Cujo is so well-paced and scary that people tend to read it quickly, so they mostly remember the scene of the mother and son trapped in the hot Pinto and threatened by the rabid Cujo, forgetting the multifaceted story in which that scene is embedded. This is definitely a novel that rewards re-reading. When you read it again, you can pay more attention to the theme of country folk vs. city folk; the parallel marriage conflicts of the Cambers vs. the Trentons; the poignancy of the amiable St. Bernard (yes, the breed choice is just right) infected by a brain-destroying virus that makes it into a monster; and the way the "daylight burial" of the failed ad campaign is reflected in the sunlit Pinto that becomes a coffin. And how significant it is that this horror tale is not supernatural: it's as real as junk food, a failing marriage, a broken-down car, or a fatal virus.


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FROM OUR EDITORS

In rereading this classic King thriller that made us all look at dogs -- even our own loveable pets -- just a little bit differently, there is still the eerie paranoia of what lurks beyond our very safe existence, especially in the light of evidence of killer viruses in the 1990s. This special Collector's Edition of Cujo is produced on acid-free paper and features a frontispiece of the original hardcover jacket art. A new introduction by bestselling author Dan Simmons adds distinction, with a '90s stance: "Cujo, as a word-image of the friendly and familiar suddenly turned monstrous, is another phrase that has entered our collective consciousness." Can a deadly-virus-driven 200-pound St. Bernard still alter an unsuspecting town's very soul? The monster virus in a dog named Cujo lives there still, in Stephen King's place called Castle Rock.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Acute family dog turns into a vicious family killer in King's canine classic.

SYNOPSIS

Stephen King puts nerve-tearing teeth into the terror of man's best friend turning into the ultimate beast.

With this warning, prepare to meet Cujo, a friendly, playful 200-pound Saint Bernard who chases a rabbit into an underground cavern. When he emerges from the darkness, he is something else. Something that the men, women, and children of Castle rock, Maine, do not suspect. Until is too late. Until the fever of fear rises and spreads. Until no one is safe, and no one can escape the insatiable slavering evil padding on four paws from victim to victim.

FROM THE CRITICS

New York Times Book Review

Hits the jugular...

Minneapolis Tribune