Book Review: Elevation by Stephen King

From the first page of Stephen King’s Elevation it is apparent that there is something seriously wrong with protagonist Scott Carey, who despite an unchanged appearance cannot stop losing weight.

With his condition leaving doctors baffled, Scott finds himself in a predicament that would freeze many with worry, however rather than allow fear to stifle him, he chooses instead to embrace his circumstances. Taking the opportunity to eat whatever food he wants, pushing himself to the limit in the town fun run and reaching out to members of his community; Scott’s behaviour under his condition embodies a simple philosophy that all of us would do well to adopt: enjoy oneself and help others wherever possible. It is a philosophy often forgotten in contemporary life, where money and status are so often responsible for shaping people’s behaviour, not necessarily for the best. Thankfully Scott and his fellow citizens of Castle Rock – a town described in wholesome fashion by King throughout – seem charmingly removed from such influences.

Reading this book during lockdown (a feat that can easily be achieved in a day due to its shortness) the way Scott deals with his condition seemed even more poignant. At this moment in time all of us are living limited existences, but like most blows one receives throughout life, such a situation can be dealt with either positively or negatively. Either one can sit around idle and resentful and complain about all the things that cannot be done; or one can accept the limitations of this juncture we find ourselves at and embrace the opportunities it offers. The more people favour the Scott Carey-approach, the more positives will emerge from this trying point in history.

Rating: 3/5 – A light (literally), snappy story that can be easily read in a day.

Book Review: Salem’s Lot by Stephen King

Having loved every Stephen King novel I’d ever read up until this point, it was with high expectations that I opened Salem’s Lot.

For a number of reasons, reading this book took me longer than it should have done. But when it was over, I nonetheless found myself feeling somewhat disappointed.

The plot was straight forward enough: small town plus creepy old house plus vampires equals scary story.

And as one would expect from a writer of King’s calibre, once the story reached its all-out man versus monster stage, I couldn’t turn the pages quickly enough. But my main issue with Salem’s Lot is that it took me far too long to get to that point.

The novel was near-500 pages long so it would’ve been foolish not to suspect a certain amount of build-up, but I found the setup dragged in a way I hadn’t felt with other King novels. Perhaps it was the number of characters involved, most of whom I felt little affinity towards, maybe this was down more to my disrupted reading of the novel more than the characters themselves, but by the time things got sordid I found myself caring probably less than I should have done whether most of these characters lived or died.

The honourable exception to this was protagonist Ben Mears, the wandering writer who charms local girl Susan Norton and her parents with his quick wits, who had a kind of nonchalance to him that won me over fairly early on.

Once Ben and his less interesting fellow characters started getting into trouble the novel became the usual King-powered white-knuckle ride until the last page, however my overriding thought as I closed Salem’s lot was that it took a little too long to get a seat on the roller coaster.

Rating: 3/5 – Slow start, but once in full flow exactly what you’d expect from Stephen King.

Book Review: Carrie by Stephen King

Never has the phrase ‘fear the wounded animal’ been more apt than when discussing the title character of Stephen King’s debut novel, Carrie.

A teenage misfit who is the butt of her more popular classmates jokes and the sufferer of draconian parenting from her uber-religious mother, Carrie has something astonishing brewing inside of her that is set explode on the biggest night of the school year – the school prom.

As her classmates arrive unaware of their unpopular peer’s special ability, us, the readers, are at this point fully briefed on the protagonist’s telekinetic abilities.

King readies us for the climax utilising scientific documents, eyewitness accounts, retrospective interviews and newspapers cuttings in titbits throughout the story so that by the time prom night comes we are braced for the action with a front row seat.

The account of Sue Snell, a classmate of Carrie’s considerably higher in the popularity food chain, is genuinely remorseful of Carrie’s erstwhile treatment at school and the story is ultimately one of caution.

Carrie appears weak, defenceless and cannon fodder for bullies but possesses power beyond the comprehension of all those around her.

Her story prompts us all to wonder if the odd kid who everyone made fun of at school is quite as harmless as they at first seem and a reminder that extraordinary abilities often come in surprising packages.

How Carrie deploys her phantasmagorical powers is, of course, to be discovered in the climax, which King teases us toward masterfully.

Rating: 3/5 A short read with no shortage of tension.