I knew from a young age that I probably didn't have the maternal instinct that is necessary to raise a child. I hated dolls- they creeped me out, and instead of dressing up the ones I was given as gifts- the dolls sat in the corner in various stages of undress- while I wheeled my cat whiskers around in a baby carriage- showing off his cute bonnets and frilly dresses. He was the best dressed kitty in the neighborhood. And if my parents were not convinced then, that I would never give them grandchildren- they knew later on when in grade 7- the "great baby/egg" school assignment was given. I killed 5 egg-babies in a week (by accident of course), and ate the last one for breakfast when the experiment was over. If I had read ROSEMARY'S BABY when it first came out- it definitely would have convinced me even further that making babies wasn't for me...When a four bedroom apartment finally comes available in The Bramford building- newlyweds Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse- ignore the warnings from their friend Hutch- that the building is cursed- and excitedly sign a lease.Rosemary thinks The Bramford will be the perfect place to raise a child, and is hoping after they settle in -Guy- an aspiring actor, will warm to the idea of having a baby.Shortly after the couple move in- Rosemary meets her first neighbor in the laundry room- Terry- a young woman, down on her luck, who has been welcomed in by the elderly couple next door. The two new friends make a pact to do their laundry together on a weekly basis- since they both find the basement a little scary and unpleasant...but before their next laundry date- Terry falls to her death from the top of the building- the police rule it a suicide.Rosemary is shaken, and at first can't believe that the cheerful and optimistic woman she met could have intentionally taken her life- but after meeting the people that were caring for Terry- Roman and Minnie Castevet- she dismisses any questions she had. The Castevets are a little odd but seem warm and friendly....and Guy is becoming quite close to Roman- thinking of him as a father figure. Who is she to judge???- especially since the closer Guy gets to Roman- the more enthusiastic he is about having a baby.Before she knows it Rosemary is pregnant, Guy's acting career blossoms and just when everything is going their way...the nightmare begins...ROSEMARY'S BABY is the third Ira Levin book I have read- and I haven't been disappointed yet! The only thing I wish is that I had read it loooooong ago- because it would have been much more fun to have been surprised and shocked by the ending.
I'd seen the film "Rosemary's Baby" many years ago, so before I cracked open the book, I already knew what it was about, and its 'shocking' ending. I remember the ending of the movie making me laugh out loud, not because it was too silly, but because it struck a perfect tone of absurdity and creepiness. As I started the novel, I was afraid know the ending would dampen my enjoyment of the read, but fortunately, Ira Levin employed such a deft touch in this work, that there is a sense of fun that keeps you hooked, even if you know where things are going from page 1.As I read, the first thing that struck me was how well Roman Polanski nailed the tone of the book with his 1968 film. The sly humour between husband and wife, the corny banter between the Woodhouses and their new neighbors, the utter mundanity of moving into a new apartment and living in the big city. Without any foreknowledge, you'd be hard pressed to guess if this were a novelization of a movie, or the movie's inspiration.Now, "Rosemary's Baby" isn't really horror in the expected sense. There are no monsters or gore or vivid descriptions of horrible deeds. Instead, Levin goes in the opposite direction, taking utterly plain characters, then making them all into something utterly unexpected, in the creepiest possible sense. There is something ridiculous and yet rather clever about a bunch of aging retirees (imagine your grandparents and their bridge club), then turning them into [SPOILER} a secret coven of Satanists! The reveal is strange and satisfying, and accompanied by Rosemary's hallucantory rape scene, gives everything just enough of an edge to keep you taking things seriously. The fact that these scenes are peppered throughout a book that is mostly just the average ordinary lives of a young couple in the big city is a brilliant approach to what could have otherwise been a pretty cliched horror story.
What do You think about Rosemary's Baby (1997)?
Reseña en español de La Semilla del Diablo en el blog: Click aquíRosemary's baby is considered a classic of horror literature but the truth is I've never heard of it until Goodreads recommended it to me (yeah I know, shame on me). I read many positive reviews both for the book and the movie so I had high expectations about it, sadly it was sort of a disappointment.Don't get me wrong the book is very well written and it was enjoyable most of the time, there are a lot of dialogues that carry on the story perfectly and I always wanted to know what would happen next. Also the story becomes more sinister and darker as the book progress but unfortunately it was predictable and very similar to other books about satanic rituals that I don't like.I'm not a religious person so I don't get offended by satanism but I find these stories repetitive and boring, maybe I'm missing something because a lot of people seem to love this book.I think that the most disturbing aspect of this book is that it perverts the joy of having a child, something that's supposed to be one of the happiest things a person can experience. I found that the process of Rosemary's pregnancy was really creepy and Levin really nailed it when it came to describe the suffering of our main character as the months went by.Anyway this was an interesting book that becomes more sinister as you keep turning pages. Sadly, it wasn't the kind of horror story that I enjoy but I think that many horror fans will find it appealing.
—José
A whole lotta hype with this book. A whole lotta hype that didn't play out- not for me anyway.I kept hearing people say how this was the scariest book of all time. So scary, so creepy, so frightening. So I kept waiting for the scary part to happen, but they never came. E even the creep factor was minimal. I will admit the part when Rosemary starts gnawing on raw meat turned my stomach a bit, but the rest of the book was pretty tepid.There was a whole lot of set up, the entire book was basically laying out the ending, which when it finally arrived wasn't as much of a shebang as I expected.Another lukewarm read for 2015. I get the feeling this is one of those books where the potential lie in the movie, not the book. And I really hate saying that, but in this case it's the truth.
—Jen Estrella
This is more like it.Prior to reading this, I was a month and 800 pages into George R.R. Martin's Storm of Swords, a sprawling epic with dozens of characters and several storylines.After stumbling across severe spoilers, and still 400 pages to go, I threw in the towel. I was burnt out on the story, and was getting much more excited about my to-read pile than the book I was reading. It was time to stop.This is what I needed: A nice & tidy, straightforward story.Man, it has got to be over 30 years since I saw Rosemary's Baby, but I still vividly remember a lot of it. The movie followed the novel very closely, so there will be no surprises for you if you've seen it.But it is still very much worth the few hours it takes to chow this one down.Even though the ending is known, the novel still has such a sinister aspect to it,so subtle at first, then slowly becoming more evident, that this makes it an excellent read.And good luck hearing anything else but Mia Farrow's voice in Rosemary's dialogue.Like Jodie Foster's Clarice, there can only be one voice for Rosemary.Deliciously creepy, and a great, fast read.Edit: I just remembered what else I wanted to mention. While I am usually dead set against censoring or editing content of books written in an age where standards differ from now, I really wish the word "Negro" was phased out of this book. I have absolutely no issue with off-putting words in the dialogues of characters, but when it's in the author's descriptive narrative, I really don't like it. Just saying.
—Bill
