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Barcelona: Edicions del Periscopi, febrer del 2023; 531 p.
Description
In this exhilarating novel by the best-selling author of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry two friends--often in love, but never lovers--come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality. 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. They borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo: a game where players can escape the confines of a body and the betrayals of a heart, and where death means nothing more than a chance to restart and play again. This is the story of the perfect worlds Sam and Sadie build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy. 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 is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, games as artform, technology and the human experience, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before. Cover image: The Great Wave (detail) by Katsushika Hokusai. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.… (more)
Media reviews
To me, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is not about video games or work. It is about stories.
What Sadie and Sam do in the novel – through the guise of video game design – is create stories with and for each other. Unable to replay their past, as both the main characters grow older they
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re-interpret their shared history to play out their future with each other. Unwilling (or unable) to allow Sadie to leave his life, Sam uses the work of game design to try to keep her creating shared stories with him.
A relationship is just another form of world-building. Show Less
Her story begins around the turn of the century, when two college students, Samson Mazer (mathematics at Harvard) and Sadie Green (computer science at MIT), bump into each other at a train station. The pair haven’t spoken since childhood, when they met in the games room of a hospital
Gabrielle Zevin is (...) a Literary Gamer — in fact, she describes her devotion to the medium as “lifelong” — and in her delightful and absorbing new novel, “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow,” Richard Powers’s “Galatea 2.2” and the stealth-action video game “Metal Gear
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Solid” stand uncontroversially side by side in the minds of her characters as foundational source texts.
...
whimsicruelty — a smiling, bright-eyed march into pitch-black narrative material Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member bragan
Sam and Sadie have known each other since they were twelve, and are probably the most important people in each other's lives even if they do repeatedly stop talking to each other for long periods of time. When they are speaking, they make video games together, including some fantastically
I found the video game aspects of this novel far and away the most interesting thing about it. The kinds of game ideas the characters have, the way they approach the creative process of game development, the way they tend to think of the world around them in game terms... all of that is pretty interesting to me, even if some of the philosophical commentary stuff about games and society is kind of shallow.
But the main focus here is on the two main characters and their complicated relationship, and that just never quite worked for me the way it should have. I feel more like I'm just sort of told about the bond between these people and the love they have for each other without really experiencing it, while being shown the negative stuff -- the crappy things they do to each other, the stupid misunderstandings and uncharitable assumptions and lifelong lack of good communication -- in much more detail. I also feel like the author was trying very hard to make these characters feel flawed, interesting, and sympathetic, and, well, they are clearly deeply flawed but I never found them more than mildly interesting, and as for sympathetic... They, are, I suppose, but mostly in that way where, with real people, you have to keep telling yourself, "they've been through a lot, and you need to cut them some slack" until you've guilted yourself into not being annoyed with them. Since they're not actually real people, though, I don't think I have to feel guilty and am allowed to just feel annoyed. Which I do. I'm sorry, but the truth is they're just kind of annoying people.
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successful ones.I found the video game aspects of this novel far and away the most interesting thing about it. The kinds of game ideas the characters have, the way they approach the creative process of game development, the way they tend to think of the world around them in game terms... all of that is pretty interesting to me, even if some of the philosophical commentary stuff about games and society is kind of shallow.
But the main focus here is on the two main characters and their complicated relationship, and that just never quite worked for me the way it should have. I feel more like I'm just sort of told about the bond between these people and the love they have for each other without really experiencing it, while being shown the negative stuff -- the crappy things they do to each other, the stupid misunderstandings and uncharitable assumptions and lifelong lack of good communication -- in much more detail. I also feel like the author was trying very hard to make these characters feel flawed, interesting, and sympathetic, and, well, they are clearly deeply flawed but I never found them more than mildly interesting, and as for sympathetic... They, are, I suppose, but mostly in that way where, with real people, you have to keep telling yourself, "they've been through a lot, and you need to cut them some slack" until you've guilted yourself into not being annoyed with them. Since they're not actually real people, though, I don't think I have to feel guilty and am allowed to just feel annoyed. Which I do. I'm sorry, but the truth is they're just kind of annoying people.
