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Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: A novel Hardcover – July 5, 2022
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"Delightful and absorbing." —The New York Times • "Utterly brilliant." —John Green
One of the Best Books of the Year: The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, GoodReads, Oprah Daily
From the best-selling author of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry: On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom.
These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won’t protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.
Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love.
- Print length416 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherKnopf
- Publication dateJuly 5, 2022
- Dimensions6.3 x 1.3 x 9.5 inches
- ISBN-100593321200
- ISBN-13978-0593321201
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Kind of all three, but also not all three. It’s the story of two people who create a video game company. These two, a girl and a guy, used to be friends as pre-teenagers, but had a falling out. In college, they both fall into programming which leads to video game making, which leads to the story at hand as they become friends and business partners. Also, it’s about the other people that come into their life as a result of that, such as the best friend/roommate who goes from theater major to video game producer and the girl’s college professor. The story takes place from 1995 up to present day.
Let’s talk about the two main characters. One is Sam. His trauma is that he has a foot that was broken in a million places, a handicap which has made him taciturn and stoic, though he reads like autistic–overanalytical, judgemental, aloof.
The second is Sadie who also found solace in video games, as her sister had childhood cancer and became the focus of the family’s attention. She bonded with Sam since they both were often in the children’s ward of the hospital. Sadie has bouts of depression and insecurity, even though she’s a game-making genius. This leads to an affair with her foreign-born video game professor who’s one of “those” types (egotistical, pompous, always thinks he’s right and everyone else’s opinion is wrong) and much unhealthy relationshippage occurs.
From the first chapter, I wasn’t sure how this would go down. Since the first main character is Sam, it sounded “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time“. The writing sounded like writing. The dialogue did not sound like how people talk. But I gave it the benefit of the doubt and continued. It starts out almost being a sick kids romance (The Fault in Our Stars, Everything, Everything, Five Feet Apart) But I was able to get past that and into the core of the book, which is about the creation of video games–what ludonarration means, video games as art, as ways to make the audience feel something.
It romanticizes the idea of video game development, ignoring things like “crunch time“, running a business, office politics, and other meta elements that come with complex media production. Instead, the author focuses on the relationship between the people working on the project (e.g. game producers as public figures such as Will Wright or Richard Garriott).
The author is writing video games not as they were but how she wishes they could be. Which would be fine… if the majority of this book didn’t take place in the past. See, the big video game they make is called “Ichigo” and the way they talk about it, it seems to be along the lines of “Limbo” or “Undertale”. It sounds artsy and avant-garde, which would be fine if this took place today. But in 1995, there were no such things. Video games didn’t make people cry in 1995. And they certainly weren’t used as pack-in games for new consoles, which is what this game becomes (as part of a plot point). The top games in 1995 were Quake, Duke Nukem 3-D, Command and Conquer, Super Mario 64, etc. War games. Shooters. Well-established franchises.
You couldn’t be successful unless you were at least a little bit commercial. There is no freakin’ way someone would have made an artsy game as the pack-in. (They weren’t even using pack-ins anymore by this time.) And certainly not a game from a new unproven studio with just two people. There were no Bastions or Insides or Journeys or even Bioshocks that you could point to and say “here’s a successful example of the video game we’re making and that’s why this is going to work.”
So that’s what bothers me the most–the backdrop is not plausible, and I pointed out a hundred times where “this wouldn’t have happened”, “no way should this have happened”, “the industry would have reamed them out if this happened”. The only game during this era I could even try to point to that succeeded was “Myst”. And that game succeeded because it had a big new gimmick–the CD-ROM which allowed complex graphics and FMVs. No such innovations in this book. It wasn’t until 2003 that companies started taking chances with non-traditional games (e.g. “Katamari Damacy” and “Shadow of the Colossus“).
On the other hand, maybe this is the author writing about video games and how they evolved as she wishes they had been. Instead of it all being guns and gore and misogynistic heroes like Duke Nukem and Solid Snake, she wrote a universe where video games catered toward all genders instead of just guys. There’s no reason video games had to be marketed toward boys. It was just what they did in the eighties because executives believed in “there are toys for boys and toys for girls and there is no crossover.”
There is good writing here. I particularly fell for the beautiful chapter in the third act break (no spoilers!). If you don’t know anything about video games as an industry, you will enjoy this book. If you do, you will probably be tempted to throw it away because of how unrealistically it portrays the industry. Myself, I’m halfway on it. The story itself feels like something that could make an excellent Netflix short series. The video game backdrop drove me nuts, but I’d be lying if I said this wasn’t the kind of book I wish I could write.
It’s adorable, sweet, sad, theatrical, character-collaborative-driven-in-spirit, artful, smart, emotional, intellectually rigorous, perceptive, and wonderful…
I could name a dozen more vertiginously exciting . . . vibrant words
to reflect the deep satisfying experience this novel is.
