Wil Wheaton's Reviews > Elevation

King wrote one of my all time favorite books [The Stand] and one of my all time least favorite books [Thinner]. I feel like his willingness to take chances means that sometimes he's susceptible to the occasional crash-n-burn(?)

I have a ton of respect for you and Stephen King as writers and as people whose politics are based largely in kindness and fairness, and I'm a longtime fan of both of you. I understand your (and many others') issue with this story's linchpin.

However...I do not know if this story could work the same way (keeping the central problem and location and tense relationships that evolve into friendship, as is) without the main character being a white guy native to this insular Maine town?

For example, not being a white guy would have removed some essential friction with the couple (like possible marital jealousy, and Deborah assuming she knows what Scott's selfish motives are because he's a white guy). And not being a white guy (but rather a minority of any kind) would also have removed Scott's affinity with the town's general (white) population and increased his potential affinity with the (fellow minority) lesbian couple.

And for me the main character does grow and awaken by realizing how blind and deaf he was to his neighbors' unfair prejudices and his own neglect of these new lesbian neighbors...and then doing something about it. And Scott was not the only one who needed to grow--even her wife Missy agreed Deborah needed to lose the chip on her shoulder, yes?

It was kind of a PRIDE AND PREJUDICE situation to me in that half of the lesbian couple disliked him for superficial reasons until she got to know him and then she let him lean on her strength, emotionally and physically. He needed her far more than more than she needed him by then.

For me the message of this book is largely that sometimes angry people are angry for a good reason and it's worth trying to show them you really care about them and that they can trust you. But that's my two cents.

I have been reading King since the Mid 80's. Salem's Lot was my first. I was fiend for his short stories for a long time, the I started really enjoying his novels, to the point of finishing a story and starting it again Immediately. looking at you The Stand and 4 past Midnight. I have to say some of them grabbed me and I couldn't stop, some broke my heart, especially when Kids were hurt or in danger, and a few, just recently, made me throw the book or Kindle. I have only one of his books I didn't finish and I won't name it, but you might guess it. :) but Mr. King has also got me reading other Authors because of blurbs He gave them. that all being said, I will give this one a try, even having read the spoiler.

I can't seem to stop worrying that my last comment will come across as disrespectful or missing the point. But here is the excerpt from the text on which I'm basing my PRIDE AND PREJUDICE style idea that Scott and Deborah needed to meet each other so they could both grow and accept the other person as a good person and worthy friend.

[Deborah speaks to Scott after he eats at her restaurant that the townsfolk seem to be shunning because the two owners are openly married lesbians instead of 'in the closet.'] "Now that you've shown yourself to be on the side of of the politically correct angels, why don't you stick to Patsy's [diner]? I think we'll all be more comfortable that way." [Then text switches to Scott's inward reaction.] "She went inside. Scott stood on the sidewalk feeling...what? It was such a weird mix of emotions that he guesses there was no single word for it. Chastened, yes. Slightly amused, check. A bit pissed off. But most of all, sad. Here was a woman who didn't want an olive branch, and he had believed--naively, it seemed--that everyone wanted one of those." [page 59]

I really relate to Scott here. And I find Deborah guarded and suspicious and bitter from experience, rather than bitchy. Here's a genuine question I hope may lead to discussion: If this story put you off, what alterations would change how you feel about it, and why?

I know what you mean about certain elements of King's plots being unpalatable. This is especially so in recent books, like Mr. Mercedes, which I had to stop reading because of a mega-problematic portrayal of an African-American character and the forced, unnecessary romantic relationship developing between the detective and his client

He definitely has his highs and lows ... I get the feeling that his ideas come like a flood and there are times he pours them out into written form without taking the time that the story deserves in order to get it out and down onto paper. I can feel when he cares about a story, those are the ones that burn, that dig, that stick.

i feel like this is Kings way of trying to deal with the issue. at least hes trying

It's on my TBR list and although I am still planning on reading it, I can go in knowing what to expect. Sometimes that makes a disappointing book more palatable. Great review!

Emily wrote: "i feel like this is Kings way of trying to deal with the issue. at least hes trying"

I have to agree Stephen King is really trying here to address small-mindedness and acceptance from both sides of the problem. And I believe that he is the kind of human being and writer to let the setting and situation dictate the characters' identities rather than his biases.

To put it another way, is it always unacceptable for any insider ally to make a crucial difference for a lesbian couple (in this case, helping them obtain their goals of acceptance and thus patronage and success, when the major obstacle to both is small-mindedness) instead of the solution coming from within their own control and influence and actions?

Or is it only unacceptable when that insider ally is white, and/or male?