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LibraryThing member gbill
An immensely readable page-turner from Gabrielle Zevin, this is the story of two nerdy kids from Los Angeles who meet again in their college years in the 1990’s, and begin creating video games together. It’s an entertaining story that you could easily imagine being made into a movie, but at the
There is wisdom in her writing of immigrant and mixed-race experiences, especially as she shows great balance in doing so – the defense of what some would label “cultural appropriation” and critique of those who overuse being threatened and not feeling a classroom is a “safe space” early on the book was fantastic. Similarly balanced were her characters – the protagonists were presented with flaws, and one of the characters we find ourselves cringing over has some good qualities too. The story does dip into melodrama, especially with one event in particular, but the way she wrote that chapter (#7, The NPC) was brilliant, and one of my favorites. Zevin also dreams up some pretty cool game ideas! And might consider a side gig aside from writing. :)
Quotes:
On cultural appropriation (or the overuse of):
“The alternative to appropriation is a world where white European people make art about white European people, with only white European references in it. Swap African or Asian or Latin or whatever culture you want for European. A world where everyone is blind and deaf to any other culture or experience that is not their own. I hate that world, don’t you? I’m terrified of that world, and I don’t want to live in that world, and as a mixed-race person, I literally don’t exist in it.”
On being a mistress:
“And so she’d be cool, because that’s what mistresses were. Mistress, Sadie thought. Sadie laughed a bit to herself, thinking this was what it was like to play someone else’s game: to have the illusion of choice, without actual choice.”
On negativity:
“And yet, he knew himself and he knew he was the type of person that never called anyone, unless he was absolutely certain the advance would be welcomed. His brain was treacherously negative. He would invent that she had been cold toward him, that she hadn’t even had a class that day, that she had simply wanted to get away from Sam. His brain would insist that if she’d wanted to see him, she would have given him a way to contact her. He would conclude that, to Sadie, Sam represented a painful period in her life, and so, of course, she didn’t want to see him again. Or, maybe, as he’d often suspected, he meant nothing to her – he had been a rich girl’s good deed. He would dwell on the mention of a boyfriend in Harvard Square. He would track down her number, her email address, her physical address, and he would never use any of them. And so, with phenomenological heaviness, he realized that this very well could be the last time he ever saw Sadie Green…”
On parents:
“She found Marx’s father to be bright, interesting, and engaged. Other people’s parents are often a delight.”
On positivity:
“Sam used to say that Marx was the most fortunate person he had ever met – he was lucky with lovers, in business, in looks, in life. But the longer Sadie knew Marx, the more she thought Sam hadn’t truly understood the nature of Marx’s good fortune. Marx was fortunate because he saw everything as if it were a fortuitous bounty. It was impossible to know – were persimmons his favorite fruit, or had they just now become his favorite fruit because there they were, growing in his own backyard? He had certainly never mentioned persimmons before. My God, she thought, he is so easy to love.
On short-term affairs (a line of reasoning I would struggle with):
“Long relationships might be richer, but relatively brief, relatively uncomplicated encounters with interesting people could be lovely as well. Every person you knew, every person you loved even, did not have to consume you for the time to have been worthwhile.”
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same time, the writing is excellent and effortless, and Zevin really inhabits the psychology of her characters while immersing us into the gaming world in this timeframe. Without beating the reader over the head, she also gets one to understand some of the difficulties of being a woman in the world of high-tech, as well as in relationships.There is wisdom in her writing of immigrant and mixed-race experiences, especially as she shows great balance in doing so – the defense of what some would label “cultural appropriation” and critique of those who overuse being threatened and not feeling a classroom is a “safe space” early on the book was fantastic. Similarly balanced were her characters – the protagonists were presented with flaws, and one of the characters we find ourselves cringing over has some good qualities too. The story does dip into melodrama, especially with one event in particular, but the way she wrote that chapter (#7, The NPC) was brilliant, and one of my favorites. Zevin also dreams up some pretty cool game ideas! And might consider a side gig aside from writing. :)
Quotes:
On cultural appropriation (or the overuse of):
“The alternative to appropriation is a world where white European people make art about white European people, with only white European references in it. Swap African or Asian or Latin or whatever culture you want for European. A world where everyone is blind and deaf to any other culture or experience that is not their own. I hate that world, don’t you? I’m terrified of that world, and I don’t want to live in that world, and as a mixed-race person, I literally don’t exist in it.”
