usual, frightening as only Stephen King can produce.Having a young son myself when I read this, I can imagine a mother's plight keeping her child safe.Good read. "
— Willi, 3/19/2011" This book terrified me, I'm afraid of dogs. "
— Cody, 3/19/2011" One of the few non-supernatural books by King,along with The Dark Hlaf, and Tommy Knockers (aliens).<br/>Not one of his best, but still a good read top pass time. "
— Laura, 3/17/2011" I believe that this was my first Stephen King book, and I am very glad to say that it did not dissapoint. Obviously I am an avid Stephen King reader, and I think "Cujo" had a lot to do with that. The sensory details and the plot lines in here are great. "
— Leah, 3/11/2011Stephen King has written more than sixty books, many hitting the #1 spot on the New York Times bestsellers list. He has won the World Fantasy Award, several Bram Stoker Awards, and the O. Henry Award for his story “The Man in the Black Suit.” He is the 2003 recipient of the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2007 he received the Grand Master Award from the Mystery Writers of America. His epic works The Dark Tower and It are the basis for major motion pictures.
Lorna Raver, named one of AudioFile magazine’s Best Voices of the Year, has received numerous Audie Award nominations and many AudioFile Earphones Awards. She has appeared on stage in New York, Los Angeles, and regional theaters around the country. Among her many television credits are NYPD Blue, Judging Amy, Boston Legal, ER, and Star Trek. She starred in director Sam Raimi’s film Drag Me to Hell.