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A review by ojtheviking
Cujo by Stephen King
5.0
By now, almost every work of writing Stephen King ever did has been adapted into a movie or a TV series, so I've made it a principle, whenever I'm reading his novels, not to compare them with the movies based on them (assuming I've seen them). With that said, as I had already seen Cujo the movie, I already knew before I started reading this that it was going to be a rough read in some ways.
Not rough as in it's a poorly-written story. Far from it. It's just that the animal lover in me - the dog lover in particular - already felt very emotionally impacted by its premise just from watching the movie, so I sort of mentally prepared myself for a heartbreaking ride when I started reading this novel. And, for lack of a better phrase, I was not disappointed.
Most King fans know that it's somewhat stereotypical to simply label him as a horror writer. There is so much more to his writing, his characters and his stories than that. Sure, some of his stories are more full-on horror than others. As for Cujo, it's one of the novels I would not label horror, but instead a tragic tale. If you strip away the typical dash of mysticism that King often weaves into his stories one way or another, I'd say that this is one of his most realistic ideas, establishing a tragic incident that not only COULD have happened in real life, but HAS happened one way or another.
I mean, just the premise in and of itself started with a real-life event King experienced, when he needed a mechanic to fix a bike for him. He went to the mechanic's property, and there was a huge Saint Bernard that intimidated King for a moment. Thus, along with the author's knack for "what if" scenarios, the basis for Cujo was born. It's a story that could have worked even without the aforementioned mysticism, because the incident that takes place is in and of itself completely plausible, and therefore all the more tragic.
And it is, as usual, extremely well-written. It's why the dog lover in me almost dreaded getting started on this one. Having loved and lost a dog myself (albeit under other circumstances), I had to brace myself to witness a good boy turn "bad." I use quotation marks, because that's just the thing... there isn't really any clear-cut villain in this story. Not in the core story at least. Meaning, King sometimes manages to set up a storyline like a domino effect, with minor characters playing a certain part in the bigger picture, and one such character is what I'd call the typical King-style sadistic, selfish asshole. In some stories, one such asshole can be the main antagonist. However, in Cujo, I'd say what the characters are up against are those unforeseen circumstances in life that are beyond our control; fate, bad luck ... tragedy, but with King's typical twist.
No real villains, only victims.
Not rough as in it's a poorly-written story. Far from it. It's just that the animal lover in me - the dog lover in particular - already felt very emotionally impacted by its premise just from watching the movie, so I sort of mentally prepared myself for a heartbreaking ride when I started reading this novel. And, for lack of a better phrase, I was not disappointed.
Most King fans know that it's somewhat stereotypical to simply label him as a horror writer. There is so much more to his writing, his characters and his stories than that. Sure, some of his stories are more full-on horror than others. As for Cujo, it's one of the novels I would not label horror, but instead a tragic tale. If you strip away the typical dash of mysticism that King often weaves into his stories one way or another, I'd say that this is one of his most realistic ideas, establishing a tragic incident that not only COULD have happened in real life, but HAS happened one way or another.
I mean, just the premise in and of itself started with a real-life event King experienced, when he needed a mechanic to fix a bike for him. He went to the mechanic's property, and there was a huge Saint Bernard that intimidated King for a moment. Thus, along with the author's knack for "what if" scenarios, the basis for Cujo was born. It's a story that could have worked even without the aforementioned mysticism, because the incident that takes place is in and of itself completely plausible, and therefore all the more tragic.
And it is, as usual, extremely well-written. It's why the dog lover in me almost dreaded getting started on this one. Having loved and lost a dog myself (albeit under other circumstances), I had to brace myself to witness a good boy turn "bad." I use quotation marks, because that's just the thing... there isn't really any clear-cut villain in this story. Not in the core story at least. Meaning, King sometimes manages to set up a storyline like a domino effect, with minor characters playing a certain part in the bigger picture, and one such character is what I'd call the typical King-style sadistic, selfish asshole. In some stories, one such asshole can be the main antagonist. However, in Cujo, I'd say what the characters are up against are those unforeseen circumstances in life that are beyond our control; fate, bad luck ... tragedy, but with King's typical twist.
No real villains, only victims.