On being a mistress:
“And so she’d be cool, because that’s what mistresses were. Mistress, Sadie thought. Sadie laughed a bit to herself, thinking this was what it was like to play someone else’s game: to have the illusion of choice, without actual choice.”
On negativity:
“And yet, he knew himself and he knew he was the type of person that never called anyone, unless he was absolutely certain the advance would be welcomed. His brain was treacherously negative. He would invent that she had been cold toward him, that she hadn’t even had a class that day, that she had simply wanted to get away from Sam. His brain would insist that if she’d wanted to see him, she would have given him a way to contact her. He would conclude that, to Sadie, Sam represented a painful period in her life, and so, of course, she didn’t want to see him again. Or, maybe, as he’d often suspected, he meant nothing to her – he had been a rich girl’s good deed. He would dwell on the mention of a boyfriend in Harvard Square. He would track down her number, her email address, her physical address, and he would never use any of them. And so, with phenomenological heaviness, he realized that this very well could be the last time he ever saw Sadie Green…”
On parents:
“She found Marx’s father to be bright, interesting, and engaged. Other people’s parents are often a delight.”
On positivity:
“Sam used to say that Marx was the most fortunate person he had ever met – he was lucky with lovers, in business, in looks, in life. But the longer Sadie knew Marx, the more she thought Sam hadn’t truly understood the nature of Marx’s good fortune. Marx was fortunate because he saw everything as if it were a fortuitous bounty. It was impossible to know – were persimmons his favorite fruit, or had they just now become his favorite fruit because there they were, growing in his own backyard? He had certainly never mentioned persimmons before. My God, she thought, he is so easy to love.
On short-term affairs (a line of reasoning I would struggle with):
“Long relationships might be richer, but relatively brief, relatively uncomplicated encounters with interesting people could be lovely as well. Every person you knew, every person you loved even, did not have to consume you for the time to have been worthwhile.”
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LibraryThing member franoscar
I don't know. Spoilers.
Some parts were better than others.
I don't know if the attack on the video game company in 2005 makes sense; the one guy's wife had left him for a woman she met in a video game?
I had some issues & questions about the position of the narrator. I got stuck on the brief summary
Some parts were better than others.
I don't know if the attack on the video game company in 2005 makes sense; the one guy's wife had left him for a woman she met in a video game?
I had some issues & questions about the position of the narrator. I got stuck on the brief summary
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of the events of 9/11. The author chose to have the narrator refer to it vaguely & imprecisely. I wondered if the goal was to sow mistrust of the narrator, but that didn't seem to be the case. Or was it to indicate that the event didn't really get into the characters' consciousness? Like, that's how they thought of it? Some buildings hit by some planes. Show Less
LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
I was a bit wary of starting this book, because the reviews are very 'Marmite' - and also, Sunday Times bestsellers are not my friends - but overall, I'm giving four stars for readability. Think Normal People does Ready Player One, written by Donna Tartt and following a plot from Tara Jenkins Reid
Did I have issues with the book? Well, of course! The characters are irritating and wholly unrealistic, from Sadie the manic pixie mean girl who holds petty grievances against her 'best friend' and has bad taste in men, to Sam, who is only marginally less pathetic than Jude from A Little Life. Marx, the good-looking plot device of a best friend turned love interest, ticks so many boxes that he's just crying out for a Netflix adaptation. Also, the writing veers between narrative voices like Daisy Jones and is insultingly simplistic in places: “The poor man’s Chris Cornell,” Marx whispered, referencing the lead singer of the grunge band Soundgarden. Also, yes, I do know what doppelganger means and I'm embarrassed for any Americans who fall into Sam's dismissive demographic.
Quick to read, glad to finish.
