Cujo (1981) Stephen King 1st Print Hardback

by DefaultBrand (contributor)

Cujo is a 1981 psychological horror novel by Stephen King about a rabid dog. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982, and was made into a film in 1983.

Genres: Horror

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

i was expecting like…a reign of terror, a horrifying meld of rabid dog and some otherworldly evil…instead of a rampage i got a siege. and that siege did NOT need to go on for so long. and for THAT to be the ending? bro.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing revisiting this book some 30 years after first reading it. Loved it then, but the deepness with the story was somewhat lost on me. This time I was enthralled by the human relationship angles. And the harrowing finale.

[Jess Caldwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending gutted me

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I read this when it came out but 40 odd years later I found myself in King's famous position of having no recollection of it at all. After reading the sequel in "You Like It Darker" last month I thought I'd go back to it. Glad I did. This is a wild ride and is King at his juggler best keeping at least four interrelated stories up in the air at the same time and occationally throwing in a couple of plot twists to keep it dangerous. I don't guess there isn't any one that doesn't know the basic dog traps woman and kid in a car aspect of the story, but there is much more there.

The ebook I read somehow lost all the chapter breaks which made an interesting read that much more interesting. A fastening technique and really in keeping with the juggling analogy -- the story is quick than the chapter breaks.

[S. Policar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is it bad that through this entire book I felt more sorry for Cujo and Tad than anyone else? Cujo was the definition of a good dog until he got sick, and even then he tried to fight against it.
I really liked the book though. It gave a whole lot more insight than the movie did for sure.
The only thing that really bothers me is Tad's closet. Was there ever anything really in there or did that whole family have some weird hallucination? And did the cop really see what he thought he did in Cujo's eyes or was that in his head? While the supernatural elements are there in black ink, they don't manifest in the main story, and honestly all the stuff about Frank Dodd seems a bit redundant and irrelevant to the story; which was really about a good dog that chased a rabbit down the wrong rabbit hole.
I give this book 5 of 5 paws either way because I don't think any other author has the capability to toss an irrelevant character and backstory into the main story and still manage to make it all somehow work.

[Anthony Whitlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cujo. A lot of mixed reviews gave me uncertain expectations for this King novel. While the name aptly suggests the primary antagonist for this tale, the dog really occupies about 25-30% of the story. What lies underneath the growls, foamed teeth, and 200+ lbs of St. Bernard are human fears, doubt, and rage. Most of the characters are going through their troubling conflicts, and each one handles it with some form of rage. Unfortunately, the only one with no control of it has four legs and seems regretful for every decision he makes. I was going to give it 3/5, but landed on 4/5 based on how King brings human elements in a tale about rabid rage.

[Mike Courson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 54 of 2025
I live in Kansas. We are Jayhawkers. That one word evokes a certain image of a certain imaginary bird. But so few words are otherwise singular. But Cujo means one thing to most people: a rabid Saint Bernard. A vicious dog. I think the book loses at least 25 percent of its power if that dog is named anything else.

I like early Stephen King. If you've read his stuff about writing, a lot of his material arises out of "what if" scenarios. Well, what if a rabid dog pinned a mom and her young son in a car for a few days. Brilliant.

Sigh. Cujo was a good boy. Lost in the horror is that little nugget of truth. But around this rabid dog, King manages a little bit of unnecessary back story about a serial killer, some infidelity, and even advertising. Brilliant!

King says he barely remembers writing Cujo. That's sad because it's a nice horror book, if it's a horror book at all. Truly, it's a nice meld of all the things I mentioned above. This is primo Stephen King.

[Rebecca Elliott]

I can’t rate this book because I’m furious. Get back to me later.

I will say if a rabid St. Bernard ever traps me in a car with my son I will bludgeon it to death with the headrest of the seat or the tire iron. I’m not sitting there while he dies trying to “get my courage”, especially with a house, a baseball bat, and a garbage full of a mechanics tools in my full view. Men DO NOT understand this thing that happens to mothers when their children are at risk.

I’m beefing with Stephen King over this one.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, add this to the third most favorite book by king behind the stand and IT in that order. I never seen the movie so this was a fresh read. It was extremely hard to stop reading, just page after page after page, I was so absorbed by the story! The stand and it were extremely sad and heartbreaking stories and this one is no different. The lead up of the characters and what their background brings to the story is amazing. Tad knew his fate! Sadly kids always seem to know these things! What an amazing story that brought me to tears, especially for Donna and Vic.

[Annette Maurizio · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai beaucoup aimé ce livre. Il est tres différent des Stephen King que j'ai lu jusqu'à présent.
Cujo n'est qu'un gentil chien devenu malade, qui souffre.
Le vrai monstre à mon sens, qui représente un danger plus insidieux est Steve .
Stephen King nous fais craindre Franck Dodd, le flic devenu tueur fou, puis le monstre dans le placard qui terrorise Tad, et enfin Cujo, le chien meurtrier. On en oublierait presque Steve, qui est manipulateur, violent et violeur, c'est lui le vrai monstre

[Macqualyn Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a slow burn for me, but in the end I did like the book and it soon became a page turner the more I read on. Was a sad outcome that I wasn't prepared for ;( I look forward to reading more SK books

[Katie Holder · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I read Cujo as a child but maybe I never finished it. This book did not hold my interest like most of Stephen King’s books do. It was just ok. I thought of it as more of a very depressing world than horror. I did want to finish it because his new book has a short story pertaining to it.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Oh man, the number of times this almost became a DNF. It was rough. Too many characters that didn’t matter, a really underdeveloped monster connection to Cujo. This was just a rabid dog honestly, and I didn’t care. And it has no chapters, which I loathe in a reading experience.

[Simone Trivisani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cujo è una di quelle storie ipnotiche di un King in stato di grazia: avvinghia il lettore e non lo molla, trascinandolo fino all'ultima pagina in una curiosità ossessiva e impellente. La capacità di cambiare punto di osservazione, fino addirittura a farci provare i sentimenti del cane, è maestria.

[Angel Ackerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing how King can take everyday events and everyday occurrences and turn people inside out and upside down.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Rebecca Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stephen Kings writing style is perfection, of course the book is 100 times better than the movie.

[Sofia Nilsson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otroligt bra bok! Den här gillade jag väldigt mycket

[Sarah Connolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my new favorite King books

[Julia Dziendzioł · Rating 5 out of 5]

made me sick. the ending was something for sure, didnt expect it tho. super sad when you read it from the dogs perspective. the murder scenes were so well written it really made me have chills.

[KayTea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve been deeply traumatised during and after reading it. Amazing book.

[Evan Faulkenbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: do not read while also reading Hamnet.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a decent book. I dont think it was anything too special or surprising, but it also wasnt boring.

[SunnyGirlSue · Rating 2 out of 5]

I seriously couldn't stand Donna .. her actions and behavior are the main reason for my low rating 😔

[Mickey McClanahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book is terrifying. Moves kind of slow but the last 150 pages are crazy. Decent read - not my fav king by any stretch. You feel for the dog, you love the dog, you want to pet the dog. It was sadder than I expected - not just bc the kid dies but because of the dog.

[Lara Cattaneo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Espectacular
Aunque no es exactamente terror tiene una pizca de sobrenaturalidad en los ojos de los protagonistas, eso a mi parecer, le da el toque King.
Está magistralmente construida la historia, cada uno de los personajes y la resolución.
Por algo es el rey 📚

[Ziggy Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the first book I read that genuinely scared me. Compared to other books, this King piece is very realistic and made me side eye my dogs a few times. The ending is gut wrenching, but I can’t think of a more perfect ending to this tale.

[Holden Plouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book!