Audience: Adult

Format: Audio

Library Copy

Once upon a time, not so long ago, a monster came to the town of Castle Rock, Maine.

- first sentence

This is a reread for me and I didn’t remember many details. I think I avoided it because of my love of dogs. I listened to the audio; Lorna Raver gives an excellent performance and helped me get lost in the story.

I was surprised by the beginning stuff about the monster (serial killer) Frank Dodd. I found myself wondering what that had to do with the rabid dog. But this story isn’t about a rabid dog. It’s about evil… evil and coincidences. It’s also a look back in time at what was once thought acceptable in a marriage.

As the story progresses, the parts with Cujo are separated by the stories of the Trenton family and the Camber family. Each family is dealing with their own issues, and these ultimately lead to the events which conclude with the showdown of mother and child trapped in a Pinto by Cujo.

It broke my heart to listen to Cujo’s thoughts as the disease progressed and he gradually went mad. But it was easier to read/listen to than it was to watch the movie. All I really remember from the movie is the part with Cujo and the car. I might have to watch it again just for comparison.

So, is an Evil force controlling the events that lead to the heartbreaking conclusion, or is it just coincidence? Does it even matter?

I'm using this for "C" in the Goodreads HA A-Z challenge.

I read Cujo when I was in my teens, but not a lot stayed with me I think because I ended up skimming a lot. I think I was freaked out by some of the things in this book (a man talking easily about raping a woman, another man beating his wife, etc.) and it just caused me to not look too closely at this book. However, this book is old school and somehow still King in his later works. He takes a look at a town, it's citizens, and shows you how things unravel. He is still quite good with kids (oh Tadder). And he plays with a lot of different things in this books, growing up, resentment of parents for children and vice versa, affairs and the aftermath. Through it all though we have a dark energy in the town that wants to be released. I am still amazed that anyone would continue to live in the fictional town of Castle Rock and all of the messed up things that keep happening there. 

"Cujo" follows a good dog who unfortunately gets bit by a bat that passes along rabies. The majority of the book follows the countdown to Cujo turning from a good dog to a dog from hell and we get to read (witness) the killings he does. King doesn't just focus on Cujo though. We get insight into Cujo's owners, the Cambers family (Joe and Charity, and their son Brett) and their messed up dynamic. I maybe cheered when a member of this family get killed. Not going to lie.

We also follow the Trenton family (Vic and Donna) who are newcomers to the area, who are raising their four year old son Tad. We get hints that something is up with Donna fairly early on, but then we dive into it more fully and find out that Donna has been having an affair with Steve Kemp. Steve is a failed tennis player and now plays at refurnishing furniture. When Donna sees him for who he is one day, they have an almost violent encounter which leaves Kemp out wanting revenge on Donna. 

We also get peeks into residents of the town of Castle Rock. We follow Sheriff George Bannerman, an elderly resident, the mailman, etc. We also get some looks into infamous Frank Dodd who was in "The Dead Zone." The parts with Dodd reminded me slightly of magical realism elements. 

I think King did a good job of balancing what was going on with Cujo and others in this story. This story seems to be a tale of wives in my mind though. We had Charity dealing with the fact that she chose the wrong husband. Joe is crude and brutal with her. And often with their son Brett. She is scared that unless her son breaks free from Joe, he may end up being the same kind of man. When she gets the opportunity to visit her more well to do sister, she jumps at it hoping she can show Brett a different way of life. Things come to a head with these two while away with Charity realizing that her sister has changed, and though she's well to do, still acts as if she is poor. 

Donna realizes that she was too dependent on Vic making her happy and that her falling into an affair with Kemp was a bad idea. When Vic is told about the affair (via a letter sent by Kemp) they have an honest conversation with Donna realizing that she can't really explain what happened or why. She wants to try again and realizes like many do after an affair has passed it was a terrible idea, and it doesn't mean she doesn't love her husband. Watching Donna becoming a super woman in my mind when she finally goes toe to toe with Cujo was astounding. I was holding my breath the whole time. 

Kemp was a psycho or at least want to be rapist. I kept hoping that somehow Cujo would teleport himself to where he was and bite him. No dice though.

Vic was okay. I didn't get much of a sense from him in this story. Just a good man trying to do right by his family. King gives you the sense that these two went on and healed, but you don't know since they don't get mention in his other works. 

The writing was really good. The flow was too though at times you feel as if the book just stops at an important part and you want it to continue on so you can get back to Donna and Tad in the car, or the police and others figuring out where they are so they can get help. 