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- unlikeable characters, ridiculous plot, surprisingly addictive reading. And the gaming aspect didn't bother me, either - I have no interest in games, but Zevin writes programming and graphics like Walter Tevis covers chess.Did I have issues with the book? Well, of course! The characters are irritating and wholly unrealistic, from Sadie the manic pixie mean girl who holds petty grievances against her 'best friend' and has bad taste in men, to Sam, who is only marginally less pathetic than Jude from A Little Life. Marx, the good-looking plot device of a best friend turned love interest, ticks so many boxes that he's just crying out for a Netflix adaptation. Also, the writing veers between narrative voices like Daisy Jones and is insultingly simplistic in places: “The poor man’s Chris Cornell,” Marx whispered, referencing the lead singer of the grunge band Soundgarden. Also, yes, I do know what doppelganger means and I'm embarrassed for any Americans who fall into Sam's dismissive demographic.
Quick to read, glad to finish.
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LibraryThing member RidgewayGirl
This is the story of two people who meet when they are young and thought their lives they alternate periods of intense friendship with long stretches of not speaking to each other. Along the way, they design some computer games and found a company. The tone of the story is angsty and full of
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unspoken longing, very YA in feel (this is not to disparage the genre, but as a descriptor of the tone). Much of the drama and angst of this story would not occur had the characters ever been willing to have an open conversation, which leads me to my frustration with this book -- I have little patience for conflicts that could be solved over a five dollar Frappuccino. Talk to each other, people. That said, there was one chapter in which the death of a character was described as though they were playing a video game which was surprisingly effective, but I did run out of patience for the two main characters long before I ran out of book. Show Less
LibraryThing member Bauernfeind
Wow, not my type of book. Although it's the old boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy finds girl again theme it is so filled with online gaming jargon and obtuse references that it is difficult to follow. The whole story could have been accomplished in half the pages (almost 400) if following a game
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or games had not been introduced so often. Show Less
LibraryThing member Helsky
This is very much a book about video games. Playing, planning, making and marketing them. This is also a book about friendship that spans decades and is not always so friendly. The writing style is detailed and the story jumps between past and present always telling what we need to know just now.
This is not the easiest book to read if you are not very familiar with gaming, as I am not. The gaming aspect is very strong and told in intricate detail. It pays off to read something totally out of your comfort zone. You might learn something new. Enjoy the ride.
Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for a copy of this book.
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Sam and Sadie are complex and real characters. My favorite character is Marx. He's kind and gentle and always knows what to say and how to proceed.This is not the easiest book to read if you are not very familiar with gaming, as I am not. The gaming aspect is very strong and told in intricate detail. It pays off to read something totally out of your comfort zone. You might learn something new. Enjoy the ride.
Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for a copy of this book.
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LibraryThing member reader1009
fiction - an immersive and masterfully rendered story about videogame designers falling in and out of friendship/love, each with their own challenges, dreams, and heartbreak,1990s-2000s Cambridge/Los Angeles (TW: unhealthy relationships, car accidents, gun violence, anti-gay protests).
Samson
Samson
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Masur/Sam Mazer (hapa--half Korean, half white) suffered a terrible car crash at the age of 12 that shattered his leg, and has been in love with Sadie since she befriended him over videogames at the hospital, but has never been able to tell her. Sadie Green has dealt with bouts of depression throughout her life, and feels slighted all too often when gamers assume that she, a woman, could never have contributed as much to any of their games' successes. (Korean-American/Japanese) Marx Watanabe decides to take Sam under his wing when they are assigned as first-year roommates together at Harvard--he originally enjoyed college theater more than anything but gave it up to help produce Sadie and Sam's games when it became clear that his Asian face would never get any of the roles he wanted; he is the glue that keeps things from falling apart, and the grease that keeps everyone working. Show Less
LibraryThing member FlowerchildReads
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was one of my most anticipated books of 2022. This was probably too much pressure.
