Book Summary and Reviews of Elevation by Stephen King

Elevation by Stephen King

Elevation

A Novel

by Stephen King

  • Critics' Consensus (7):
  • Readers' Rating (5):
  • Published:
  • Oct 2018, 160 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

A riveting, extraordinarily eerie, and moving story about a man whose mysterious affliction brings a small town together—a timely, upbeat tale about finding common ground despite deep-rooted differences.

Although Scott Carey doesn't look any different, he's been steadily losing weight. There are a couple of other odd things, too. He weighs the same in his clothes and out of them, no matter how heavy they are. Scott doesn't want to be poked and prodded. He mostly just wants someone else to know, and he trusts Doctor Bob Ellis.

In the small town of Castle Rock, the setting of many of King's most iconic stories, Scott is engaged in a low grade—but escalating—battle with the lesbians next door whose dog regularly drops his business on Scott's lawn. One of the women is friendly; the other, cold as ice. 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. When Scott finally understands the prejudices they face–including his own—he tries to help. 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.

From 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."

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. In this surprisingly sweet and quietly melancholy short novel, King weaves an eerie, charming tale of the ways that strange circumstances can bring people together…King's tender story is perfect for any fan of small towns, magic, and the joys and challenges of doing the right thing." - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. Written in masterly King's signature translucent style and set in one of his trademark locales, this uncharacteristically glimmering fairy tale calls unabashedly for us to rise above our differences… succinct, magical, timely...charming yet edgy." - Booklist

"Starred Review. [An] elegant whisper of a story…[Scott] finds a memorable—and quite beautiful, really—way to depart a town made all the better for his presence." - Kirkus Reviews

"Joyful, uplifting, and tinged with sadness." - Entertainment Weekly

This information about Elevation was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Mark D. Johnson

Alfred Hitchcock short story?
Is it only me?.. I’m 69 in 2021, and distinctively remember a similar tale from an Alfred Hitchcock collection of scary tales for young readers...one of a boy who gradually becomes weightless...the book cover being illustrated with a chubby, boyish Hitchcock floating to the ceiling in a turn of the century parlor.

Cathryn_Conroy

Disappointing! A Lesson in Tolerance, But Told Without Nuance or Subtlety
If the front cover didn't list Stephen King as the author, I would never have guessed he wrote it. 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. No horror at all, but also not much of a story.

Recently divorced Scott Carey lives in a wealthy, gated community in fictional Castle Rock, Maine. He has some minor issues with his new neighbors' unleashed dogs; the neighbors are married lesbians who are setting this conservative town on edge. But that's the least of his worries. Scott is losing weight—rapidly—even though it doesn't show. He looks out of shape and obese, but the weight is falling off. What is happening?

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. No subtleties, no nuances. While it's still a good story, I'm disappointed. King is one of the most talented American writers living today, and I think he could have done better.

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Author Information

Stephen King Author Biography

© Tabitha King

Stephen King was born in Portland, Maine in 1947, the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. He made his first professional short story sale in 1967 to Startling Mystery Stories. In the fall of 1971, he began teaching high school English classes at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. In the spring of 1973, Doubleday & Co., accepted the novel Carrie for publication, providing him the means to leave teaching and write full-time. He has since published over 50 books and has become one of the world's most successful writers. King is the recipient of the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to the American Letters and the ...

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