Reviews (page

By Maria Santos

Taylor Swift is entering yet another era: Midnights. Swift emerged onto the music scene nearly two decades ago with wild blonde hair, cowgirl boots and hats, and a Nashville twang. Since then, Swift has practically rebranded herself with each new album. Most notably, she adopted an edgy bad-girl persona for her sixth studio album, Reputation. She quickly shifted into a softer, calmer style with Lover, which is depicted on her album cover with pastels. Then, during the pandemic, Swift released two more albums, Folklore and Evermore, both with a mistyfall feel depicting cardigans, messy braids, and forests. Shortly thereafter, Swift announced that she would rerecord her first six studio albums after losing masters to Scooter Braun, who bought her previous record label. Fans sang and cried along to songs on Red (Taylor ’ s Version), in particular the 10 minute version of “All Too Well” , about her breakup with with actor Jake Gyllenhall. Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of her new album.

On August 28, 2022, Taylor Swift announced the release of her 10th studio album. She tells fans to “meet [her] at midnight” on an Instagram post with the following description: “the stories of 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout my life, will be out October 21. ” Since the announcement, fans have been tirelessly searching for easter eggs giving clues about the new release.

Swift has amassed nearly 83 million views on TikTok, after beginning a series entitled “Midnights Mayhem With Me” , in which she reveals one by one the names of the 13 tracks on the album. The official tracklist word includes: "Lavender Haze, "

"Maroon, " "Anti-Hero, " "Snow

on the Beach,

" "You're on Your Own, Kid, " "Midnight Rain, ""Question…?, " "Vigilante S--, " "Bejeweled, " "Labyrinth, " "Karma, " "Sweet Nothing, " and "Mastermind. "

Swift has also announced the release of four vinyl records which, when configured together, form a clock. Between the album and vinyl covers, fans speculated that Midnights would have a 60s-70s sound much like the Carpenters and the Mamas & the Papas. Although Swift hasn’t announced tour dates yet, official sources confirm that she will have a combined world tour with Lover, Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights. Swifties, get ready!

Courtesy of syracuse.com

Duel

By Julia D'Aloisio

Debuting in 1971, Duel marks the beginning of Steven Spielberg’s illustrious career as a director. This thriller not only showcases Spielberg’s genius in directing but his innate knack for storytelling.

The film begins with a focus on a business commuter, with a seemingly mundane introduction. There is no dialogue, no interactions with others, and no suspense. Just a man driving on the road. This measured approach to create suspense pays dividends when the intensity begins to increase.

After a few scenes featuring the arid scenery of what appears to be Southern California, the audience is introduced to the antagonist -- the truck. The interactions between the car's driver and the truck begin in a conventional manner. When the truck, greasy and beat up, appears, the driver thinks nothing of it and passes it. However, the truck continually catches up to the driver, who wordword we later learn is David Mann, creating unbearable suspense. And thus, the game of cat and mouse between the driver and the truck begins.

This game continues through a gas station, a school bus with children, and a diner, but all the while the truck driver’s face is never revealed. Spielberg only gives the audience glimpses of his shoes and jeans. This mysterious brilliance on Spielberg’s part only adds to the tension in the film. While watching, one can only wait in nervous apprehension for what will befall David. This character, who on the surface does not appear complex, is later revealed to have difficulties in his personal life, which is illustrated through phone calls with his wife and an inner monologue.

Adding to these elements, the film's cinematography contributes to its overall impact. The camera often pans over the truck and the driver’s car while wo ordd they are on the road. And through the use of differing angles and placement from the driver’s perspective, the audience becomes immersed in the scenarios Spielberg creates.

