Just finished Cujo for the first time

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The Walkin' Dude

Well-Known Member
Jul 5, 2016
47
267
30
Charlotte, NC
Well, that ending sure was depressing. Overall I loved the book. I think every character is very very well established and strong here. I think the small scale and thus small amount of characters helps that out a lot here. I like how straightforward this story is compared to most of his other work, and once you get to the main event about halfway through, you seriously never want to put it down. Great read, and extremely suspenseful and even stressful. The ending is absolutely tragic though.

Also, anybody else think that Tad has a bit of the shining?
 

do1you9love?

Happy to be here!
Feb 18, 2012
9,284
70,566
Virginia
Well, that ending sure was depressing. Overall I loved the book. I think every character is very very well established and strong here. I think the small scale and thus small amount of characters helps that out a lot here. I like how straightforward this story is compared to most of his other work, and once you get to the main event about halfway through, you seriously never want to put it down. Great read, and extremely suspenseful and even stressful. The ending is absolutely tragic though.

Also, anybody else think that Tad has a bit of the shining?
Welcome to the SKMB!

Cujo is a depressing one, for sure. And Tad had something...
the monster in his closet scenes were terrifying!
 

not_nadine

Comfortably Roont
Nov 19, 2011
29,655
139,785
Behind you
Well, that ending sure was depressing. Overall I loved the book. I think every character is very very well established and strong here. I think the small scale and thus small amount of characters helps that out a lot here. I like how straightforward this story is compared to most of his other work, and once you get to the main event about halfway through, you seriously never want to put it down. Great read, and extremely suspenseful and even stressful. The ending is absolutely tragic though.
Also, anybody else think that Tad has a bit of the shining?

Tad knew about the closet. But it could have been a boy's imagination. If it was a shine, he should have known about the Cuje when he first saw him.

Did you fall in love with Cujo? That was the most tragic for me.
 

César Hernández-Meraz

Wants to be Nick, ends up as Larry
May 19, 2015
605
4,416
44
Aguascalientes, Mexico
Just finished it tonight. I loved it.

As I started the book, my mind was expecting a "more traditional" monster story, with Cujo going on a rampage and people fearing the unknown murderer who was loose on their town, kind of similar to the case mentioned to have happened a few years before these events.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the story was more personal and with Cujo always present.

I loved how Donna did not need a rescuer and held her promise to kill Cujo. She had thought she may not be a good mother, but I think she showed that she was.

Tad's death was unexpected for me. I thought he could be saved, if barely.

And, of course, I loved Cujo. He made me think of quite a few images of the good times, when he was all love.
 

César Hernández-Meraz

Wants to be Nick, ends up as Larry
May 19, 2015
605
4,416
44
Aguascalientes, Mexico
I forgot to say, about Tad having the shining,
I think he had some degree of it.

At some parts, the closet thing could be explained as sleepwalking, especially since Brett sleepwalked.

But there were other things that could only be explained by the shining or by everyone having a suggestible mind. But Vic and Donna were not ones to believe something was up with the closet. When they started to think that maybe something was up (and tried to convince themselves that was not the case) it was after they had already seen or felt it, not the other way around. The smells, the sounds and the fact the door's latch moved by itself (although this happened when Vic was already very stressed, so he could have imagined it, if we want to believe there was nothing supernatural) make me think there was some shining. The smells were very similar to Cujo's real-world ones.

There is also the thing with the dreams. It is very natural to dream of danger when one is worried, so dreaming that his wife and son were trapped by a beast could be another sign of stress, and happened when Vic was starting to get worried. But the dreams seemed too specific, as if Vic were perceiving a version of what his family was going through in real life.

In other topic, having read the book now I wonder if, had they existed in this world and had they known about this situation, the True Knot from "Doctor Sleep" would have loved to be nearby while Tad and Donna were trapped. :chew:

And Tad's duck scenes made me think of Boo'ya Moon from "Lisey's Story". :moon: