Twenty Books For Summer 1 of 20 – Elevation (Stephen King)

Castle Rock is a small town, where word gets around quickly. That’s why Scott Carey wants to confide only in his friend Doctor Bob Ellis about his strange condition: he’s losing weight, without getting thinner, and the scales register the same when he is in his clothes or out of them, however heavy they are.

Scott also has new neighbours, who have opened a ‘fine dining experience’ in town, although it’s an experience being shunned by the locals; Deidre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don’t exactly fit in with the community’s expectations. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be friendly, but Deidre is cold as ice.

As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12k run, Scott starts to understand the prejudices his neighbours face and he tries to help. Unlikely alliances form and the mystery of Scott’s affliction brings out the best in people who have indulged the worst in themselves and others.

 

 

I am taking part in the Twenty Books For Summer reading challenge (explained here) and the first review I get to write is for Elevation by Stephen King. It is a book I have had in my TBR for over 12 months and I picked up my copy at a charity bookshop, it was pristine condition and is a gorgeous wee hardback book.

Elevation was not the first book I started from my 20 planned summer reads, it just so happened I could not find the Lawrence Block book I was reading so I grabbed Elevation from the top of the stack. On a beautiful Scottish summer evening I sat in my garden as the sun went down and the heat of the day left us and I devoured this story in a single sitting. Not that this meant I had a lot of content to read, Elevation is only around 140 pages long and the whole book took me just 90 mins to complete.

Although my copy only cost me £2 I suspect I may have had second thoughts about picking up the book on initial release when it was a slim hardback retaling at £14.99.  I am a King fan but this seems a little steep for a read so brief. The Kindle version can now be claimed for £5 with the paperback retailing at £7 – that’s more manageable. Particularly as there is a lot to like in this story from a familiar King setting – we’re back in Castle Rock.

While the key thread to the story is fantastical there’s a healthy dose of King turning his attention to intolerances and prejudice as he gives a strong supporting cast the opportunity to shine. There are direct barbs to the Trumpian intolerances which are seeping back into American dialogue and I applauded how King tackled and called out those discriminatory elements.

Our lead character is Scott Carey. Scott is seeking the advice of the town’s retired doctor as Scott is losing weight. But his weight loss is not showing – on the outside he looks the same, sturdy (chunky) and people would likely say he could stand to lose a few pounds. But Scott IS losing a few pounds, one every couple of days it seems. Yet he can also fill his pockets with heavy coins or tools and they will have no impact upon the weight shown on his scales, it almost seems Scott can hold something and it will instantly become weightless. We follow Scott’s story as his weight drops and, like Scott, we will wonder what happens when he reaches zero.

My initial thought was that Elevation sounded like King’s earlier novel Thinner. A lead character in that stoty who is shedding weight after being cursed – the two tales are very different and other than the declining weight of the lead character they have little in common. Elevation stands well on its own and it gave me several cheering moments as Scott navigates the changes which are happening to his body but also to the town of Castle Rock.

A good start to my reading challenge – I never regret reading a Stephen King story.

 

Elevation can be ordered in digital, paperback and audiobook format: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DNFC1C9/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i34