Genuinely asking for a thought experiment, how better could the story's conflicts have been resolved without offending readers' sensibilities?

I've been reading King 40 years. Yes there have been a couple of books I did not care for, (Pet Cemetery and Cujo and only because they both scared the ever loving bejebus our of me) Fiction is meant to entertain and I can honestly say Mr. King has yet to disappoint me.

I'm glad to see there are others who got the same impression from this book. I started to wonder about half way through if he was going for a VERY subtle satire. Honestly, if it weren't King writing it, it might not have been so disconcerting.

Completely agreed with your review!!

I felt like this was a reboot of Thinner, minus the gypsies, curses and car ride handies.

Stephen King had his heyday! He's written about everything. I believe that the LAST good book he wrote was "11/22/63" , from his earlier days.

The white man heroics never once crossed my mind tbh. Are you sure you're not projecting your fears (for society) onto him? Does this mean white, middle-aged, men can no longer feature in stories? Was his ethnicity ever mentioned?

No. You're not being oversensitive. I read the spoiler and just the description of the plot put me off. Thanks for the heads-up.

Love Stephen King should be a good read keep us updated when you read it Whil

Why shouldn't "a white man swoop in to save" someone? What's wrong with white men?

I felt the same, but I'm guessing we aren't the intended audience for this one.

Disastrous book.I wonder where King is going lately.

Almost unreadable.

This was definitely a waste of time and I love King

Im not sure if we read the same book. Most of the monologues regarding the couple, were regarding his inner conflict, himself trying not to put himself in a better light, but how society put him there in the end. King quite clearly criticized the fact that minority’s themselves are often still voiceless in the US. Just as Deidre said after the marathon, if it was just the two women on the pictures, no one would’ve cared for them. The story depicts the reality of society, not a white male hero

Jonas wrote: "Im not sure if we read the same book. Most of the monologues regarding the couple, was how he tried not to put himself in a better light, but how society depicts him as just that. King quite clearl..."
Agree. It appears some people just find white men offensive no matter how they're depicted and would rather not see any at all. *sigh*

I agree with you Mr Wheaton. All of the references to Trumpism in the first chapter totally turned me off. king infers that all conservatives are biased and bigoted. This part read more like a political attach than a work of fiction.

Eh, even lesbians can be unpleasant. It's not because someone is in a marginalized community that they don't have other human traits, good and bad...

I'm in the same boat. We actually rated it the same. I have a ton of Stephen King books at home, but I feel like over the years he's let his absolute hatred of political figures destroy his true craft of developing good characters. I remember first reading Stephen King books (Firestarter, IT, even Bag of Bones) and thinking about how well I could place myself in the town, and visualize the people who were very believable characters. I think wherever he is right now in his mindset is clouding up his talent. The characters are no longer believable or as well crafted as they used to be. Disappointing really.

Michelle wrote: "I'm in the same boat. We actually rated it the same. I have a ton of Stephen King books at home, but I feel like over the years he's let his absolute hatred of political figures destroy his true cr..." Yep he's letting his politics get in the way too much. His books are noticeably getting worse imo since he adopted some kind of crazy hard left stance.

Totally agree with you. I was so excited to read this and it fell flat for me as well.

I'm so glad that I wasn't alone in my thoughts of this novel. I genuinely love Stephen King as a writer, but I was incredibly turned off by the "cis, straight, white savior" aspect of the plot. The first half of the book had such great potential, and I was enjoying myself... but the last half of the book was a wake-up call for me. It completely changed my rating of the novel, and I was deeply annoyed with the direction in which King chose to take the story.

I love, love, love Stephen King, but I didn’t like this book either.

I felt the exact same way

Same. And every single time he talked about them he talked about their bodies or looks. 🙄

Read this straight after Institute, bit of a disappointing trad really. Mr King has been loosing his edge over the last few publications (. Mr Mercedes was one of the worst books he’s ever written)

I feel like you missed the point of the book if that's the part you focused on.

Completely agree with you. One of the things I’ve always loved about King is his off the wall sense of humor. I felt it completely missed the mark with this book.

I mean, the cis white dude literally helps the lesbian marathon runner win the race, so yeah, I think there's definitely issues, lol.

Yes, you are too sensitive.

Don’t know if this has been said, here, but I think the reason it’s a white man is at the center of the story is simply because, more often than not in our society, it’s the white man who most needs to…lighten up.

I agree. It felt so weird that this random dude wants to "save" these women, and also that one of them seems to hate him for a very minor problem. And then it all gets tied into a neat bow. Very very weird.

Disagree Will. This book was great. See if you can come up with a better story. I will wait.

It's the white mans burden.