Even at oddball moments, Gabrielle Zevin’s novel flourishes surprising wisdom touching on the most common elements of the heart…..with unforgettable indelible characters.
In totality…….IT’S ALL BRILLIANT!…..and VERY ENJOYABLE!!!
….the writing, narrative, structure, (the gaming), the characters: (major and minor), and their relationships are LOVABLE as can be….
Sadie (Jewish-American) was one of the most brilliant people that Sam (American, part Korean and part Jewish descent) knew.
He hadn’t seen her in years—until he did—since their childhood in Southern California. Sadie went to MIT
Sam went to Harvard…..[Sam’s roommate-Marx- is a crucial part of the story, too]…
Other favorite characters are *grandparents*… GOTTA LOVE the generations — of love….
The context themes of love, loss, and life tragedies, are captured with sincerity, depth, and honesty.
This book could only have been written by somebody who has experienced grief to great lengths. Zevin has an impressive imagination and proficient talent…..leaving us readers with a memorable feat of storytelling, fine prose, and heartbreaking real characters.
I was one of those readers who fell in love with her novel “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry”…..(It wasn’t too ‘sappy’ for me as it was for a few of my friends), but THIS….”Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow”…..is more sophisticated….more fully developed….
Zevin is in her prime with this novel….
……I can’t imagine any reader ‘disliking’ it…..
There is something for everyone….many issues to contemplate!!!!
…..an examination of very profound friendships—
The ‘relationship-complex-love-friendship-issues’ were masterfully explored.
The brilliance shines throughout……
….with a look at the effects of tragedies, violence, illness, death, parents, grandparents, feelings of loneliness, fitting in, admiration for gaming designers….(especially women in the profession)…love for people, love for one another, and an enhanced respect for the benefits of gaming ……
About the aspects of ‘gaming’ ….
…..NOBODY NEEDS TO BE DIRECTLY interested….
But……I realized by the end of this novel (after tearful melancholy feelings), that there are benefits from gaming….
They ‘really’ must improved cognitive abilities, improved problem-solving skills and logic….
BECAUSE….
…..the characters in this novel (who played and created these games) WERE able to apply their technical skills to their relationships. It was subtle—but not-not unnoticed.
So…..parents: I wouldn’t worry if you can’t get your kid to stop playing games too much. It’s amazing how much they are learning about life….in relationship to others.
One more thing I must say …..then I’ll leave a few excerpts…
I thought the very beginning was MASTERFULLY written. I can’t remember ever reading a book that pointed to the ‘past, present, and the future’ at the same time more magnificently. SO WELL DONE!!!
Ok….enough of my excitement….
Here are some excerpts:
“Before Mazer invented himself as Mazer, he was Samson Mazer, and before he was Samson Mazer, he was Samson Mazur—a change of two letters that transformed him from a nice ostensibly jewish boy to a Professional Builder of Worlds— and for most of his youth he was Sam—S.A.M. on the hall of fame of his grandfather’s ‘Donkey Kong’ machine, but mainly Sam”.
NOTE: the above excerpt— written at the start- is worth reading a few times. (IMO)….then let it go…..it will show up in different ways through the rest of the novel.
“Sadie! SADIE! He felt foolish. SADIE MIRANDA GREEN! YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTERY!”
“Finally, she turned. She scanned the crowd slowly and when she spotted Sam, the smile spread over her face like a time-lapse video he had once seen in a high school physics class of a rose in bloom. It was beautiful, Sam thought, and perhaps, he worried, a tad ersatz. She walked over to him, still smiling—one dimple on her right cheek, an almost imperceptibly wider gap between the two middle teeth on top—and he thought that the crowd seemed to part for her, in a way that the world never moved for him”.
“It’s my sister who died of dysentery, Sam Masur, Sadie said. I died of exhaustion, following a snakebite”.
“And of not wanting to shoot the bison, Sam said”.
“It’s wasteful. All that meat just rots”.
“Sadie through her arms around him. Sam Masur! I kept hoping I’d run into you”.
“What brings you to Harvard Square? Sam asked”.
“Why the Magic Eye, of course, she said playfully. She gestured in front of her, toward the advertisement. For the first time, Sam registered the 60-by-40-inch poster that transformed commuters into zombie horde”.
“SEE THE WORLD IN A WHOLE NEW WAY. THIS CHRISTMAS, THE GIFT EVERYONE WANTS IS THE MAGIC EYE”.
Sadie….with those
heterochromic eyes…..
“In which case, the only proper thing for us to do right now is have coffee, Sam said. Or whatever you drink, if coffee’s too much of a cliché for you. Chai tea. Matcha. Snapple. Champagne. There’s a world with infinite beverage possibilities, right over our heads, you know? All we have to do is ride that escalator and it’s hours for the partaking”.
“If this were a game, he could hit pause. He could restart, say different things, the right one’s this time. He could search his inventory for the item that would make Sadie not leave”.
