Steve-Calvert.co.uk
Steve-Calvert.co.uk
A Passion For Horror
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If you have read Rosemary's Baby and then wondered what happened next all the answers can be found in Son of Rosemary. Yeah, that's right, there is a sequel, but it was a long time coming--about thirty years in real--time and thirty-three in the story. If you are reading this review the chances are that you have already read the first book, if you haven't read it, then I would strongly recommend that you read it first rather than try and read Son of Rosemary as a stand-alone novel. You will understand the story much better if you are familiar with the details about conception and birth of Rosemary's baby. A lot has happened since Rosemary gave birth to her son, the only problem is that she has missed most of it because the coven caused her to fall into a coma twenty-seven years ago when her son, Andy, was just six. Most of the coven members are now dead and, just a couple of paragraphs into the book, the last remaining member, Dr Shand, gets mowed down by a taxi. Not good for him, but very good for Rosemary because the instant that this happens the spell is lifted and she awakes in her nursing home bed. When Rosemary wakes up she has no idea how long she has been unconscious and it is more than a little unnerving for her when she looks in a mirror and discovers that she now resembles her Aunt Peg. The main thing on her mind though, is her son, Andy. Andy is not hard to find. Everyone seems to be wearing 'I Love Andy' buttons. Of course, Rosemary doesn't realize that the Andy in question is her Andy, but when she sees him on the TV, there is no doubt in her mind. His horns seem to be missing and his tiger-like eyes are now blue, but it is Andy all right. With his long, blond hair and the beard and moustache, Andy looks more like Jesus Christ than the Son of Satan and Rosemary soon finds out that her son has had a huge positive impact on the world and now heads an organization called God's Children. Rosemary also discovers that she is famous in her own right. Not many people return to the land of the living after being in a coma for twenty-seven years. Rosemary is front-page news and when she is invited onto a talk show she has a big announcement to make: Andy is her son. Most people are probably more than a little sceptical about Rosemary's statement, but the people at God's children are watching and they get in touch with the show's host immediately. Andy is also watching and he has a question for Rosemary. When Rosemary answers Andy's question correctly there can be no doubt about her claim and mother and son are reunited. Son of Rosemary is 255 pages long and it starts off very well. While I was reading it I, like Rosemary, began to have my doubts about where Andy's true allegiance lay. The Devil has always had big plans for his son and although Andy assures Rosemary that he is going against his father's plans, I was never quite convinced about it and it wasn't until I was reaching the end of the book that I found out for sure if he was a saint or a sinner. Up until this point I had been enjoying reading Son of Rosemary and I had found out the truth about Andy and so that little mystery was solved. Then, in the final few pages, Levin totally destroyed everything that had happened in the rest of the book and I felt incredibly let down by the ending. I am not going to say what happens, because I don't believe in adding spoilers to my reviews, but suffice it to say that I was not a happy chappy. I felt like I had wasted my time by reading the book. To be honest, the ending of Son of Rosemary makes a mockery of the first book, Rosemary's Baby. It spoils everything and, to my mind, it would have been better if Levin had never written a sequel at all than to end it all like this. But... I am only human and sometimes I miss or don't understand
things and I wondered if that could be the case with Son of
Rosemary. So I did an internet search and read a few reviews of the
book, especially those on Amazon. A lot of people seem to feel the same
way as I do about the book, but there are those who have different ways of
interpreting the events at the end of the story and, to be honest, some of
these interpretations do make sense, but, do you know what? The
ending still sucks. It is weak, it is a cop-out and I just don't like it.
Everything had been building up to a big finish. The story should have
ended with a bang. Instead it was just a whimper and I was the one doing
the whimpering. It is sad that it all had to end like this. I was
expecting resolution, but found only confusion. There is even an anagram
that turns up early on in the book and its meaning seems to be integral to
the plot. No answers to this are ever provided. When I read a novel I
don't want to have to think too hard about things. Reading offers
escapism. In a mystery novel, for instance, I will try and figure out the
mystery, but I know that if the answer eludes me it will be provided
at the end of the book anyway. Son of Rosemary does not do this
because Rosemary cannot solve the anagram. Maybe you can. It is Roast
Mules and I no longer care what it means. |
