Taylor Swift Themed Book Recs: Folklore Edition

We have officially entered the COVID-19 pandemic era of Taylor albums. Though this album has some of Taylor’s best lyricism and my absolute favorite song of her’s (hello, the 1), I feel like I don’t appreciate all of the songs enough. For example, epiphany feels like a time capsule for the political and state of health of the country during 2020 rather than a song I want to stream on a regular basis. I remember listening to that specific song while looking out of an airplane window at the stars in the night sky while reflecting on this song, but I also remember listening to august with the sun shining and my car windows down. Like all of the best things in life, this album lives on a continuum.

This first comparison may just be my favorite yet. While I’m not sure it 100% fits if you dig into the lyrics of the song and the plot of the book, the vibe just feels too similar not to latch onto. If you’re into the last great american dynasty, I recommend diving into Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid. I’ll be honest. Though I am a die hard Taylor Jenkins Reid stan, Malibu Rising underwhelmed me the first time I read it. After rereading it via audiobook last year, I have no idea how the me of the past was anything but absolutely obsessed. Malibu Rising follows the lives of the children of rockstar Mick Riva (if he has no haters, I am dead) in 1980s Malibu. The song the last great american dynasty tells the story of socialite Rebekah Harkness. The biggest thing that overlaps between these pieces of art is the idea of being in the public eye, whether wanted or not. The Riva siblings have all made it in their own right, but they are watched like a hawk due to their social status, just like Rebekah. The acknowledgement of Rebekah’s home, “The Holiday House” reminds me of the mansion belonging to daughter Nina Riva, a house that a big part of the book’s plot revolves around. The Riva family has an annual party at Nina Riva’s mansion, one that feels reminiscent of Rebekah’s parties where she “filled the pools with champagne and swam with the big names.” The lyrics of this song also make me think of Carrie Soto. Though she is the star of her own book, Carrie Soto Is Back, she has a big “she had a marvelous time ruining everything” energy in Malibu Rising. Nina Riva’s tennis star husband cheated on her with Carrie Soto, who is a tennis star in her own right. I say this fully to make the comparison and not to blame Carrie for Nina’s husband’s infidelity (he is the one that made the vow to Nina, after all), but confronting the man she has been seeing at his wife’s famous party feels like messy Rebekah energy if you ask me. Overall, both the song and the book feel like glitz and glamour surrounded by paparazzi and public attention and I eat both of them up.

Speaking of Carrie Soto, Carrie Soto Is Back (also by Taylor Jenkins Reid) reminds me of Carrie Soto Is Back follows the tennis star when she is back in the game in the 1990s, even though she had previously retired. Known for her ambition and bluntness, Carrie Soto is not everyone’s cup of tea. She doesn’t fall into the demands society puts on women to be over polite and accommodating, and she never will. Taylor describes this perfectly when she sings “when you say I seem angry I get more angry.” Carrie Soto is the token example of aggressive men (in this case, tennis players) being seen as assertive and tough, while aggressive women are called bitches. She does “breathe flames each time [she] talks,” though it is because she will not allow society’s desire for her to act ladylike to get in the way of her true love, tennis. Due to the public’s treatment of her, Carrie Soto must stay on the defensive to protect herself. The media and Carrie’s relationship is an example of the lyrics “you’ll poke that bear ‘til her claws come out and you find something to wrap your noose around.” It begs the question: is Carrie Soto brash and unlikeable, or did society make her that way? “No one likes a mad woman / You made her like that” couldn’t be more accurate. 

For one of my best friend’s favorite songs from the album, illicit affairs, I think there is a case to be made comparing it to Normal People by Sally Rooney. While Marianne and Connell are both smart academics, they run in very different circles at their secondary school. Connell is a popular athlete, while Marianne is a quiet misfit whose mother cleans Connell’s family home. When they strike up a romance, they both keep it secret from their peers. “Tell your friends you’re out for a run, you’ll be flushed when you return” emulates the excuses made when one is hiding a relationship from others. Just when it seems as though their relationship is becoming more public, Connell blindsides Marianne by taking a different girl to a school event. This plot point reminds me of the lyrics “take the words for what they are / a dwindling, mercurial high.” The relationship forming with Connell felt like a high that Marianne had to quickly come down from when it abruptly ended. Later, in university, Connell and Marianne meet again while Marianne has a different partner, though Connell and Marianne quickly become a couple again. This is the pattern the entire novel follows: Connell and Marianne falling apart and back together while having relationships with others in between these love affairs. While it is up for debate as to if Marianne or Connell ever truly cheat in the novel, it is safe to say their rendezvous can all be seen as secretive, toxic, and illicit. The chorus of the song states that the thing about illicit affairs is that they take one simple glance to begin before they “lie and they lie and they lie a million little times.” Though Connell and Marianne’s relationship started due to a true connection, it ended over, over, and over again. The ending of the song sums up their relationship well: “and you know damn well / for you, I would ruin myself / a million little times.”

I know I said the 1 was one of my top three favorite Taylor Swift songs, but the other two of the top three are in Taylor’s next album, evermore. While reputation is my favorite album vibe wise, evermore just may be the album I pick if I could only listen to one of Taylor’s albums for the rest of time.