Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

20 reviews

amberinbookland's review against another edition

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Rape, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Homophobia

bdingz's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I haven’t seen the film, but I know the basics of the story, so I wasn’t sure if I would get much out of the book. I was wrong! While some aspects of the story are dated (some casual racism and homophobia here and there), the relevant bits surprised me. 

The real horror story here is medical gaslighting!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Rape, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, and Confinement

Minor: Ableism, Religious bigotry, Death, Homophobia, Vomit, and Racism

velvet_young's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Pregnancy and Suicide

Minor: Racism, Sexism, Ableism, Murder, and Homophobia

hollysreads's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Racism and Homophobia

coco78337's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Death, Rape, Violence, Body shaming, Gaslighting, and Grief

Minor: Cursing, Toxic friendship, and Miscarriage

notthatcosta's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

I watched Rosemary's Baby for the first time in 2021 and I became besotted with it quite quickly. It's worth saying that my original reference for the film was Tyra Banks' obsession with Mia Farrow's haircut in the film, which she proceeded to force on a season 5 contestant (and then a season 6 contestant) of America's Next Top Model.

Even more so than The Stepford Wives, the book is pretty much a mirror of the film's plot, with the exception of a brief trip that Rosemary makes to Hutch's cabin (which doesn't feature in the film). I was impressed at how much more concise the book is than the film, but both feel equally weighty and intricate. 

While the book is highly disturbing and frustrating in equal measure, the most salient aspect is the resolve and determination of Rosemary, which Mia Farrow channels excellently in the film adaptation. The way she is surrounded/smothered by people who are almost all conspiring against her and using her body to carry Satan's child (spoiler alert), and yet manages to figure out the plot and intervene is a testament to Ira Levin's ability to craft dynamic heroines in the most wild of circumstances.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Gaslighting, Death, and Rape

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Medical trauma, Child death, Confinement, Medical content, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Addiction and Homophobia

hannahleila's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The pace of this one threw me. It started off well then got quite slow in the middle. The last 50 pages or so it picked up again and felt a bit rushed.
Also for a book that’s had so many editions released this was full of typos and punctuation where it shouldn’t be. I’m not talking the odd comma, but full stops in the middle of sentences.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Rape

Moderate: Suicide and Death

Minor: Racial slurs and Homophobia

aquariusvintage's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Personally, I found the writing outdated. A lot of harmful tropes and slurs added. Appreciate the creepiness of the story line. A horror that is horrifying because it so closely mirrors reality. The book is considered a classic so there wasn't any jump scares or major twists in the storyline. Seemed pretty predictable. Didn't realize there would be a cliffhanger because the book is the beginning of a series. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Homophobia and Racial slurs

Minor: Vomit and Child death

kryskross's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Racism and Homophobia

gabberjaws's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

 Firstly, I wanna say that I hate that I enjoyed the movie adaptation of this book (fuck you, Polanski).

Secondly, there's a reason why this book and its movie are talked about as much as they are. They're good.

The general ... oddness of the events that take place in this book, as well as Levin's matter-of-fact writing make this a very tense novel. Watching this horror that Rosemary was forced to go through unfold was deeply disturbing and even sickening at times.

I'd seen the movie before I read the book, so I'm not entire sure if this was just because I was coming into things with the knowledge of how things played out, but not once did it feel like I, the reader, was supposed to believe that Rosemary was imagining things. I don't know what it was, but something about Levin's writing made it crystal clear when the villains were lying or manipulating Rosemary. You could sense their panic when something was going wrong with their plans. I appreciated that - especially in a story about a woman being gaslit and manipulated from almost the very first page, it's nice that the narration was able to say, "yeah, no, this is fucked up. These people are evil."

I also appreciated how the book highlighted Guy's shitiness. The movie sorta focused more on the Castavets, but the book is constantly showing us how fucking awful Guy is, and I for one am glad because that man is an absolute shitstain of a human being and does not deserve to have his actions downplayed.

All in all, this book was great at evoking strong feelings of discomfort, disgust, unease, and visceral hatred. Just what you want in a horror novel. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Racial slurs and Homophobia