Rosemary's Baby

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Summary: What a dreary read
Review: I was so looking forward to reading this book and now that I have, I wasted my time. The plot was weak as was the development of the characters, especially that of Rosemary. I don't dare read the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Paranoia Story
Review: Nice little story, interesting mainly for its use of the 'everyone's out to get me' syndrome. Other than that, the shock value at the end of the story somewhat diverts the readers attention from the overall excellence of the book and subtlety of tone which pervades the novel.

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Summary: A Great Story All Around
Review: This is a wonderful story, having elements of everything.

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Summary: What a disappointment!
Review: I've wanted to read this book for years but was unable to lay my hands on a copy. With the release of "Son of Rosemary" and this one turning up again in paperback, I thought I was in for a long anticipated "creep-out" at the hands of a most respected writer of best-selling fiction. Unfortunately, this book left me feeling like I had waited in a long line for a show that was perhaps popular but sadly unentertaining. I mean, this is a book with a plot summary that is the plot! And, maybe its just me but I read a lot of "white bread" American paranoia into this thing -- we have little Rosemary from Omaha getting caught up in the middle of a bunch of New York City satanists -- people with decidely ethnic-sounding names like Saperstein, Castevet (or Marcato) and crusty old people who smell funny that are the bad guys. As far as examination of philosophy and religion goes, this is about as deep as a dive into a teacup -- despite what other readers report. Levin's writing is clean and direct but this book has little else to recommend it.

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Summary: Rosemary's Baby: The age-old battle...
Review: Ira Levin's novel Rosemary's Baby explores that mind-boggling realm of the absolute darkness found in human nature. His depictions of evil are frighteningly real; even atheists may have trouble remaining in their state of disbelief in the good and evil supreme beings. This book is truly one that is nearly impossible to put down; it is extremely readable without seeming childish. Levin's ideas of good and evil are explained in a manner that is easy to understand, yet it is still perplexing to even the greatest of minds how such evil can be personified. Levin is truly a literary genius; this book proves it.

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Summary: I loved this book!
Review: The plot of Rosemary's baby was the most entertaining and the most suspensful I have ever read. I soon hope to read Son of Rosemary (even though other critics hated it) and Sliver if I can.

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Summary: Masterpiece - Plain and Simple
Review: I have been on an Ira Levin marathon since reading the sequel to this book. So, I went back and read R's Baby after not having read it in thirty years. It is such an amazing book on so many levels it's hard to talk about. Everything, description, dialogue, characters, setting, and most of all plot, mesh seamlessly in one of the great reads of all time. If you've never read it you are in for a treat. As a side note, the film version by Roman Polanski is also a masterpiece. It is the best adaptation of book to film ever done. The reason for this is simple: It IS the book. Polanski didn't know he could change anything so 95% of the dialogue is taken verbatim from the book and the other five percent is paraphrased. It helps that Levin writes the best dialogue of anyone writing fiction today. But the more amazing thing is, that visual touches that I've been ascribing to Polanski all these years are ALSO right out of the book, as are several costume descriptions. Were it only that more movie adaptations were this faithful and we weren't subjected to baboon screenwriters' "fixing" of novels. For the clearest example of horrifying adaptation, one only need turn to Mr. Joe Estherhaz' adaptation of Ira Levin's Sliver

