Rosemary's Baby

Boy, Ira Levin had to have a ginormous pair of cojones to end the story the way he did in 1967! The scariest part of this story was the gaslighting honestly and Rosemary was so damn naive, but overall this was super easy to read and pretty enjoyable. Levin’s did a fantastic job of meshing Rosemary’s dreams and her actual surroundings imo, as well as sowing the seeds of unease about the MC and if she is experiencing paranoia or if there truly is a massive conspiracy against her. Biggest takeaways from this book: 1. Don’t marry anyone named Guy. 2. Don’t answer the door just bc folks knock. 3. (And I thought this was a given) Someone that has ONLY black candles definitely deserves the side eye 👀 Currently thanking my lucky stars to have been born 30 years later bc I was not built for the 60’s 😮‍💨

This is yet another classic story that I was actually excited to read, but that ended up disappointing me greatly. It read more like a screenplay for the movie then an actual book. I was expecting to compare the two in my mind and look for the differences. There were none however. It was really disappointing.

I read this book knowing how it ended, and was ensnared till the very end. Levin does an amazing job of building suspense. This book will have you hold8ng your breath til the very end.

I loved it. Simply loved it. While I didn't find it frightening in the paranormal sense, I was truly disturbed by the way Rosemary was treated by those who claimed to love her. This is a story about isolation, rape, gaslighting, abuse, and then there's a little paranormal thrown in for good measure. I was so disturbed at certain parts by the way Rosemary's valid concerns were downplayed that I had to step away from the book briefly. Beautifully written.

Since I was born in (ahem) 1965, I clearly was not part of the craze of the 60s horror genre at that time. A lover of EA Poe and all things of the macabre, I finally picked this one up ... and was not scared in the least. The big orgy scene (if you can call it that) was indeed horrific and creepy, but my belief was not suspended in any way. Maybe because of all the true day-to-day horrors one has to witness in 2022, this has become a tamer read. Levin's writing was crisp and no-nonsense, which helped to keep the story fast-paced. Because I'm an agnostic, the whole Satan thing didn't affect me at all. Give me a good ghost story, though, like THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson, and then I can be scared out of my wits with the best of 'em. I will have to read some of Levin's other works, too, because I enjoyed his style of writing. Maybe I can even get my husband to watch this movie and DEATHTRAP as well. All good for October, right?