"Rosemary's Baby" by Ira Levin revolves around a young wife, Rosemary Woodhouse, who finds herself entangled in an occult plot to steal her baby for Satanistic rituals after it is born. The story is told solely through Rosemary's eyes, creating a sense of being trapped with her as she navigates through eerie occurrences and reaches a horrifying conclusion. The plot unfolds in contemporary New York City, skillfully crafted by Levin to build mounting suspense and a sense of dread throughout the narrative.
The writing style in "Rosemary's Baby" is described as simple, engrossing, and suspenseful by readers. Levin's storytelling is praised for its subtle yet creepy elements, with a slow buildup of tension leading to a chilling finale. is noted for its ability to delve into themes of satanism, witchcraft, and the fear surrounding motherhood, all set against a backdrop of everyday details that add to the overall sinister atmosphere.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings include themes of psychological manipulation, emotional abuse, manipulation of pregnant women, satanism, and drugging.
From The Publisher:
Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband Guy move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and mostly elderly residents. Neighbors Roman and Minnie Castavet soon come nosing around to welcome the Woodhouses to the building, and despite Rosemary's reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises that she keeps hearing, her husband takes a shine to them. Shortly after Guy lands a plum Broadway role, Rosemary becomes pregnant-and the Castavets start taking a special interest in her welfare. As the sickened Rosemary becomes increasingly isolated, she begins to suspect that the Castavets' circle is not what it seems...
Ratings (72)
Incredible (9) | |
Loved It (39) | |
Liked It (16) | |
It Was OK (2) | |
Did Not Like (5) | |
Hated It (1) |
Reader Stats (154):
Read It (72) | |
Want To Read (58) | |
Not Interested (24) |
2 comment(s)
I knew about Rosemary's baby and the movie but never read nor seen it. I thought it would be more scary in the sense of "jump scares" and gore but the way this was written and told was far more scarier. The whole psychologically mess that rosemary had to go through, having so many question and feelings something is terrible wrong but all she gets is gaslighting (I think it's the correct word). The audiobook was was perfectly done and I haven't been so invested and loved an audiobook as much as this one in a long while. Its slow but very intense. And I could almost imagine the terror Rosemary went through. An excellent book but I would advice you not to read it while pregnant!
I wasn't sure if I would like this book. I don't think I've seen the entire movie based on this book, just parts of it. I generally don't like to be scared, so I don't like reading horror books or watching horror movies. Especially those with an extensive atmosphere of fear. So I wasn't sure if this would be a book for me.
And after reading this book, I'm still not sure if it really was the story for me, but to my amazement, I actually enjoyed it. All in all, it's a fairly simple story, and the whole atmosphere is based on some understatement and allusions. And only at the end we find out something concrete, I was really surprised by these last scenes. I guess I wasn't expecting it to be so literal.
I believe that the author managed to find very well a golden mean between the feeling that the reader knows much more than the main character Rosemary, and at the same time it is not frustrating for that reader. The author also managed to make Rosemary not look overly stupid or naive, despite the fact that she submits to administration by her husband and neighbors. He explained well, through different scenes, why this is happening.
I have quite mixed feelings about the ending. I think I'd prefer the whole thing to end differently and for Rosemary to make different decisions. As much as I dislike open endings, I wonder if it wouldn't be better in this case if everything ended with one big allusion and some understatement. If we were still asking ourselves, did something supernatural really happen there or was it just all in Rosemary's head?
Now I'm wondering if I shouldn't watch the film as well, especially since it was shot by Roman Polanski, an excellent director. And that star cast. I've heard a lot of good things about this movie. I'm curious to see how this story will transfer to the big screen.
What can you read after
Rosemary's Baby?
About the Author:
Ira Levin is the author of The Boys from Brazil, Rosemary's Baby, Son of Rosemary, The Stepford Wives, This Perfect Day, Sliver, and A Kiss Before Dying(for which he won the Edgar Award). Levin was also the recipient of three Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Awards. His website is iralevin.org.
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