ROSEMARY'S BABY BY IRA LEVIN

Rosemary and her husband Guy are looking for an apartment to start their new life together. Their realtor warns the two lovebirds that the place they've settled on has a history of witchcraft, cannibalism, suicide, and other lovely festivities. Rosemary is rightfully skeptical, but her husband who has a passion for acting uses his charisma to persuade her into going through with the move. And that's where the inevitable horror begins.

Right off the bat, we're given many clues that something wicked is weaving a blasphemous plot from behind the scenes. It's made clear to us that Rosemary is the only sane person in a story full of lunatics looking to manipulate her every action to bring a dark prophecy to life for their own selfish gains; to bring the child of Satan into the world of mortals. Although the plot twist is made obvious from the very beginning, the execution is where the story truly succeeds. The hopeless and claustrophobic paranoia from the perspective of Rosemary, the obsessive behavior of her neighbors and doctors, the downward spiral of betrayal from everyone she trusts, and finally the breakdown of her sanity as she tries to rationalize her love for the demonic creature she brings into the world.

Rosemary's baby is a roller coaster of dark emotions that also serves as a criticism for the culture it was written in; mocking the act of Hollywood stars selling their souls and everything they love for fame and fortune, the rise of demented cults and negative influencers in pop culture, the rejection of societal stereotypes and expectations, etc...

This book was much better than I was expecting it to be, now I understand why it's considered a horror masterpiece!