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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Cujo (disambiguation).

First edition cover
Author	Stephen King
Language	English
Genre	Horror
Publisher	Viking Press
Publication date	September 8, 1981
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	319
ISBN	978-0-670-45193-7

Cujo (/ˈkuːdʒoʊ/) is a 1981 horror novel by American writer Stephen King about a rabid Saint Bernard. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982^[1] and was made into a film in 1983. Cujo’s name was based on the alias of Willie Wolfe, one of the men responsible for orchestrating Patty Hearst‘s kidnapping and indoctrination into the Symbionese Liberation Army.^[2]^[3] King discusses Cujo in On Writing, referring to it as a novel he “barely remembers writing at all.” King wrote the book during the height of his struggle with alcohol addiction. King goes on to say he likes the book and wishes he could remember enjoying the good parts as he put them on the page.^[4]

Background

According to King, the novel was partly inspired by his trip to a mechanic during the spring of 1977.^[5]^[6] In a 2006 interview with The Paris Review, King describes how issues with his motorcycle led him to visit an auto shop on the northern outskirts of Bridgton, Maine.^[7] He claims his motorcycle died when he arrived at the shop, and moments after, a Saint Bernard emerged from the garage, growling at him and eventually lunging for his hand.^[5]^[7] Although the mechanic stopped the dog from harming King by hitting the dog’s hindquarters with a wrench, King was still startled by the encounter.^[6]^[7] This incident, as well as a story published in a Portland, Maine, newspaper about a young child who was killed by a Saint Bernard, provided inspiration for the novel.^[6]^[7] King also owned a dysfunctional Ford Pinto at the time, which is the same car model the novel’s protagonist, Donna Trenton, drives to the auto garage where she encounters the rabid Cujo.^[7]

Plot

In 1977, the middle-class Trentons move from New York City to Castle Rock, Maine. In the summer of 1980, Vic learns that Donna has recently had an affair with local tennis player Steve Kemp. In the midst of this household tension, Vic’s advertising agency is failing due to a scandal over a cereal. Vic is forced to go on a business trip, leaving Donna and their son, four-year-old Tad, at home alone.

Joe Camber is a blue-collar mechanic who abuses his wife, Charity, and their ten-year-old son, Brett. Charity wins a $5,000 (equivalent to $17,000 in 2024) lottery prize and uses the proceeds to bargain with Joe to allow her to take Brett on a trip to visit Charity’s sister in Connecticut and show him the possibility of a better life. Joe acquiesces and secretly plans to take a pleasure trip to Boston with his friend Gary Pervier, an alcoholic war veteran.

The Cambers’ dog Cujo, a large, good-natured Saint Bernard, chases a rabbit in the nearby wilderness and inserts his head in a small cave. A bat bites him on the nose and infects him with rabies, against which Cujo has not been vaccinated. Cujo enters the prodromal phase, becoming lethargic and irritable. After Charity and Brett leave town, Cujo kills Joe and Gary.

Donna, with Tad, takes their failing Ford Pinto to Joe’s house for repairs. The car breaks down in the Cambers’ dooryard, and as Donna attempts to find Joe, Cujo attacks her. She gets back into the car but becomes trapped when Cujo continues to attack them. The interior of the car becomes increasingly hot in the summer sun. During one escape attempt, Donna is bitten in the stomach and leg but manages to escape back into the car. Tad becomes catatonic with fear and begins to have seizures.

Steve goes to the Trenton home to attack Donna after she ends their affair and ransacks the empty house. Vic returns to Castle Rock after failed attempts to contact his wife. The police suspect Steve of kidnapping Donna and Tad. Sheriff George Bannerman is sent to the Cambers’ house, but Cujo attacks and kills him. After witnessing the attack and realizing Tad is in danger of dying of dehydration, Donna battles the weakened Cujo and stabs him with a broken baseball bat. Vic arrives as the fight ends, but Tad has already died from dehydration and heatstroke. A veterinarian performs a necropsy on Cujo to check for rabies prior to the cremation of his remains. Charity receives a phone call speaking about the deaths of Tad and her husband due to Cujo’s rampage.

Several months later, the Trenton and Camber families are trying to move on. Donna completed her treatment for rabies, and her injuries healed. The Trentons’ marriage has survived, as well as Vic’s business, and they mourn Tad together. Charity, now working in order to support herself and Brett, gives her son a new, vaccinated puppy. In postscript, it is said that the hole Cujo chased the rabbit into was never discovered, and the bats abandoned it. It also reiterates to the reader that Cujo was a good dog who always tried to keep his owners happy, but the ravage of rabies drove him to violence.

Characters

Cujo: a friendly Saint Bernard that becomes murderous after contracting rabies from a bat bite.
Donna Trenton: wife of Vic Trenton. She becomes trapped in the car after arriving at the auto shop where Cujo lurks.
Vic Trenton: Donna’s husband. He is on a work-related trip when his wife and son encounter Cujo at the Camber auto shop.
Tad Trenton: son of Donna and Vic. He becomes trapped in the car with Donna at the auto shop.
Gary Pervier: the next-door neighbor and poker buddy of Joe Camber. A sixty-year-old WW2 army veteran and an alcoholic. He is the first victim of Cujo.
Joe Camber: mechanic and owner of the auto shop where Donna and Tad encounter Cujo. Owner of Cujo
Charity Camber: wife of Joe Camber. She and her son leave Cujo behind while on a trip to visit Charity’s sister.
Brett Camber: son of Joe and Charity.
Frank Dodd: a former Castle Rock police officer who was discovered to be the “Castle Rock Strangler”, a serial killer traumatizing Castle Rock during the 1970s (see The Dead Zone). Cujo makes many references to Dodd throughout the story.
George Bannerman: the current Castle Rock sheriff. He once worked with Dodd and discovered Dodd’s guilt in the Castle Rock murders. He is killed by Cujo in his attempt to save Donna and Tad.
Steve Kemp: The man with whom Donna has had an affair. He breaks into and vandalizes Donna’s house after learning she wants to end the affair.
Roger Breakstone: Vic’s friend and business partner. He accompanies Vic on his work-related trip.

