Stephen King Elevation – Book Review
Constant reader check in! We try to read at least one Stephen King book a year, and our latest read and book review is for his 2018 release – Elevation.
This post is a book review and discussion of Stephen King Elevation plus book recommendations based on this book.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links which, if purchased from, may result in a small commission, at no cost to the buyer.
Slowprose Review Format
Generally speaking, we don’t think of ourselves as “serious” reviewers, so our format may be a little different. Here is what to expect when you are reading Slowprose book reviews:
- Cover Review – doing the cliche of judging a book by its cover.
- Book Blurb – we share the book jacket or Goodreads blurb about the plot.
- Intrusive Thoughts – these are the general thoughts and feelings we have about the book while reading it.
- Book review – our overall review and star ranking of the book
- Book aesthetics – this is how gorgeous we thought the pages of the book were, or how easy/hard it was to read, or how good the narrator was if it is an audio book.
- Book recommendations – we talk about the author’s other books or other books that remind us of this book in some form or fashion. Basically, this is our catch-all to talk about anything else that we want to.
To see our full review system, including our method of assigning and weighting stars, go here.
COVER REVIEW – Stephen King Elevation
At first blush, this cover gets 3.0 stars. Which is really the overall point, we suppose. First blush reaction to a cover is what typically draws you to the book. But that is not the case for us when it is a King book.
Having the name Stephen King on a cover is always going to get our attention – he is what we call an auto buy (or really, auto check out of the library) author. His name being on it is the biggest draw for us because we are big fans of his work.
But, as we said, in terms of this cover, it is 3.0 at first blush. Nothing great, but nothing off putting about it. The title is easy to read and to see and we like that. Nothing spectacular.
Then, we read the book. And it changed everything for us with regard to this cover. The book provides context for this cover, and it evokes strong feelings. After reading the book, this cover gets 5 stars.
BOOK BLURB – Stephen King Elevation
Given our extreme irrational fear of ever being a spoiler for any reader, we will just share the book insert or book blurb found on Goodreads to provide the information in terms of the plot:
Elevation
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 whether he is in his clothes or out of them, no matter how heavy they are.
Scott also has new neighbors who have opened a “fine dining experience” in town, although it’s an experience being shunned by the locals: Deirdre McComb and her wife Missy Donaldson don’t exactly conform to a lifestyle the community approves of. And now Scott seems trapped in a feud with the couple over their dogs dropping their business on his lawn. Missy may be warm and friendly, but Deirdre is as cold as ice.
As the town prepares for its annual Thanksgiving 12K run, Scott begins to understand the prejudices the women face, and 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.
INTRUSIVE THOUGHTS – Stephen King Elevation
*Happy buzzing in my head because I am starting a Stephen King book.*
Immediately diving in to the main plot point and hooks you right away. Love it so much.
Character development 100000%.
So invested with Scott and his predicament. Rooting for him big time.
Why does he care so much about the neighbor ladies?
Political statement woven into the story. Ok.
Love the community building with Scott and friends.
The drawing of the race!!!
Totally intrigued with zero day.
Touching. Feel both happy and sad.
BOOK REVIEW – Stephen King Elevation
Slowprose Star Rating – 4.0 Stars
The first thing to note is that this book is short!! It is really more like a novella. It is definitely a great book to act as a “pallet cleaner” between big thick books because it won’t take long to read. It is also a great book to add to your December TBR if you are looking for short books to quickly read so you can hit your yearly book reading goal.
Beyond that, the biggest thing I can say about this book is that it has legs. It has stayed in our head since we read it.
There is an obvious parallel to Thinner, if you have read that story. Similar overall issue, in that the main character can’t stop losing weight. But whereas Thinner made it clear what the cause of that condition was, and the entirety of the book is the main character trying to reverse it, Elevation is different.
Elevation is the story of a man who is baffled by his condition, but rather than racing to try and fix it, or even understand it, it is the story of a man observing it with interest, accepting it, and making the most of it. Where Thinner has an element of horror and terror to it, Elevation is about love and friendship.
King’s writing, along with this character development and storytelling, is just so good. He has infused political issues into his stories for as long as we can remember, and Elevation is no exception. Here, the story weaves around overcoming prejudices, allowing second chances, and believing in people.
The ending left us feeling sad but hopeful.
We knew this was a really good book when we finished it, and the longer we have to think about it, the better it gets. A great book on the human condition. Stephen King style.
Slowprose Star Rating – 4.0 Stars
BOOK AESTHETICS – STEPHEN KING ELEVATION
As mentioned above, this is a quick read! Not a big thick book at all. Even saying that, it packs a punch.
One of our favorite things about the book aesthetics of Stephen King Elevation are the drawings found on most of the chapter pages. WE CAN’T BELIEVE WE DIDN’T TAKE ANY PICTURES OF THEM!!
Our favorite one was the picture on the chapter that covered the race. We know, from the repeated descriptions in the book, that Scott is losing weight without showing it outwardly.
But it wasn’t until we saw the sketch of him in the race, did that get conceptualized for us and we just LOVED it. Beyond the story itself, it is this sketch that we think of when we think of this book.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
A couple of Stephen King books came to mind as we read Elevation, so we are recommending those books here.
As mentioned, Thriller is a book by Stephen King (writing as Richard Bachman) with the same overall issue as in Elevation – a character losing weight and unable to stop it. We read this book years ago and still remember it. Actually, it might be considered a short story? It also is a fairly short book. Suffice it to say, regardless of length, it is a great book and we highly recommend it. Plus that cover is ICONIC.
If you love the character development and felt a connection to Scott in Elevation, we would recommend Duma Key. It is a much thicker, meater book, with a long dive into friendship and overcoming challenges. The first half of Duma Key is a remarkable story about a man coping with catastrophic issues, and friendship with someone he meets along the way. It is INCREDIBLE.
The second half of Duma Key still has these characteristics, but it ramps up the horror element and it is SCARY.
Duma Key is one of our favorite Stephen King books and we love to recommend it every chance we get.
You can find all these and more in our storefront, Slowestuff Books From The Blog storefront.
We hope you enjoyed this review of Stephen King Elevation!
If you are looking for more Stephen King content, check out our Stephen King post which includes a list of his entire collection. If you want more book posts, check out the Slowprose section of the blog where we have more book reviews, book lists, favorite authors and more.
Hey Book Nerds! Lets be friends on Goodreads and BookTok!
Happy reading!
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