While it’s true this is story that is told around video games, that’s not what it’s about. This is about two young people who find each other at a very vulnerable time and
Gabrielle Zevin is a uniquely gifted writer that never tells the same story twice, there’s no formula, genre, often talking what feels like a hard pivot between books. The single constant is her ability to craft a rich, engaging story with deeply human characters. She is the character actor of writers, immersive, method, and a beat all her own. There’s so much I deeply loved about these characters, their journey, the very honest and raw nature of their connection. Ultimately, for me, the story ended up feeling uneven in the second half, almost overloaded.
I think Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a highly discussable book, an excellent pick for a buddy read. I recommend for fans of Robin Slone. Paramount has the movie rights to this so keep an eye out!
I received a digital copy from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
While it’s true this is story that is told around video games, that’s not what it’s about. This is about two young people who find each other at a very vulnerable time and
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bond. There is a betrayal, years apart, and a reconciliation. The structure is told around a small group who design a game that becomes a viral hit. The story however is about the relationships. It’s about found family, a community, common language and history. It’s a story of misunderstanding, grieving, and forgiveness. Gabrielle Zevin is a uniquely gifted writer that never tells the same story twice, there’s no formula, genre, often talking what feels like a hard pivot between books. The single constant is her ability to craft a rich, engaging story with deeply human characters. She is the character actor of writers, immersive, method, and a beat all her own. There’s so much I deeply loved about these characters, their journey, the very honest and raw nature of their connection. Ultimately, for me, the story ended up feeling uneven in the second half, almost overloaded.
I think Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a highly discussable book, an excellent pick for a buddy read. I recommend for fans of Robin Slone. Paramount has the movie rights to this so keep an eye out!
I received a digital copy from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
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LibraryThing member kmartin802
This story was an intriguing exploration of friendships wrapped around the rise of the video game industry. It spans about thirty years beginning with Sophie Green, who is eleven and hanging around the hospital where her sister is being treated for leukemia, meets Sam Masur who is in the hospital
They meet again as college students with her at MIT and him at Harvard. She's in a gaming class and somehow the two of them decided to make a game together with the assistance of Sam's Roommate Marx. When the game Ichigo is a hit, the three of them form a company to make and market their games.
Along the way, they all have personal successes and failures and business successes and failures. Their friendships wax and wane. Even though each of the characters was a deeply flawed personality, I enjoyed learning about them and watching them grow and change over the years.
The story had a complex timeline with lots of changes of viewpoint and lots of flashbacks. Each was more fascinating than the last. Sam's chronic pain was woven throughout the story and helped define his personality. Sadie suffered from bouts of depression. Marx was the most normal though he was dealing with his own issues too.
The story was filled with issues from the chauvinism Sadie faces as a female game developer to Sam and Marx's Asian heritages to each character's basic loneliness and feelings of isolation.
It is a hard book to describe since it is a story of long friendships and love in many forms, and it is a story about work in a field that makes many demands on those in it. I enjoyed this book very much.
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for one of many surgeries on his damaged foot sustained in a car accident that killed his mother. They are two lonely, bright children who bond over playing computer games. But the friendship is broken when Sam learns that Sadie has been keeping track of the hours they spend together - more than 600 of them - for the community service portion of her Bat Mitzvah. He feels betrayed and they don't speak for years.They meet again as college students with her at MIT and him at Harvard. She's in a gaming class and somehow the two of them decided to make a game together with the assistance of Sam's Roommate Marx. When the game Ichigo is a hit, the three of them form a company to make and market their games.
Along the way, they all have personal successes and failures and business successes and failures. Their friendships wax and wane. Even though each of the characters was a deeply flawed personality, I enjoyed learning about them and watching them grow and change over the years.
The story had a complex timeline with lots of changes of viewpoint and lots of flashbacks. Each was more fascinating than the last. Sam's chronic pain was woven throughout the story and helped define his personality. Sadie suffered from bouts of depression. Marx was the most normal though he was dealing with his own issues too.
The story was filled with issues from the chauvinism Sadie faces as a female game developer to Sam and Marx's Asian heritages to each character's basic loneliness and feelings of isolation.
It is a hard book to describe since it is a story of long friendships and love in many forms, and it is a story about work in a field that makes many demands on those in it. I enjoyed this book very much.
