Book Review | Rosemary's Baby Ira Levin

Rosemary's Baby is a horror novel from Ira Levin.

Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, an ordinary young couple, settle into a New York City apartment, unaware that the elderly neighbors and their bizarre group of friends have taken a disturbing interest in them. But by the time Rosemary discovers the horrifying truth, it may be far too late!

I grew up with a mom who loves horror. When she first found out how much I love horror movies, she went a little overboard and we binge watched horror movies for weeks on end. I remember her excitement so clearly. "We have to watch The Shining! And Rosemary's Baby! And The Bad Seed! And! And!" Rosemary's Baby was at the top of her list. I went on to read King's The Shining many times, but Rosemary's Baby was a bit lost on me at that age. I recently found myself picking book after book off of my shelf, however, and nothing held my interest until I started reading Rosemary's Baby.

The first thing I noticed was how distinct the character's voices were. I fell in love with the characters immediately. I felt thankful for having seen the movie so I could prepare myself for what was to come!

I loved the foreshadowing, and I loved that Rosemary was surrounded by friends saying "something's not right here". She wasn't isolated into stupidity. It was easy to place myself in the role of Rosemary using logic and reason and trust, and it was terrifying. To make matters worse, SPOILER ALERT << Rosemary figures out exactly what is happening. She does what no girl in a horror story does - especially not back then - and she says fuck all y'all. She takes matters into her own hands, gets her own doctor, and she still gets handed right back to her husband. >> END SPOILER.

The movie leaves more to the imagination than the book does. I love how the book ends. WHAT WOULD YOU DO? It's a mom ending, and I love it hard core.

10/10: Awesome Read