Ira Levin: Rosemary’s Baby

Hi

This was my second time reading Rosemary’s Baby. I must have been around 15 the first time I read it.
My copy has 229 pages and I got it at De Slegte.
You can find all my Ira Levin reviews here.

 “Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor-husband Guy move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an onimous reputation and only elderly residents. Neighbours Roman and Minnie Castavet soon come nosing around to welcome them and, despite Rosemary's reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises she keeps hearing, her husband starts spending time with 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 Castavet's circle is not what it seems.”

Having both read the book and seen the movie quite a long while ago, the plot wasn’t as suspenseful as the first time around.

Rosemary’s Baby is a quick, engrossing and easy read. The plot moves very fast, the characters are intriguing and the book is really intense. It builds slowly and subtly and I liked that a lot. But by the last few chapters it becomes predictable and overly dramatic.

I’m very conflicted about Rosemary (the character).
You see, I’m not blaming her for what happens to her.
But she doesn’t see sense, she doesn’t think and she certainly doesn’t question what’s happening to her body, her social life and to her husband. I can't see a pregnant woman not questioning the pain, the frequent doctor's visists or the reassurances.
AND the way Rosemary talks herself into accepting Guy’s reasons for ‘raping’ her makes my skin crawl. 

What happens to her is scary. She trusts the wrong people, dismisses the good ones and bad things happen to the one who truly wanted to help her. She has no say in her own life. Guy slowly takes it all away from her. She is subtly manipulated by her husband and her neighbors.
And that’s what makes the book so scary. It starts slowly and gets progressively worse but it takes Rosemary a very, very long time to see it. Way too long to be realistic.

4 STARS

Happy reading!
Helena

Enjoying this.