With so many Stephen King novels out there, some are bound to slip through the cracks. Elevation is a recent release (in fact only two books have come out since) but I never hear anyone talk about this book. Which is understandable, but I’ll talk about that shortly.
First, let’s talk about the plot. Well… First I need to point out the glaringly obvious; Elevation is extremely short. This very well may be the shortest Stephen King novel at 146 pages in the first edition. Hell, some of his short stories are longer. So, what happens in those 146 pages? Honestly not a lot. A man gets a rare disease that makes him weigh less and less, even though his outer body stays healthy looking. He looks perfectly healthy, but he rapidly loses weight throughout the story. But, this story is almost he B-plot to what the novel is actually trying to talk about. The story is set in Castle Rock and a lesbian couple moves in and opens a diner. The diner is struggling because of everyone’s prejudices. Our protagonist struggles with his own prejudices as the lesbian couple moves in directly next door to him.
That’s the main drive of this story. As the protagonist realizes that these women are wonderful people, he is able to let go of some of his homophobic mindset (which is more of a hive mind within Castle Rock than specifically that of our protagonist’s mind). He is letting go of the burden of caring about other’s lifestyles. He is losing a lot of weight holding him down. Metaphorically and literally. As he accepts these women’s lifestyle, he finds himself floating, quite literally, of any pre-existing prejudices.
In that regard, the story is lovely. The meaning behind the novel is beautiful. Letting go of these prejudices sets our protagonist free and he is able to live the last of his days with a sense of beauty. I think it’s wonderful how Stephen King is able to do that. He sets up something incredibly bizarre; a man losing weight into the negatives even. And grounds it with something that’s real; homophobia in small towns still existing in 2020. The story is actual very lovely. But, it does not have much outside of the main message. Nothing really happens in the novel. There is a foot race and… doctor visits. But nothing really happens in the grand scheme of things. The ending feels like it should be an explosion of fireworks, but it sort of just falls flat. Basically, the message is wonderful, but the novel ends up just being forgettable.
I give Elevation a 1.5 out of 4. It feels like the idea was there and it just limped across the finish line. I wish this novel would have had just a small amount of meat on the bone. Only because the bone that holds the whole story together is such a lovely message. One time through is enough for Elevation and even then, it might not be worth the ride. The cover is absolutely beautiful, however. Also… I was so hoping that this was going to somehow tie into Thinner by our beloved Richard Bachman… But sadly no references to be found.
So, out of the two books I’ve done for Mr. King so far:
- The Institute
- Elevation
Up next, The Outsider! See you there.