What can I say about a 160-page story without giving too much away? Not a lot, except that it's by Stephen King. For me, that's quite sufficient.Beyond that, though, I can't go far. Scott Carey, who lives in Castle Rock, has started to lose weight at an alarming rate - like a pound a day or more (fortunately, he's a pretty big guy; otherwise, the story would have been over almost before it started). He's also a bit annoyed with one of the married lesbians who live next door; a runner, she heads out with her two large dogs, who make his yard a potty stop, but she refuses to acknowledge their behavior. She's become a royal pain in his butt (and in most of the townspeople's as well - many of whom simply don't support her lifestyle and are openly shunning the restaurant she and her partner have opened and are trying desperately to make a success).
Despite her rebuffs, Scott is determined to seek at least friendly coexistence with the couple - after all, the partner is pleasant enough. At the same time, he's consulting with a local retired doctor friend about his perplexing weight loss. You see, although the pounds are coming off, he has more energy than ever; even stranger is that he weighs exactly the same with or without clothing, and even if he holds a heavy object while standing on the scales. Early on, that unexplained weight loss brought to mind another Stephen King favorite of mine: Thinner, published in 1984 and written under the name of Richard Bachman (if nothing else, that's proof that I've been an S.K. fan almost forever).
This one, though, lacks his usual creepiness - it could, in fact, almost be classified as a "feel-good" story. At this time of year in given the current political climate, that's not a bad thing.
Elevation by Stephen King (Scribner, October 2018); 160 pp.
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