RIP Review: Rosemary's Baby

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Most of you probably already know the plot; a happy young couple moves into a new apartment building and soon discover they are pregnant.  Maybe there are some strange stories about the history of the building, and yes, there is a tragic death soon after they move in, but really there is nothing to worry about. And those neighbors, perhaps a bit odd, but aren't they the nicest old people ever? So helpful, so caring ... 

Honestly, I expected to like this book more. I enjoy rather dark horror, but I also enjoy subtly creepy tales too (for instance Shirley Jackson).  I thought this book was well-written and it reads like a screenplay with exact details ("It was 4pm"). I could picture quite well their apartment and their neighbors, and I thought the dialogue between Rosemary and Guy was pretty realistic.

But it is not particularly suspenseful and even though there is this element of uncertainty about whether or not Rosemary can tell reality from fantasy, I thought the end fell too firmly on the side of reality.  So I was disappointed. There is one small section of the book towards the end right before she has the baby that I thought was very well done. Rosemary is ostensibly quite calm as all her suspicions coalesce , but there is this fascinating restrained hysteria lurking right at the edges that worked for me.

Now if you would have asked me two weeks ago if I'd seen the movie, I would have said "Of course, what sort of question is that" I love horror films; how could I not have seen Rosemary's Baby. Well, as it turns out, I guess I haven't because it was not familiar to me in the least, and from what everyone says the film is exactly the book.   So when I'm back in the states I have some catching up to do. 

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And Ladies and Gentlemen  I actually completed my R.I.P challenge! And wrote all the reviews! Here's to setting realistic goals for yourself. Actually, I read a few other books too. I started The Devil in Silver, which has been getting rave reviews, but has only managed to piss me off. I also read the first two books in Del Toro's vampire trilogy The Strain and The Fall.  If I find time (which might be on a 5 hour train ride to Kyiv at 6am after an all night Halloween party) you might get a bonus short story review. Something Lovecraftian-- actually, I want to reread "The Color Out of Space."