Cujo

New York: The Viking Press, 1981 First edition, first printing. Publisher's black cloth-backed tan paper-covered boards, author's initials in silver foil to front board, titles in silver and bronze to spine; in its original dust jacket designed by R. Adelson, with snarling dog illustration by Steven Stroud to front panel, jacket lettered in black, white and red, and photo of King to rear panel. Near fine book with lower board corners lightly bumped and an ink marking in the margins of pp. 172-73; near fine unclipped dust jacket with a couple of areas of light staining to rear panel, some toning to top of spine, and light wear to spine ends. Overall, an excellent copy. On a hot summer day in rural Maine, Donna Trenton, with her four-year-old son Tad, takes her car to the local mechanic's shop for repairs. No one's there, except for Cujo, a formerly friendly Saint Bernard who has contracted rabies. Trapped in her broken-down car, with the additional threat of dehydration, Donna must try to save herself and her son from the supernaturally powerful and vicious dog. According to King, the idea for the novel came to him when he visited a mechanic to get his motorcycle fixed and was attacked by a Saint Bernard. Interestingly, he has said that he does not remember writing the book as he was fighting his own battle with substance abuse at the time. Winner of the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel, Cujo is a dark book that "leaves you with the feeling that none of its evil has been purged" (New York Times Review).. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.