The ending was sad in a way. We end on what happens to Cujo and his desire to just do right for his man, his woman, and his boy. And that it wasn't really his fault what happened. 

King does a great job setting up this story. All of the characters are very well developed and you feel pity due to decisions that are made that can affect the other characters in this story. Poor Cujo. 

Der Bernhardiner Cujo ist ein gutmütiges Ungetüm, das keiner Fliege etwas zu leide tut. Aber eines Tages wird er mit einem teuflischen Virus infiziert und wird zum blutdürstigen Monster, das um sich herum alles in Fetzen reisst.

"Cujo" ist ein Horror-Roman von Stephen King und hat schon richtig Kult-Status erreicht. Viel zu lange habe ich mir Zeit gelassen, um zu diesem Roman zu greifen. Ich habe die Seiten regelrecht inhaliert!

Dreh- und Angelpunkt der Geschichte ist der Bernhardiner Cujo. Cujo ist ein richtig großer Hund, der dafür mit einer großen Portion Gutmütigkeit gesegnet ist. Von seiner Familie wird er geliebt, von Nachbarn und Bekannten wird sein freundliches Wesen geschätzt. Kurz gesagt, wer Tiere mag, muss Cujo einfach lieben! 

Seine Geschichte wird vor allem mit dem Schicksal zweier Familien verknüpft. Cujo selbst gehört der Sharp-Familie an, die aus seinem Jungen, der Frau und dem Mann besteht. Hier werden vor allem die Erzählstränge um die Frau und ihren Sohn in den Vordergrund gestellt, weil so manch unglückselige Fügung sich für andere als Glück entpuppen wird.

Hauptsächlich wird aber von Donna, Vic und dem kleinen Tad erzählt. Denn diese Familie wird eine sehr intensive Erfahrung mit Cujo haben, die ganz Castle Rock erschüttern wird. 

Wer King kennt, weiß, dass er reichlich Hintergrundinformationen zu den Figuren liefert. Wobei gerade in diesem Roman ein kleines Rädchen das andere dreht, und viele minimale Ereignisse zum Fiasko führen. Ich mag diesen detaillierten Stil sehr gern, denn King greift gekonnt auf, wie wir Menschen ticken. Er dreht und wendet uns, und zeigt, das in jedem etwas Böses steckt. 

Etliche Abschnitte werden aus Cujos Perspektive erzählt. Man fühlt, wie sehr er seinen Jungen mag, man spürt, dass er dem Mann gefallen will, und freut sich, wenn er gut gelaunt über die Felder rennt.

Doch dann geschieht das Unglück und Cujo wird mit einem infernalischen Tollwut-Virus infiziert. Auf seine lebensfrohe Art, legt sich ein blutgetränkter Schleier, der ihn zu einem zerfleischenden Monster macht. Zuerst fühlt er unstillbaren Durst, gegen den es keine Abhilfe gibt. Die Sonne brennt ihm in den Augen, weil die Krankheit an ihm nagt. Cujo weiß in seiner Verzweiflung nicht, wie ihm geschieht. Je weiter die Infektion fortschreitet, desto verzerrter und bösartiger wird seine Sichtweise, obwohl er eigentlich nur allen gefallen will.

Damit hat mich die Geschichte mitten ins Herz getroffen. Es ist für mich immer schwierig zu verkraften, wenn Tieren Unrecht widerfährt, weil sie es eben nicht verstehen können. Ein Tier vertraut seinen Besitzern das eigene Leben an und kann (wahrscheinlich) nicht nachvollziehen, warum es ungerecht behandelt wird. Dieses natürliche Unverständnis gibt mir zu knabbern, weil es doch zeigt, dass Tiere Schutzbefohlene des Menschen sind. 

Trotz des ernsten, gesellschaftskritischen Hintergrunds ist „Cujo“ ein Horror-Roman und mit dem tollwütigen Riesenhund hat Stephen King erneut einen einwandfreien Schocker kreiert. Er spielt mit den Gefühlen des Lesers auf mehreren Ebenen. Man möchte Cujo lieb haben, ihn streicheln und mit ihm spielen. Aber dann wendet sich das Blatt, und der Wohlfühl-Hund wird zum blutrünstigen Splatter-Element. 

Meiner Meinung nach ist Stephen Kings „Cujo“ ein wahnsinnig guter Horror-Roman, der ganz ohne mysteriöse Aspekte auskommt und sich am Grauen der Realität bedient. Daher vergebe ich das Prädikat „lesenswert“.