Rosemary's Baby
Ratings126
Average rating3.9
not bad, but it was just kinda depressing. already knew how it would play out by the end and didn't want to finish the book. i'll give the movie a go
I had seen the film before reading this book so I went in with some high expectations and ended up finding the book incredibly boring.
This book just misses the mark on its horror elements. The film does better at creating an atmosphere of unease which could be because the book spends a lot of its time on the mundane parts of moving into and decorating an apartment then the film. We spend a lot of time with Rosemary but not with her pregnancy. Even the cult is mainly background noise.
It has all the elements to make a suspenseful supernatural cultish horror novel and while there are some good scenes it doesn’t follow through with them. Most of the book is light in its suspense and even in the last part of the book when tension is ramped up it didn’t have the impact it should have. That is the biggest detractor of this book it doesn’t hit hard on horror.
This is not a bad book and overall it is a good story it just doesn’t have that weight truly to horrify you.
Rosemary leads a wonderful life. She has a great husband, a spacious new apartment in New York, neighbors who are accommodating, and she's expecting a bundle of joy in just a few short months.
Not everything is sunshine and rainbows, though.
Somehow I have been able to avoid all spoilers from this book, and going in blind is definitely the way to go. I'm not entirely sure how to properly review the material, so I'll just give some vague thoughts.
What a rollercoaster ride it is! Like all great horror tales, a small seed is planted (quite literally), and it slowly festers until the end. It's the small details that make this great. Rosemary's friends, for instance. They are incredibly nice and forthcoming about what she should expect during her pregnancy. As the tumultuous pain arises, they comfort her, saying it's normal and that she should just carry on. Wait, what? A second opinion, anyone? They get there, with terrifying results.
At one point, Rosemary is told she looks like a walking corpse. Now, I don't know about you guys, but I would seriously take a good look in a mirror and make a swift judgement call about my eating habits. Especially if my doctor tells me not to read books about pregnancy. Red flags!
I'm really at a loss for what else to say without spoilers. For me, it's up there with The Exorcist. I would even say it's scarier. It's hard to read at some points, and that ending is one for the ages. It threw me for a loop.
It's going on my top horror list for sure. I know it's a classic, and it deserves all the praise. Now excuse me while I go and turn all the lights on in the house.
5/5 - Can easily see why this is considered a classic! Super eerie set up throughout as you are getting to the conclusion. The feeling of knowing something isn't quite right with everyone around you but not knowing what is going on made for an uncomfortable read. I knew very little about this book going into it, and I feel that really added to the overall creepy feel as perhaps it might have gotten slow in places waiting for the plot to move along if you knew what was coming at the end.
I was really surprised about the writing style, I always have classics pinned down as super hard and/or laborious reads for the most part, but Rosemary's Baby couldn't be further away from that. Was incredibly easy too read and flew through in about a day.
What a chilling suspenseful read! Loved it. I was on the edge of my seat through the last few chapters waiting to find out what happens. Really enjoyed how Levin was able to make you have feelings for so many the characters making you either love them or hate them.
Having watched the movie years ago, I was very aware where this book was headed. It's one of those that is very slow but that ENDING pays off.
Welp
Finally read the classic horror novel. It was fine. Better than the movie, though the latter is very faithful to the book. Not boring, like the movie though.
A masterpiece of horror. Of all the elements in this story it's Guy, Rosemary's husband, who made my skin crawl the most. He overall is the real villain in my eyes, how horrifying to watch a woman's husband sell her body, her baby and their future for his own vain purpose. All Hail Rosemary!
Excuse me, but I have no patience for endless room descriptions, unbearable, painfully bad dialogue, degrading remarks towards Jesus, and a main character who is a weakling, the worst kind of housewife who tries to please everyone, afraid to speak her mind. IF she has one, that is.
No.
If we compare this drivel to The Exorcist, we are in certain need of an exorcism...
(You can read this review and more like it on my blog.)
I put this on my TBR after reading a post about it written by someone on Wordpress and it did NOT disappoint. She recommended not reading the blurb beforehand, so I went in cold and I'd like to echo that suggestion. Do NOT read the blurb beforehand! It definitely gives away part of the plot and, imo, is a better read if you don't know. Anyway, it was a great book, spooky without being scary scary. It actually pulled me out of a bit of a reading slump, which was great! Drags on a bit occasionally, but overall very good.
I'm not sure what I would've felt had I read it with no knowledge whatsoever of the story. Do yourself this favor, have this experience: if you don't know what Rosemary's Baby is about, read it. Just do. Before starting, I believe I knew all the main plot points; that is, I knew that there was this satanic cult, and I knew that they led the main character to have the son of Satan. It didn't spoil my experience per se—it really was a great one still—, but it did make the book a little predictable to me. It made it easy to second guess every character's actions or motives.
First of all, I think Rosemary is a great character. Being this a book from the 60s, I admit I was a little suspicious of how a female main character would be developed, but I think I have no complaints—even though she is helpless, surrounded by Satan worshipers as she was. Second, this is one of the most well-rounded horror books I have ever read—not that i have read many, but it is surprisingly well-rounded even so. I intend to see the movie adaptation soon, but I don't know about reading its sequel, Son of Rosemary—it most certainly didn't need a sequel; the ending is pretty perfect as it is.
Great pacing, holds up over time. At least as good as the classic film.