Customer Reviews

Son of Rosemary

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I read this book recently, directly after reading Rosemary's Baby for the first time. I had seen the movie, Rosemary's Baby years ago, saw it in the library and checked it out again. Then I decided to read the book. Staright way then I read this book. Contrary to what many readers have posted in other sites, I did not find this book to be the straight-forward hastily written hack job, I thought it was cleverly written, just as the first one. I think the ending of this book has been mis-interpreted by many readers. If you read the first book, and then this one, you will see a consistent style. It differs from the movie stylistically though. Also, it doesn't top the first one, almost no sequel could do that- so I give it one star less.

I very much enjoy Ira Levin's work. Do not read this book, though, if you expect his usual performance. This book is a mess. It's nowhere near as good as ROSEMARY'S BABY although it tries to be. If you must read it to find out "what happened," as I did, you'll find that what happened is that Ira Levin went a bit nutso. Don't say I didn't warn you.

The novel was fairly ridiculous throughout, but the ending was so awful, that were Levin not already deceased when I read the book, I would hunt him down and slap him! I paid 25 cents for this book as a library reject, and I want my money back.

I was very excited to read the sequel to Rosemary's Baby as it is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I was seriously disappointed. Son of Rosemary is bad. It's dull, at times confusing and kind of gross. Andy makes romantic passes at Rosemary and all Rosemary says its 'oh, my angel' or 'darling'. She never really discourages him. Uhm...ick. Nothing really happens until the last few pages of the book.

I almost wish I didn't read it in the way I wish I never watched The Godfather, Part 3.

It's that awful.

When this book was first released 1997 I thought it must be a bad joke. After all the endless "woman giving birth to the Anti-Christ/Omen" genre following Ira Levin's 1967 blockbuster Rosemary's Baby, Son of Rosemary must surely be a desperately cynical attempt to wring the last cent out of a worn out idea. I recently found myself curious about the payoff, and read through all the previous reviews. Most hated it. Some liked the book. And the people who liked the book really LIKED the book. Intrigue. Would this be, like George W. Bush's presidancy, misunderstood by all but the Fox Network? Happily, unlike Bush's disastrous 8 years, Son of Rosemary is truly misunderstood.

Like the original novel, the sequel is a deceptively easy read. No dreams within dreams, or different narrative points of view, or fancy wordplay that makes you pause. Just a head on linear plot, and straight forward characterizations. That is, until the climax. Then all bets are off.

If you loved the original as much as I did (and the classic movie spun from it), then the relationship between Rosemary and Adrian/Andy is quite compelling. Ira Levin is a great thriller writer, so the cheesy premise is obviously a stepping stone to something bigger. I view this novel as a satire of celebrity culture, conservative religous fundalmentalism and it's influence on politics, and the end of the world narratives. Unlike some backward thinking groups in the media today, there is NO magic (load and reload) bullet that is going to fix our modern day problems. However, the suckers called the human race are willing to believe a charismatic, photogenic religous figure has all the answers. This story may be even more compelling post Tea Party 2011 than ever before.

The controversal ending and mysterious words Roast Mules are wonderful brain teasers that work when you think about them for a while. This quick read will stay with you after you've read it. Even the people who hate it are passionate about their hatred. THAT'S an interesting read.