In this interesting if unremarkable novella by King -- a homage to Richard Matheson (to whom the book is dedicated) in general and his novel The Shrinking Man in particular -- hero Scott Carey (the name of the hero of Matheson's novel) discovers something very strange is happening to him. According to his scale he is losing weight rapidly, but his appearance isn't changing at all. His doctor is utterly baffled, but Carey is afraid that sooner or later his complete lack of mass -- despite what he looks like, a pot-bellied middle-aged man -- will send him soaring into the heavens. Carey's neighbors are a lesbian couple who are trying to run a restaurant in King's fictional Castle Rock but encountering difficulties due to prejudice. It's not just that they're a gay couple but that they're married. Carey makes it his business to help them, even though one of the women comes off like a stereotypical man-hater with a chip on her shoulder. In this testament to how friendship can overcome all barriers, the two women eventually become concerned friends of Carey's.
While the gay aspects of the book, however well-meaning (especially after King's nasty depiction of a gay male couple in Needful Things), are a bit awkward, his heart seems to be in the right place. The book is as well-written as anything by King, but some readers might be a little put off by the ending, which is somewhat moving but also a little comical and inexplicable. It's a good, fast read, but by no means a King classic.
Verdict: Worth an hour of your time if you don't expect too much. **3/4.
Very interesting...plot of this one seems similar to the movie Thinner, which I believe was also a Stephen King story.
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Yes, Thinner was another King novel, one of the lesser ones.
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