Monday, December 19, 2011

Book Review: The Cujo Cat Chronicles Musings Of A MAD HOUSECAT By Douglas Dunn/Cujo





I first discovered the book The Cujo Cat Chronicles because I follow an incredibly well-written blog of the same name, whose narrator (Cujo), superbly communicates the thoughts of a cat by using language that honors the superior intelligence that cats possess. The blog as well as the book are written by the obviously brainy Douglas Dunn, with assistance from his (no slouch in the cerebral department) cat, Cujo.

The Cujo Cat Chronicles are musings of a tyrannical housecat named Cujo.  Cujo lives up to his name which  means "killer cat or dog",  something that is "often cute, but will turn around and kill you". Cujo also means "your God, your Owner, someone you will bow down to."

  Cujo refers to his family as well as his fans as "minions" a word that is aptly used because minions aren't just servants, they can also be:

"a  slavish follower or one that is generally regarded as important or a "favored" person"  (what caught my attention was a word located  below the definition of "minion"  and that word is "dogsbody", which is defined as: "somebody given menial jobs: a worker who does boring tasks that others do not want to do.".

 Cujo often mentions in this book that if you expect certain behavior from him then "get a dog." 

Cujo's "Minions" are:

Doug- "a creature of the hairless 2 legged variety."  His activities consist of feeding  Cujo, buying him fuzzy toys that seem to amuse him more than they amuse Cujo, and "cleaning the royal litter".

Kathy- Doug's mate. She also feeds Cujo and tells Doug to "clean the royal litter."

Ivan the Tolerable- a fellow feline and Cujo's acting "aide de camp". "He is very large, easily mislead and quite dim." He is also Cujo's "lead enforcer."

Tiger Lily- a female gray tabby. "She's an accomplished whiner" Cujo chooses to keep her around because she makes "cool sounds when he smacks her."

What about Cujo?  By his own admission he is "without humility." He is sarcastic, sadistic, sardonic and as it says on the back cover of this intelligently written, FUN book "one could almost say that Napoleon had a Cujo Cat Complex." Being a huge fan of Simon Cowell, (coincidentally or not, American Idol is mentioned a few times in the book)  I would say that Cujo's personality is reminiscent of his as well. 

The Cujo Cat Chronicles  "is a journey into the mind of a small cat with a huge ego. He welcomes his readers into his Kingdom and then seeks to subjugate them."

There are few cat blogs and books about cats that have an "edge."  The "stars" of the book usually have a soft spot somewhere, not Cujo.  Everything annoys him, his enjoyment comes from the less than intelligent antics of others, his observations are spot on and are conveyed by using humor that isn't sophomoric.

I greatly enjoyed this book but there was one thing that I found to be lacking.  Dunn did such a brilliant job of verbally painting the personalities of all three of his cats, (Cujo, Ivan and Tiger Lily), that I would have enjoyed seeing some photos of theirs  interspersed throughout the book.
Doug Dunn and "Cujo"

Looking at the photo of Dunn and Cujo on the back cover, I think they bear a striking resemblance to each other. I think that Doug Dunn who appears as mild mannered as a temperate summer day, must have many of Cujo's personality traits, which whether or not they will admit it, seems to be the case with the majority of pet lovers whose animals "speak" for them.  Dunn's blog and his book are the perfect vehicles for him to "release his inner Cujo."

If we dare to admit it, there probably is a little 
 A LOT of Cujo in ALL of us, there certainly is in me, which makes this  book (as well as the blog) the perfect guilty pleasure, a place where you can  embrace your "Evil Twin"
and laugh yourself silly while doing so!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Doug Dunn was born and raised in Central Texas. He now lives in Oak Harbor, Washington with his "lovely bride" and he has enough animals to provide the cast of a Disney movie. Doug hopes that this book is the first of many books to come. (I hope so too!)

To purchase The Cujo Cat Chronicles  click here  or here

Follow Cujo's blog here

I received no compensation for this review. I received a complimentary copy of Doug's book to read/review.

34 comments:

  1. Hi. We came over to comment about Audrey's feeder. I think we may have said something confusing about the water on Audrey's dry food - the feeder doesn't do that, unfortunately. Mom and Dad have to add the water to her dry food, and they try not to do it too fr ahead of time, as they don't want the food to spoil. They would sure LIKE to have it where toe feeder adds it for them. Sometimes they let the food just be dry, but Audrey needs the water, and also tend to throw up her food if she eats it dry.

    She isn't scared by the feeder because the one she had before was just like this, but it IS quite loud and Mom thinks some other kitties might be scared by it. I don't go near it (Simba) though they don't necessarily think it scares me, though they really don't know.

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  2. I am Cujo, and I approve this message. :) Thanks Caren and Cody!

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  3. I did not know Cujo or his blog - I will have to make his acquaintance!

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  4. Looks very funny! We will have to check it out!

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  5. That sounds pretty darn good! You come up with some of the best reading material!!!

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  6. Awww butter certainly wouldn't melt in his mouth... and Cujo's too! LOL!!

    Thanks for the intro to this book and to Cujo's blog! Take care
    x

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  7. Looks like a good book. We will have to check out that blog. Great review. Take care.

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  8. What a face Cujo has!! Love his expression of "startled alertness" and very clever that his chief minion is dressed in a "matching outfit" on the cover. Sounds like a darling read...perhaps Sam and I will have to get that one!

    Pam and Sam

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  9. Sounds like my kind of book!!! I like an edge lol x

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  10. @Simba thanks so much for the info! I did think it put water on the dry food, right now I am going through things with Cody where he is not drinking enough water either so it intrigued me. Thanks for the info!

