Elevation

I read this in one day. Steven King is superb at adding action to mystery, and Elevation is no exception. I couldn't put the book down. The main character has a problem we wish we all had; he can eat with abandon and still lose weight. When a same sex married couple move to town he realizes how provincial and bigoted his fellow citizens are. He gets to know them and connects them to others in the town. Scott's malady progresses along with his friendships. He is so uplifting that no one can hold him down because he sees the good in people. Holy frijole! It's moving to see people reach for understanding instead of rejection. It's a great story, well told!

I’ve never read a short story and didn’t think I’d be a fan of one. Of course I tried Elevation by King and read it in one setting. Short and sweet. You just never know what the King is going to throw at you next!

Haven't completed a King book in awhile, not for the lack of trying. I'm currently in the middle of 10 of his works and they are all read around the 200+ mark. Some are re-reads and some for the first time. Big books have been the bane of my existence of late. I can't seem to care after a certain page count, doesn't matter how great the book is. So to pick up a short book by King was a beautiful change. Elevation a whopping 146 pages was a great read. 5 stars!King is your favorite author you say? 5 stars is biased you say? Okay, sure I'll take the bait. Most books I've read by King get the stamp of approval from me. Not all get 5's, but a lot do. This one is getting a 5 because it's complete and I felt fulfilled at the end. This novella begins in the fictional town of Castle Rock. The one thing I absolutely love that King did was create a world for his characters to really live and breathe in. A place that we as readers can continue to come back to. We know what Castle Rock looks like and we know it's inhabitants. We also know that the supernatural flock to Castle Rock like blowflies to a corpse.Scott Carey is our main character. He is a large man not just heavy, but tall. Over a period of time, Carey is privy to two things: one, his bathroom scale is broken, or two, he is. You see, Carey can't remember when he felt the urge to step on the scale and check out the hateful numbers. When he finally does, he is confused about what he sees. Weeks go by and it continues. The mirror shows the same man Carey has always been, large and in charge. The scale however, shows a man who is doing something that, millions of people can't...LOSE WEIGHT!While reading this tale, it reminded me of Thinner by Richard Bachman...aka Stephen King. In Thinner, our male protagonist has a curse put on him by a roving gypsy family. A curse of revenge for the wronged death of the matriarchy. It doesn't matter how much our sad character eats he continues to whittle away. Knowing that one day he will just blink out of existence.Elevation is a quieter tale. Our male protagonist is in awe of the situation. He goes to an old doctor friend to discuss probable reasons for the strange numbers on the scale. Instead of cursing God or people, Carey takes this weight loss as almost a spiritual journey. He is more at peace with the inevitable. We all die. There is no denying that fact. Carey is almost okay with it because the number is tangible in a way. He can count down to an approximate time. With this knowledge Carey does some pretty rewarding things with the time he has left. He makes friends, runs in a marathon, saves a business and looks at the stars. Sharing love and laughter. Wonderful meals with the people he cares about. These are things that Carey does not regret.I liked that Carey stood up for the bigotry in his hometown. His new neighbors, a lesbian couple from the city, hoping to open up a Latin-Fusion flavor restaurant under the umbrella of "fine dining". Most of the town are against the couple, simply because they are gay. When a few gruffer men at the diner Carey is indulging in, start the hen-fest of gossip about the women, Carey speaks up. He almost gets into fisty-cuffs right there between the booths and the counter. He continues with other townfolk throughout the week when they start discriminating against the newcomers. However the louder of the two women Deirdre, takes offense. She doesn't need Carey to fight for her. No one asked him to stand up for the women. They don't need a man. They don't need him.I also liked the fact that the characters grew. Not everyone had character development, but enough did to satisfy. All of this happened in 146 pages.My name is Missy and I'm a Constant Reader.

This book by Stephen King is a great read. Nice and short, compared to his other books. Quite the ending, leaving you wondering......

Lately, it seems, Amazon Customer Reviews have been experiencing a spike in reviews that are not, in the traditional sense, reviews at all. Some are Stephen King haters complaining about the price being charged for King, and other writers. Other false reviews are posted to register their umbrage at King due to his left-leaning political views.Further, many reviewers who take pride in posting serious reviews get slammed for daring to be fans of his horror stories. Be that as it may, I will post my thoughts on his latest work, a short story that feels less new than some of his other more recent books.At 160 pages, we get exposed to a character who's story feels just like any other main character in a SK Horror. His 'problem' is one that people of my weight think would be a blessing instead of an adversity. What is different in this story is that it becomes very un-King in the path it takes, but to say more might be seen as a spoiler, so I shall stop here.BLUSH FACTOR: In case you're wondering, the writing does include some eff-words, so you probably won't want to read it to your children or prayer group, unless you are skilled at skipping over the moderate number of profanities.THE WRITING & EDITING: Professional quality in terms of mechanics. Insofar as the story, though, this is quite tame, especially for King. The feel of this story reminds me of the stories King wrote for the iPad and for the Kindle, except that this one is oriented more towards the dissension prevailing across the American political spectrum.BOTTOM LINEDespite my favorable disposition towards the author, and his political ideology, which I share, the lack of originality in the tale has me less impressed than I expected. I still love his writing and will continue to fork over my money eagerly.Three stars out of five.I am striving to produce reviews that help you find books that you want, or avoid books that you wish to avoid. With your help, my improvement will help you and me improve book reviews on Amazon. Together, you and I can build a great customer review process that helps everybody. Will you join me? It is people such as you who have helped me improve over the years. I'm still learning, and I have a great deal yet to learn. With your help, I'll improve every day.One request: Be respectful and courteous in your comments and emails to me. I will do likewise with you.Thank you so much for indicating if this review helped you, or for your comment.

First off! It’s so cute and tiny! I read this book in 3 days. The story moves right along and keeps you fully engaged! I literally said “WOW STEPHEN” out loud at the end! I dread the day we run out of this geniuses material.

Great book

Excellente histoire chargée d’émotion, comme toujours avec le King. Les personnages sont forts et attachants à la fois. Je recommande.

Easy to get into. the story line is interesting right from the start, no long back story to set up the characters.

stephen king è sempre il re. e questo romanzo non fa eccezione.

Excelente servicio