Whenever she’s writing a novel, Uzma Jalaluddin makes a playlist. For her latest, a holiday romance titled “Yours For The Season,” a certain track from Taylor Swift’s “Evermore” album was on rotation — and it shows.
“I listened to “‘Tis The Damn Season” a lot. I am a Swiftie, and I love that song,” said Jalaluddin, reached via video call, surrounded by boxes ahead of a pending house move from one Markham neighbourhood to another. “And, you know, ’tis the damn season!”
In hindsight, Jalaluddin can see that Swift’s melancholy track about returning to your hometown over the holidays and confronting the ghosts of old loves and your own past self may have seeped into what she was writing.
“Yours For The Season” is considerably less depressing, although just as emotionally weighty: It’s the story of a burnt-out lawyer and an aspiring food influencer who are brought together by a mutually beneficial fake-dating arrangement and bond over their complicated family relationships.