Rosemary's Baby - Kirjakasa

Paperback, 301 pages

English language

Published Dec. 30, 2003 by Dales Large Print Books.

ISBN:: 978-1-84262-206-3
OCLC Number:: 223686791

(1 review)

Rosemary Woodhouse and her struggling actor husband Guy move into the Bramford, an old New York City apartment building with an ominous reputation and only elderly residents. Neighbours Roman and Minnie Castavet soon come nosing around to welcome the Woodhouses to the building; despite Rosemary's reservations about their eccentricity and the weird noises that 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, Rosemary begins to suspect that the Castavet's circle is not what it seems... --back cover

34 editions

Thom reviewed Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Review of "Rosemary's Baby" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Never saw the movie, and haven't seen the 2014 Mother's Day adaptation either. It was the author's second and best known novel, though he wrote scripts and screenplays before that.

Though the characters are thoroughly unlikeable, they are well written. Only Rosemary has some growth (in more ways than one) - this is more of a characters meet situation story. Religion is a major theme, but feminism is a strong second, especially at the end. Gaslighting and paranoia are another theme.

Described as a "perfectly crafted thriller", I beg to differ. The reader can easily piece together what has happened, and we spend most of the book watching the worm wriggle on the hook. For a likeable character, the empathy could carry this, but I found Rosemary irritating - and nine months is a lot of irritation.

Unlike the ordinary bell curve, I found a lot more 4 and 2 …

Never saw the movie, and haven't seen the 2014 Mother's Day adaptation either. It was the author's second and best known novel, though he wrote scripts and screenplays before that.

Though the characters are thoroughly unlikeable, they are well written. Only Rosemary has some growth (in more ways than one) - this is more of a characters meet situation story. Religion is a major theme, but feminism is a strong second, especially at the end. Gaslighting and paranoia are another theme.

Described as a "perfectly crafted thriller", I beg to differ. The reader can easily piece together what has happened, and we spend most of the book watching the worm wriggle on the hook. For a likeable character, the empathy could carry this, but I found Rosemary irritating - and nine months is a lot of irritation.

Unlike the ordinary bell curve, I found a lot more 4 and 2 star reviews. I liked some aspects and didn't like others. It's horror without being too bloody, but it's also not a thriller. 3 stars.