Rosemary's Baby

I'll be honest, I don't read nearly as much as I should. Somehow I always manage to have a novel I'm in the middle of reading, but I can never find time to read it. Part of the reason is obviously my schedule, but the main reason I never have time to read is that in my free time I usually watch TV or go online. Once in a while, however, I'll read a book that accomplishes the near impossible task of dragging me away from technology. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin was one of those rare novels that I made time to read. First published in 1967 and later adapted into an acclaimed film in 1968, the book is a modern day Gothic horror story that addresses the role women play in society as well as the religious turmoil in the "Is God Dead" era. The story centers on Rosemary Woodhouse a young bride who has just moved into a new apartment with her husband Guy. As in all horror novels sinister things begin to happen and Rosemary begins to suspect her neighbors aren't what they seem. I won't go any further, because describing the plot would practically ruin the novel. The genius of Levin's work is how he intricately weaves important details into mundane and ordinary occurrences, so you, like Rosemary, don't know what is happening until its to late. Ira Levin wrote several similar novel, in which the supernatural is disguised as every day occurrences, among his many admirers is fellow horror author Stephen King who called Levin

"The Swiss watch maker of the suspense novel".

Other books by Levin include The Stepford Wives and this novel's sequel Son of Rosemary.