    @Carolyn the blog AND the book would be your kind of book! xoxoxo

    @Pam and Sam I love how they are "matching" too...I also love how Cujo appears to have a "beard" with his natural markings. This is a great read!

    @Marg thanks so much! Hope that you do because I think you will enjoy it!

    @Old Kitty hoping you will check it out, I am certain that you will LOVE both the book and the blog! xoxoxo

    @Brian awwww THANK YOU!!!! This one I found...others are sent to me but I am super proud of having found this one! Hope you check it out!

    @Goldie, Shade and Banshee hope you do! I think you will love it!

    @Sparkle I think you will LOVE them!! When you check them out let me know what you think!

    @NDS me too! Thanks for the double endorsement!

    @Cujo I am sooo happy you like it!!! We not only "approve" we are crazy about YOU! You are welcome!

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  11. Minions. When you are cleaning the litter box you realize it is sad but true!

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  12. I've heard that people start to look like their pets after awhile, and in this case, it's quite true.

    Your review makes a very compelling case for this blogger and his book.

    Thanks for coming by to see Dante, and Merry Christmas to you and all of yours!

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  13. That book sounds like it would be a fun and funny read. Thanks for sharing. Hugs and nose kisses

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  14. @Mumsy you are welcome and I assure you, you will enjoy it!

    @CCL Wendy thank you!!! That made me smile! I love Dante and always have, he is such a handsome guy!!! Merry Christmas to you and yours too!

    @Sharon Wagner "litter box?" don't even go there...I am having litter "issues" with Cody again and I am trying not to be nervous :(

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  15. We think Cujo is THE snarkiest cat we've ever met, and we mean that in the nicest possible way.

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  16. @Katnip Lounge, Trish YEP it is no surprise to me whatsoever that you read Doug's fabulous blog. His blog (and his book) deserve to be noticed!! I just LOVE his humor...it is wicked funny!

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  17. Sounds like a super story Cody!
    We'll go check it out.
    purrs
    >^,,^<
    ♥Abby♥Boo♥Ping♥Jinx♥Grace♥

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  18. I love it "Cujo chooses to keep her around because she makes cool sounds when he smacks her."
    Sounds like just the wicked sense of humour I enjoy... will go check it out :)

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  19. Sounds like a great book, thanks for sharing!

    Also, it's awesome to hear your Cat is doing much better, thanks for visiting my blog and Happy Holidays!

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  20. @Abby it most definitely is!

    @sunshine so nice to see you here! thanks so much for stopping by!!! I am glad you enjoyed the review as well! Thanks so much about my Cody, he is doing much better and is sitting on top of his cat tower next to my desk while I am writing, he says hi! Happy Holidays to you too!

    @Kitcaboodles lmao! Isn't that just classic!? I know you will love it!

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  21. Dear Caren,
    We went over to Cujo's blog and we gots lost reading! What a great blog! Me is in love with Cojo!
    And me wanted to wish yous Happy Hanukkah!
    Kisses
    Nellie

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  22. Hi Nellie!!

    That is NO SURPRISE to me that you would love Cujo's blog! It is right up your alley! I am soooo happy to hear that you enjoyed it!

    Thank you for the Chanukah wishes!!!!

    (((((hugs)))) and much love!

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  23. Cujo sounds like a boy after my own flinty heart. I will have to go visit him.

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  24. @Spitty OMG YES! Can't believe you don't know him already!!! You will love him!

    @blessingsgoddess it is ! Thanks so much for visiting!

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  25. Wow, I hadn't heard of this blog before. Thanks for the introduction! woo woo woo!

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  26. I've been an avid reader of Cujo's blog for some time now, regularly stalking his blog for updates. My human has been trying to train me in the evil arts for some time (She's a zombie, so it's a lot to live up to), so she wanted me to read Cujo for inspiration and instruction.

    To anyone who hasn't yet read his blog or his book, GO NOW! Yes, that's right. Make your human minion immediately go on the interwebs thingy so you can delight in the evil ways of Cujo. Everyone loves a bad boy, and Cujo is the baddest of them all....in a totally good way!

    I found Cat Chat via your review about Cujo and I can't tell you just how delighted I was with the first post, CONGRATS I POOPED! I could immediately tell this was my kind of place!

    With malice aforethought,
    Evil Elmo

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  27. @Evil Elmo with a name like that you are OBVIOUSLY my kind of cat, doll, person, whatever! lol. Love how you described your experience with Cujo's blog...you are spot on! So glad to have you with us as well and we hope you continue to be pleased! Happy Holidays to you!

    @rumpydog you are most welcome!

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  28. Sounds cool. We love checking out new cat book blogs. When I think of Cujo, I think of the Stephen King novel but this Cujo is cute!

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  29. What a great recommendation! Cujo is totally cool for having minions. I only have one assistant at the moment. Where do I go to recruit minions?

    ~Slash

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  30. Hey what fun! Cujo sounds just like Au.

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  31. Sounds like a very entertaining and amusing read. The resemblance is quite striking!! It's fantastic how cats seems to be an endless inspiration when it comes to talking and thinking about minions (the word captures it in a nutshell!). And just talk as if through a cat and it doesn't appear so rude but quite in its place :-)
    Hugs from the Aegean
    xo

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  32. Besides the fact that he is a fellow Washingtonian he sounds like our kind of cat. We will be checking out both the book and the blog. Thanks for introducing us to Cujo.

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  33. Oh, I have to read this book! I didn't know about it or the blog before. I'm on my way to check it out now. Thanks for a great review!

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