In one scene, after pulling over to a diner, David notices the truck is parked in the lot! In this scene, David’s inner monologue clues in the audience to his thoughts and his suspicions of the other men in the diner. But, since he does not know who the driver is, he ends up confronting the wrong man. This is but one instance of the paranoia he feels, which is imparted to all who watch. Through this style of storytelling, Spielberg creates not only excitement and anticipation, but an underlying sense of terror for the entire audience. And here, this simple ninety-minute film titled Duel, is where the world-renowned director's career all began. word

By Emma Rathgeber

How would you go about prodding a murderer for an explanation of his actions? That may be a loaded question, but it’s exactly the dilemma Theo Faber faces in The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. Ever since Alicia Berenson murdered her husband, she has not said anything in defense of her actions, nor has she explained her motivations. As a psychotherapist, Theo is tasked with bringing to light these unspoken details. However, his challenge is more complex than what it may seem. This is because, in the six years since she stabbed her husband to death, Alicia Berenson has not word only refused to offer an explanation: she has not spoken a single word.

I had the privilege of reading this book over the summer. Before I began, I had high expectations, due to the many commendatory reviews I found online. And I must say, I was not disappointed. While the first fifty to one-hundred pages were not as exciting as I might have liked, they provide detailed background information that is essential to the development of the plot. This part also adds a whole new level of intrigue to the rest of the novel. As the plot progressed, I grew a bit confused as to how all the plot's word

Courtesy of The Washington Post Courtesy of eBay.com different elements and characters would come to fit together. However, I believe it is this confusion that made the twist so shocking.

Although I read it a couple of months ago, I still get the chills when I think about this part of the novel. Rarely have I felt the need to put physical distance between myself and a book in order to allow myself to process what I’ ve just read, but this was one of those times. An added bonus is that, after all the pieces are fitted together and the big picture is revealed, the plot deescalates at just the right pace to wrap up the story and tie it with a bow.

Released in February 2019, The Silent Patient is Alex Michaelides’ debut novel. He has said that because of this fact, he did not feel immense pressure while writing, as there were no expectations to meet. However, the novel’s debut at #1 on the New York Times Best-Seller list, its three Goodreads Awards, as well as my own humble opinion, serve to demonstrate that The Silent Patient has cemented itself as a staple in the psychological thriller genre.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation

By Hunter Maguire

“Reva was my only friend, but I hated her. I popped another bisphenol and faded back into unconsciousness.”

Throughout My Year of Rest and Relaxation, Ottessa Moshfegh makes no effort to convince us to like or sympathize with our oh-sodespicable unnamed narrator. A self-proclaimed WASP of the Upper East Side, living off her dead parents’ inheritance, she has everything most people can only dream of, yet is absolutely insufferable. She is twenty-six, blonde, thin, and rich, but she squanders her life away with bored apathy inside the walls of her luxury apartment. Her only satisfaction comes from popping pills, re-watching the same old Whoopi Goldberg movies, and putting down her only friend, the lovingly anxious Reva.

As the book opens, our narrator makes her only firm resolution of the novel: to sleep away an entire year, secluded in her apartment, with the help of her bumbling psychologist, Dr. Tuttle. Tuttle, supremely gullible and comically stupid, is easily fooled into prescribing an alphabet of meds to the narrator, from Ambien to Nembutal to Zyprexa.

The first chapters of the novel meander through the narrator’s life events with annoying self-awareness. She begins her year “ working” at a Chelsea art gallery, but she gets fired after dozing off everyday in the supply closet. Her parents– a closed-off college professor and an irritable day-drinker– never offer much emotional support. She clings to her on-off boyfriend Trevor, a pathetic thirtysomething Wall Street banker, as some sort of surrogate parental figure. Nastiest of all, she plays on Reva’s insecurities for her own validation, yet is word cold and unsupportive whenever Reva needs love or support. Her only forays out of the apartment are to the Egyptian bodega for coffee, to RiteAid to refill prescriptions, and to Dr. Tuttle’s office once a month for new prescriptions.

