9. Cujo
Sometimes, when King goes for the “real life” plot lines, he tells stories full of strong characters and good people (though The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption both have plenty of psychopaths, believe me). Alas, however, we all know that reality is not always so kind. Horrible, gut-wrenching things can happen every day, even courtesy of one of humanity’s best friends.
Cujo was written during King’s worst period of alcoholism when he was drinking very heavily. In his nonfiction book, On Writing, he “barely remembers writing at all,” though he wishes he did, since it turned out so well. Thankfully, King’s family staged an effective intervention and King has remained sober since the late 1980s.
In the novel, Cujo is at first a friendly, humongous St. Bernard. Poor Cujo is bitten by a rabid bat, which then passes the infection on to the dog. Early on in the novel, the rabid Cujo kills two people in the (fictional) town of Castle Rock, Maine.
Things really go wrong, however, when the Trenton family crosses paths with Cujo. Vic and Donna’s married life is on the rocks after he discovers that Donna has had an affair. Their four-year-old son, Tad, is stuck in the middle. While Vic is on a business trip, Donna, with Tad, takes the family car in for repairs at a neighbor’s home. They barely make it into the driveway before the car fails.
Too bad that neighbor was one of Cujo’s early victims. Donna and Tad are trapped in their broken-down car for an agonizingly long period of time. It doesn’t help that they have no food or water and the car is becoming incredibly hot. Cujo remains one of King’s most desperate, tense novels.