Critical reception

Upon its initial release in 1981, the novel earned and maintained a high position on bestseller lists in the United States.^[8] Some critics have criticized the novel for its ending.^[9]^[10] The 1983 film adaptation of the novel featured a more optimistic conclusion. Cujo received the following accolades:

Locus Award Nominee for Best Fantasy Novel (1982)^[11]
Balrog Award Nominee for Best Novel (1982)^[11]
British Fantasy Award for Best Novel (August Derleth Fantasy Award) (1982)^[12]

Despite the above, according to the American Library Association, Cujo was the 49th most banned and challenged book in the United States between 1990 and 1999.^[13]

Adaptations

Cujo (1983)

Main article: Cujo (film)

Cujo is a 1983 American horror film directed by Lewis Teague. It follows a mostly similar plot to the original novel, albeit Tad surviving contrary to his death in the novel. It was written for the screen by Don Carlos Dunaway and Barbara Turner.^[14]^[15]

C.U.J.O

In 2015, Sunn Classic Pictures announced that it would develop another adaptation titled C.U.J.O., which stands for “Canine Unit Joint Operations”.^[16] Nothing came of it after its announcement.

Cujo (TBA)

On March 11, 2025, Netflix announced they were developing a new adaptation/remake of the 1983 film with Roy Lee serving as producer.^[17]^[18] On March 18, 2025, Darren Aronofsky was revealed to be in talks to direct.^[19]

Allusions and connections to other King novels

There are allusions to Cujo in King’s other works, which often reference the Saint Bernard and refer generally to the incident of the summer of 1980 when the rabid dog killed four people in Castle Rock, Maine.^[20]
On the official Stephen King website, Cujo is listed as a character in numerous other novels, including Needful Things, The Body, The Dark Half and Pet Sematary.^[21]^[22]^[23]
In the Stephen King book Fairy Tale, Cujo is referenced as a piece of fiction.
King’s 2024 collection, You Like It Darker, contains the story Rattlesnakes, described by King as a sequel to Cujo. It is told in the first person with Vic Trenton as narrator.^[24]

References

“1982 Award Winners & Nominees”. Worlds Without End. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2009.
March 1, 1976. Patty’s Long Ordeal on the Stand [1] Time.com
August 14, 1981. Cujo: New York Times Book Review [2] Archived May 9, 2017, at the Wayback Machine New York Times.com
King, Stephen. On Writing, page 73, Hodder & Stoughton, 2000, ISBN 978-0-340-82046-9
“StephenKing.com – Cujo Inspiration”. stephenking.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
Rolls, Albert (2008). Stephen King: A Biography. ABC-CLIO. p. 34. ISBN 978-0313345739.
Rich, Interviewed by Christopher Lehmann-Haupt and Nathaniel (2006). “Stephen King, The Art of Fiction No. 189”. The Paris Review. Vol. Fall 2006, no. 178. ISSN 0031-2037. Archived from the original on September 29, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
McDowell, Edwin (September 27, 1981). “Behind the Best Sellers”. New York Times.
Lehmann-Haupt, Christopher (August 14, 1981). “Cujo: New York Times Book Review”. New York Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2018.
Rogak, Lisa (2010). Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King. Macmillan. ISBN 978-1429987974.
“Cujo”. www.goodreads.com. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
“Cujo”. Goodreads. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
Office of Intellectual Freedom (March 26, 2013). “100 most frequently challenged books: 1990-1999”. American Library Association. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
Gingold, Michael (April 6, 2016). “RIP “Cujo” scripter Barbara Turner”. Fangoria. Archived from the original on April 16, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
“Cujo – Cast & Crew”. AllRovi. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
Miska, Brad (July 6, 2015). “Stephen King’s ‘Cujo’ Remake Title Gets Rabies: ‘C.U.J.O.'”. Bloody Disgusting. Archived from the original on May 3, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
Rubin, Rebecca. “Netflix Sets Remake of Stephen King’s ‘Cujo'”. Variety. Archived from the original on March 12, 2025. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
Fleming, Mike Jr. “Stephen King’s ‘Cujo’ Still Has Bite; Netflix Sets Movie Deal For Classic Thriller Novel”. Deadline. Archived from the original on March 11, 2025. Retrieved March 11, 2025.
Gomez, Dessi (March 18, 2025). “Darren Aronofsky Circling To Direct ‘Cujo’ Adaptation For Netflix”. Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on March 19, 2025. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
Smythe, James (November 2, 2012). “Rereading Stephen King: week 11 – Cujo”. the Guardian. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
“StephenKing.com – Needful Things Characters”. www.stephenking.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
“StephenKing.com – The Dark Half Characters”. www.stephenking.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
“StephenKing.com – Pet Sematary Characters”. www.stephenking.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 2, 2018.
Clark Collis (November 6, 2023). “Read the start of Stephen King’s Cujo sequel in excerpt from story collection, You Like It Darker”. Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved November 7, 2023.