A slow but necessary first two acts builds to a gripping third that is hard to put down. Though a touch of King's normal unneeded political rants takes you out of the story sometimes, the development of these characters is some of his best work in my opinion. Outside of his typical northeastern setting, this reads as a mix of untouched territory for King, with him at his best. An overlooked and underrated story that is a must read for King fans. Fingers crossed on Mike Flanagan adapting this one to the silver screen at some point.
Though now dated due to technological advancements, Cujo is still a riveting story. I could only imagine reading this before the days of cell phones. King is able to take an event that could happen to anyone (though much more plausible in the time period that it was written) and make it into a nightmare. Take a good dog with rabies, mix in some car troubles, a dash of broken home(s), and you have a deeply dark story that is as hard to put down.
Even with a lot to like, King's constant political bashing and unneeded allusion to Covid/lockdown drag down an otherwise solid book. I understand a writer's want to interject their own feelings and thoughts into their work, but to a point it gets overbearing, and is why it took me so long to finally finish this read. I read fiction to escape from the realities of our world. Talking of a future virus that has no bearing to the story was unneeded; and no matter your political leanings, the constant republican bashing was unnecessary. Other wise, this was a middle of the road “feel-good” (or at least as feel-good as King gets, ex. Stand by Me, Shawshank). Was not his best or most inspired, but other than my few qualms was an otherwise good read.
With a drawn-out first third, that though I did not dislike, was a door shielding the rest of this book; and the world within it. Transported to a beautiful fantastical realm with eldritch horrors and curses that remind you you're reading a King novel.
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