Back with another guest book review, Uncomfortably Dark friend Sue Rovens shares her thoughts on Son of Rosemary, written by Ira Levin.
Enjoy!
Son of Rosemary by Ira Levin
Reviewed by Sue Rovens
I count Rosemary’s Baby (1968) as one of my favorite movies, easily finding a spot in my top twenty. For me, it’s one of those films that if I happen upon it while flipping through channels, I’ll stop and watch the rest regardless of where it’s at in the runtime. However, when I read the book (many years after I initially saw the movie), I found it to be fair/average. While I certainly have no ill will toward the creator of the story, Ira Levin, I must admit that the movie far outweighed the original creation.
Recently, I found the paperback, Son of Rosemary, in a local indie bookshop, and as someone who loved the original story/movie adaptation, I thought I deserved to give the follow-up book a chance.
In all honesty, it was a struggle at best and one long continuous eye roll at its worst.
If you’re not familiar, the basic story is as follows: In 1966, Guy and Rosemary Woodhouse take up residence in a New York apartment building where, unbeknownst to them, evil, death, and corruption have enjoyed a rich legacy (and continue to do so). We eventually learn that most of their neighbors belong to a coven of witches who are currently in need of a fertile woman to do their bidding (get pregnant with Satan’s child). Enter Rosemary, the oblivious newcomer who is pressing her actor husband (Guy) to have a baby. She ends up getting pregnant (thinking it’s Guy’s), delivers the baby, and eventually realizes what a horrific trap she’s unknowingly been forced into. The baby is half human and half Satan–yet she’s still his mother.
Son of Rosemary (the book) picks up thirty-three years later. It’s 1999, Guy has disappeared from the story, and Rosemary has been in a coma since the baby, Andy, turned six. The coven has raised him since that time. Now, in his mid-30s, he’s risen to the status of a “life guru” of sorts who has somehow captured the world’s attention and is planning for a big event on New Year’s Eve 2000.
There are several questions and premises that go either unanswered or are quickly brushed aside, lest there be too many plot holes to count (and believe me, there are multitudes). This is a book that might have been a little more digestible when it first came out (1997/1998), but now it’s a clunky exposition of “what might have been”. The biggest problems I had were the incredulous way Rosemary treated and doted on her (now adult) son, the ‘disturbing’ and suggestive ‘satanic behavior’ (no spoilers, but most of the scandalous behavior doesn’t age well and would be seen as no big deal in current times), and the many, many plot holes throughout. Nothing about this reads ‘horror’, yet if you’re looking for politically incorrect descriptions and situations, you might find a home here.
If someone is on the fence about delving into this one, you’re firmly on your own. I would give it an overarching score of 3.5 out of 10 and I’m probably being a bit too kind. Instead, watch the original Rosemary’s Baby movie and save yourself the trouble and effort to slog through this book.
About Sue Rovens
BIO:
Sue Rovens is an indie suspense/horror author who lives in Normal, Illinois. She has written five novels and two books of short horror stories.
Track 9, her second novel, received a starred review in Publisher's Weekly (May 2018), her short story, “Coming Over”, from her book, In a Corner, Darkly: Volume 1, was turned into a screenplay and short student indie film by the theater department of Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and another short story, “When the Earth Bled”, won 2nd place in the Support Indie Authors short story contest. Her three most recent books (Buried, Rage, and Sanctum) are under Plump Toad Press. She is currently working on her eighth book, In a Corner, Darkly: Volume 3, which will be out sometime in 2025.
Sue owns a blog (suerovens.com) which includes interviews with authors, musicians, podcasters, and artists. She is also a current member of both the Chicago Writers Association and the Alliance for Independent Authors (ALLi).
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