“You would think women would want to stick together when there weren’t many of them, but they never did. It was as if being a woman was a disease that you didn’t wish to catch. As long as you didn’t associate with the other women, you could imply to the majority, the men: ‘I’m not like those other ones’. Sadie was, by nature, a loner, but even she found going to MIT in a female body to be an isolating experience. The year Sadie was admitted to MIT, women were slightly over a third of her class, but somehow, it felt like even less than that. Sadie sometimes felt as if she could go weeks without seeing a woman. It might have been that the men, most of them at least, assumed you were stupid if you were a woman”.
“What is a game? … It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s a possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever”.
Wonderful….as wonderful as can be!!!
elysejody
Top reviews from other countries
I think that it is this ability of exploring different what-ifs that is at the core of the story but ultimately accepting that in real life, you always live in the present. The future could well be a process of inevitable decline and demise, as the Macbeth soliloquy of the title, but that does not mean that the journey is not worth taking. Life is an infinite loop with uncertainty the only certain outcome, and the book takes us along with Sadie and Sam as they navigate their relationship and the real world around them falling in love, hurting, hoping, failing, learning. And in the words of P Schwarz, "a professional futurologist" (my tag), "what increasingly affects all of us .... preparing for a better future, is not the tangibles of life .... but the intangibles: our hopes and fears, our beliefs and dreams. Only stories—scenarios—and our ability to visualize different kinds of futures adequately capture these intangibles".
Perhaps I am stretching it here but this is my understanding and an attempt of a more serious take of the gaming world .... after all it is not just for children and frustrated adolescents.
I would describe the writing style as "matter-of-fact", especially all the cultural references, and , in that respect, it reminded me a bit of Lessons in Chemistry. I have never been a video game fan and I was a bit skeptical every time I would start a chapter with references to this topic but it is all very well balanced so no complaints there. If anything, the author's intimate knowledge of the subject means that with this book we are treated with a "journalistic view" of the business world but equally a "magical view" of the fantasy world.
These parts however felt a bit disconnected and at times "dry". So, as much as I loved the main characters and their story, a 4 1/2 star rating .....
It may be that simple passage of time, and the relentless onset of age, had been one of the factors contributing towards my prejudice. I was just a few years too old to have much experience of the early years of computer/video gaming. The few examples that I encountered as a student were among the vanguard of arcade games, and while I simply loved Tetris, Galaxians and Asteroids, I never really caught the bug sufficiently to progress much beyond that level of participation, even when my nephews and nieces reached the stage of playing Sonic on their megadrive.
However, while the world of gaming provides the backdrop for this book, it is not really about gaming as such. I am sure that if I had been an ardent and accomplished gamer, I might have derived even more entertainment from it, but even without much knowledge of the area, I was still completely hooked by the storyline.
I am not going to attempt to offer any sort of synopsis, beyond saying that it follows the three principal protagonists from their early teens through their time as students, moving from developing games as independent creators 9working on a shoestring) to achieving worldwide success, and then struggling to retain their following and meet the relentless demand for new games.
The characters are brilliantly drawn, and the ebbs and flows of their respective relationships are utterly plausible and compelling.
I do feel a certain frustration because throughout my reading of it, I knew that it reminded my obliquely of another book (not in content, but in style), but I haven’t been able to recall what (down to that relentless surge of age again, no doubt).
Still, I don’t often say this, but for this book, do believe the hype!
The book explores the idea of what if we could relive moments of our lives, knowing the consequences of our choices. Vonnegut's storytelling is both imaginative and reflective, prompting readers to consider their own relationship with time and the impact of past decisions on their present and future.
At its heart, this book is a meditation on the universality of regret and the human desire to rewrite our personal histories. While it may not provide definitive answers, it offers a thought-provoking journey through the intricacies of human experience and the unending march of time.
Readers who enjoy philosophical narratives and existential musings will find "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" a compelling exploration of life's regrets and the tantalizing prospect of second chances.
I cannot see or understand what the rave and hype is all about, I could have left this book quite easily but I like to try and see it through if I can. To me there was no plot, no Central main storyline, no twist or turns. nothing to make you keep page turning or make you never want to put the book down that was all missing for me. There was lots of sections I thought could have been removed from the book they just seen irrelevant to the story, it felt like the author had many ideas amd was just putting them in the book, trying to get in as much in as she could, felt like it didn't gel together.
I do know people love it and say it had a lasting effect on them and the reviews for this book are wonderful, sadly I did not feel the same. I felt like we were just drifting along with these characters seeing what they do or don't do from day to day, yes you read of normal squabbles, differences, friendship, meeting new friends even setting up their own company in what they do but there was no bigness about it (I find this hard to explain) there is some sadness in it but not massively.
The book didn't just hold me so I didn't gel with the story or the characters. It could be just me.
I'm giving this book 4/10.




















