This novella, which can easily be read in a couple of hours, is most of all a lesson in tolerance and the value of diversity, but it's told a bit like a hammer over the head. He looks out of shape and obese, but the weight is falling off. Scott is losing weight-rapidly-even though it doesn't show. He has some minor issues with his new neighbors' unleashed dogs the neighbors are married lesbians who are setting this conservative town on edge. Recently divorced Scott Carey lives in a wealthy, gated community in fictional Castle Rock, Maine. No horror at all, but also not much of a story. Mind you, I don't read horror novels, so I dance around the edges of King's oeuvre, and this one is definitely on that edge. If the front cover didn't list Stephen King as the author, I would never have guessed he wrote it. Unlikely alliances, the annual foot race, and the mystery of Scott's affliction bring out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.įrom Stephen King, our 'most precious renewable resource, like Shakespeare in the malleability of his work' ( The Guardian), Elevation is an antidote to our divisive culture, as gloriously joyful (with a twinge of deep sadness) as 'It's a Wonderful Life.'ĭisappointing! A Lesson in Tolerance, But Told Without Nuance or Subtlety

When Scott finally understands the prejudices they faceincluding his ownhe tries to help.

Both are trying to launch a new restaurant, but the people of Castle Rock want no part of a gay married couple, and the place is in trouble. One of the women is friendly the other, cold as ice. In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King's most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low gradebut escalatingbattle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott's lawn. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis. Scott doesn't want to be poked and prodded. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. There are a couple of other odd things, too. A riveting, extraordinarily eerie, and moving story about a man whose mysterious affliction brings a small town togethera timely, upbeat tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences.Īlthough Scott Carey doesn't look any different, he's been steadily losing weight.

Elevation stephen king review