The Latest Books!

I've finished TWO whole books, and a third is almost done! Granted, they are easy reads, but still very interesting! All three are by writer Ira Levin, who also wrote the play "Deathtrap!"

First on the list is "The Stepford Wives." I know! "A novel?" you ask. I said the same thing when my Madre told me she'd ordered the book. What an interesting read, though. The movie that was made in the 70's is almost a carbon copy of the book, whereas the newer film (kinda funny, though full of plot-holes) pretty much has the same character names, and that's it. The few differences are spoilers, so I can't really disclose them here.

My favorite part in "The Stepford Wives" book is when Joanna is playing hostess to a few members of the Men's Association, and she is in the kitchen, when "Diz" ("Mike" in the new movie) comes in and looks at her. She tells him that it's odd that he worked at Disneyland, because he didn't seem like the type of person who liked to make other people happy. To that he replied, "You don't know me very well at all, then."


Secondly, was "Rosemary's Baby." Now, I've seen the movie made in 1969, and again, I was hoping to find there were some things that the book had to offer that the movie didn't. Like the first "Stepford Wives" movie, the "Rosemary's Baby" movie was pretty much everything the book was! Again, there were a couple of things the movie left out, but they were things at the VERY END of the book, so I can't really divulge those plot points. It was an intriguing book, and it helped me realize some things that kind of didn't make sense in the movie. Good book, though! And since it was written in 1967, there are a couple of racial slurs that I don't think would fly by today's standards...



And finally, the book I'm working on right now is "Son of Rosemary." I, like my mother, was surprised to find out there was a sequel to "Rosemary's Baby." This book, however, was written in 1998. It's also a very interesting read, and so far, parts of it make me squirm a little. The story picks up later on in Rosemary's life, when her son is 33 years old. (Do you get the biblical reference? It's the same age Jesus was when he died... and I also realized the similarities in names: Mary and Rosemary.) The book starts off with Rosemary waking up from a 20-something year coma, and she finds her son is this great celebrity, a "great uniter." The whole world loves him. I won't go into any more detail, or I might start to give away the plot. It's not really scary, but it is intriguing!