Book Review: Elevation

So often when I run into the library to pick out an audio book for my treadmill sessions, I barely have time to make a careful decision about my selection. This was the case again. I grabbed this Stephen King novella, Elevation, for two reasons: it was short, at only 3-1/2 hours long; and it was by an author I know has outstanding skill. I'm not generally in the market for his books, however, because I don't relish horror novels. Still, I have great respect for his abilities as an author (and highly recommend his memoir/writing book, On Writing, for any writers).

Thankfully, apart from a generous helping of profanity (I knew that was coming), I enjoyed this story. Moreover, it was my final selection to listen to without boys possibly in the vicinity (during their last days of the school year), and I can overlook the cursing (just don't enjoy telling my boys not to curse and then listening to books filled with the vile words). It wasn't really a horror story. It was a great example of an author's skill to tease out a new and fresh "what if?" question. Here, the question centered on the idea of losing weight in a non-traditional way.

Scott Carey confides to his retired doctor friend that he is losing weight but not growing thinner. The scale doesn't register his clothing or even the many coins he jams into his pockets, attempting to alter the scale's readout. The weight loss continues steadily, picking up speed, as he counts down to the d-day when he will have no weight at all.

As an added benefit, King tags on a small story called "Lloyd" at the end of the audio book. It was a tight little story about a man grieving the loss of his wife. His sister thinks he would benefit from responsibility for a puppy. I was a bit shocked by the ending, but enjoyed the characters and the engrossing story line.