However, as the months drone on, she starts taking a fictional, experimental medication called infermiterol. Her “rest” becomes interrupted by strange actions taken in her sleep; random AOL messages to men online, parties and shopping trips she can’t remember, and phone calls she definitely shouldn’t be making. On New Year’s Eve, she knocks herself out with the infermiterol, and somehow wakes up on the LIRR headed to Reva’s for her mother’s funeral. Because of this misstep, she devises a new plan to lock herself in her apartment and sleep away the weeks until her infermiterol runs out. Afterwards, she emerges from hibernation and returns to life in summer2001 Manhattan in the book’s closing chapters.

Overall, I really enjoyed My Year of Rest and Relaxation. Ottessa Moshfegh is an amazingly talented writer, and is especially skilled at portraying complex characters and ideas, such as mental illness and disgust, in her writing. She successfully manages to depict the narrator as human and a result of her own traumas, without veering into romanticizing or defending her actions. Even though the medications and events within are fictional, the central characters such as the narrator, Reva, and Trevor are very much a reflection of real people, insecurities, and societal patterns. The story also successfully makes a commentary on the 1990s-2000s "yuppie" culture word

in Manhattan before the sobering reality of 9/11, which I especially enjoyed, considering so many of our parents and relatives were very much a part of that demographic.

The writing strongly captures a sense of life for the young and wealthy in early-aughts New York, from the elitist art and social scene to diet culture and superficial beauty standards.

I also especially appreciated the relationship between the narrator and Reva, and the complexities of the dynamic between them. I found Reva to be an extremely sympathetic character, so desperately seeking love and comfort from those around her to distract from internal emotions of despair and worthlessness. Although some may find her superficial, focusing on her appearance and social graces, she only uses these as tools to ease her own suffering and feel the warmth and appreciation of society. The contrast between her and the narrator, who instead chooses to seal herself off from society to nurse her wounds, is very much a central element of the plot. Seeing and understanding each other’s pain makes both Reva and the narrator feel slightly less alone and miserable in their unfulfilling lives. Although the novel contains serious, substantial themes, the inclusion of black comedy truly ties the book together and prevents it from becoming simply a gloomy narrative of mental illness. The narrator’s actions are definitely ludicrous, and reality is distorted just enough to add a darkly silly element to MYORAR: from the effects of the infermiterol to Dr. Tuttle’s cluelessness to the ridiculous concept art of the gallery. The book remains a relevant social commentary without ever taking itself too seriously.

Before I wrap up, there are certain elements of the book that would alienate or unnerve many readers. Ottessa Moshfegh is unafraid to write very graphically, especially about bodily woddrds functions, and there are several scenes that are indisputably gross. At one particular point, I even had to put down the book, close my eyes, and take some deep breaths to erase a particular mental image! Additionally, the novel doesn’t shy away from racism and other forms of prejudice, especially coming from the narrator herself. Although these aren’t condoned in the writing, it’s understandable that many people would be uncomfortable reading a book including them. Eating disorders are also mentioned in deep detail, which was discomforting as well.

In sum, My Year of Rest and Relaxation is a deeply relevant and interesting book, although I wouldn’t recommend it for every reader. If you ’re passionate about psychology, social and cultural patterns, or just love a fascinating, character-driven story, however, this book is a must-read!

By Riya Katriyar

For Five Coffee Roasters is a chain that has already popularized itself throughout Long Island and has now opened a new location on Seventh Street. Although For Five is best known for its coffee, it also offers food: including an array of sandwiches, salads, and cookies. While deciding on my order, I was pleasantly overwhelmed by the menu. Eventually, I settled on an iced coffee, a chicken-pesto burrata sandwich, and a chocolate chip cookie. As expected, the food was delicious! The sandwich w

Courtesy of forfivecoffee.com

Courtesy of forfivecoffee.com was larger and more costly than expected, but that did not detract from the taste. I think it's safe to say that For Five is solidified as my new spot for iced coffee! Not only was the food amazing, but the ambiance of the café made it even more enjoyable. It’s a great environment to catch up with friends, enjoy a relaxing snack, or get some work done. I would definitely recommend checking it out if you haven’t done so already!

Courtesy of forfivecoffee.com

Courtesy of forfivecoffee.com