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Summary: Forbidden fun for fans of freakish fiction!
Review: So there I was, carefully perusing a Pulitzer-prize winner, the tip of my nose pressed in the book's crack, my eyes drooping tiredly, when I asked myself, "Why am I reading this?" I felt guilty for asking the question. After all, this boring book won the Pulitzer! I'd seen it on numerous book lists. It was rated highly on characterization, plot, readability, and literary merit. It just had to be good, and it was on my book list, so I just had to read it. Meanwhile, a copy of Ira Levin's "Rosemary's Baby" sat gathering dust, begging me to discover its story. I bought the book very interested in reading it by what I'd heard others say of the cinematic version. When I brought the book home, again guilt consumed me, this time because of the the unread Pulitzers and Shakespeare that lined my bookshelf. Sorrowfully, I began the unwanted endeavor of reading something some impersonal book list told me to read instead of reading something in which I was genuinely interested. After grinding through a few pages, I couldn't take it anymore. I threw down the Pulitzer, cried, "Literary giants be damned!," cracked "Rosemary's Baby," and introduced myself to Mr. Levin. My eyes went from droopy to drum-sized as the pages whizzed by. Surrounding a simple plot is a diabolical mystery. In the beginning, Levin would have me believe Rosemary is too helpless to stop or change her foreboding future, but as the pressures of horror rise and clues accumulate, Rosemary's fortitude strengthens, and by the end, I was rooting for her to walk in the path of God. The denouement fits just right with the rest of the supernatural oddities in the book. (I never know how much to give away in these reviews!) Let me just say the final chapter is as thought provoking and discussible as Steinbeck's finale in "The Grapes of Wrath." Which brings me to the question: Does "Rosemary's Baby" have literary merit? Well, the book does raise deep questions: Why does the Pope dress in jeweled, silken robes? Are superstitions a form of religion? If we are sure God exists, why are we unsure of the existance of Satan? Just how well does a wife know her husband? Yes, this book has literary merit; not because of the questions it asks, but because it is enjoyable, fantasy/escapism that is devilishly fun to read

Rating:
Summary: Classic Horror Novel
Review: Rosemary's Baby is a classic horror novel. It is extremely well written and keeps you spellbound turning page after page, not wanting to put it down. It is a tale of a young couple who are expecting their first child and the sinister forces of satanic evil.
This is a truly scary book.

Rating:
Summary: A Spooky Shocker Classic
Review: Why am I giving this book 5 stars when the writing isn't especially great? Because Ira Levin hit every right note in "Rosemary's Baby" and made it into an instantaneous horror classic. On one level, it's a great horror story; on another, it's also a kind of morality play: God has a son; what happens when the devil gets jealous and wants one too? Enter Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, almost-newlyweds, new tenants in an old, luxury building called "The Bramford", famous for its high ceilings and working fireplaces, notorious for its unsavory happenings (dead baby wrapped in newspapers abandoned in the basement). They are warned off by Hutch, an old friend of Rosemary's who knows all about the building's sordid history, but disregard the omens. Rosemary is a housewife (yes, back in the day there actually were such things) who wants to be a mother. Guy is an actor and a rising star whose talent is overshadowed only by his unlimited ambition. Next door are the Castevets, Minnie and Roman, a delightfully ditzy old couple who just happen to head a coven of witches who have made a pact with the devil. Rosemary wants a baby; Guy wants a leading part in a hit play; the witches want... well, all the ingredients are there for a devil's brew that sets the pot boiling wonderfully for 260 pages. After a nightmarish impregnation, Rosemary goes through a hellacious pregnancy, presided over by Dr. Sapirstein, a famous "society" obstetrician who assures Rosemary that her pains will go away in a day or two. Hutch's death after a long, suspicious illness jolts Rosemary out of her cocoon of trusting ignorance, and here Levin builds the horror up ever so insidiously until it hits you like a sledgehammer. Rosemary discovers who her neighbors are; that they have drawn her husband into a diabolical plot, and when she runs to Dr. Sapirstein for protection, she finds out that he too is... well, if you can't trust your husband and your obstetrician, who can you trust? Rosemary is left alone to try to save her baby from what she fears is a plot against his life and safety, remembering that dead baby in the basement; there's a plot afoot, all right, but what it is, is something neither Rosemary or the reader could possibly imagine until they stare at it, literally and figuratively, in the eyes. Levin is one terrific storyteller and he manages to time the action to coincide perfectly with the story line; Rosemary conceives, ironically, on the night of the Pope's visit to New York in early October, and the baby is born, fittingly, right after midnight, "exactly half the year around from you-know". Some readers have complained that the ending is lame after all the shock and horror, and they have a point, but it's fun to wonder, how else could Levin have ended this story? It's a perfect psychological horror fantasy, no blood, no gore, no things that go bump in the night, but just the ordinary neighbors next door that can and do raise all kinds of hell. It's a classic that has stood the test of time; after 35 years, it's still a great read.