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LibraryThing member bumblybee
DNF at 24%.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a story about Sadie and Sam's friendship and game development partnership over the years. I had concerns going in that it would be everything I hated about Ready Player One, but thankfully Zevin treads a very different path with regard to gaming
However, the one constant issue I had with the quarter of the book I read was the narration. Instead of allowing scenes to happen and flow organically, we're given highly summarized snapshots, and even then, the narrator goes off on tangents to describe elements of a character's past or to insert a future interview snippet. This makes the read feel bogged-down and heavy - which is disappointing as it's very clear that Zevin is a great writer, and I did want to know what happened with the characters. I just really was not enjoying the read enough to keep going and push through another 75% of it.
Thank you to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a story about Sadie and Sam's friendship and game development partnership over the years. I had concerns going in that it would be everything I hated about Ready Player One, but thankfully Zevin treads a very different path with regard to gaming
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nostalgia - if you disliked RPO as much as I did, you might just find this one to hit the spot. However, the one constant issue I had with the quarter of the book I read was the narration. Instead of allowing scenes to happen and flow organically, we're given highly summarized snapshots, and even then, the narrator goes off on tangents to describe elements of a character's past or to insert a future interview snippet. This makes the read feel bogged-down and heavy - which is disappointing as it's very clear that Zevin is a great writer, and I did want to know what happened with the characters. I just really was not enjoying the read enough to keep going and push through another 75% of it.
Thank you to Knopf Doubleday and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.
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LibraryThing member susan.h.schofield
This was another excellent book by Gabrielle Zevin. It is a story of friendship and love about friends who are video game designers. Sadie and Sam meet at 11 year olds and the book follow them into their thirties. Marx was my absolute favorite character in the book. It was so well written and all
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the characters - even lesser ones like Dov, Zoe, Simon and Ant - were interesting and well developed. I highly recommend this book. Thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC. Show Less
LibraryThing member tamidale
I’m a bit surprised at myself for reading this book since I am not a gamer. Pacman became popular when I was still in school, but it seems like gaming really took off during the years my kids were growing up. I’m pleased to let readers know that you don’t have to be a gamer to enjoy this
The three main characters, Sadie, Sam and Marx were likable and they each brought a different talent to the games they developed. Sam and Sadie met when they were pre-teens and formed a deep friendship, then went years without seeing each other. They just happened to bump into each other years later when they were finishing up with college and that meeting led to them teaming up with Marx to develop a game.
These three had some complicated relationships. I loved their friendships and their interactions with other characters in the story. At one difficult point in the story I felt like the author wrote so compassionately about what Marx was going through. This portion was my favorite part of the book because it was so touching.
I’m not going to lie—there was a lot of talk about the games they developed and at times my attention wavered, but overall this was a great read.
Many thanks to NetGally and Knopf Publishing Group for allowing me to read and advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.
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book.The three main characters, Sadie, Sam and Marx were likable and they each brought a different talent to the games they developed. Sam and Sadie met when they were pre-teens and formed a deep friendship, then went years without seeing each other. They just happened to bump into each other years later when they were finishing up with college and that meeting led to them teaming up with Marx to develop a game.
These three had some complicated relationships. I loved their friendships and their interactions with other characters in the story. At one difficult point in the story I felt like the author wrote so compassionately about what Marx was going through. This portion was my favorite part of the book because it was so touching.
I’m not going to lie—there was a lot of talk about the games they developed and at times my attention wavered, but overall this was a great read.
Many thanks to NetGally and Knopf Publishing Group for allowing me to read and advance copy. I am happy to give my honest review.
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LibraryThing member arlenadean
Title: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Knopf
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
My Assessment:
The story was wonderfully delivered to the reader about how this
Thanks to Knopf Publishing Group and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my review.
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Knopf
Reviewed By: Arlena Dean
Rating: Five
Review:
"Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
My Assessment:
The story was wonderfully delivered to the reader about how this
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starting gaming process as it started for the three friends... Sadie, Sam, and Marx. The read is long but will keep your interest as you turn the pages to the end. The author did an excellent job at keeping the story and timelines as the reader understood the compelling narration of what was going on between the characters. The story will not be all happy, and there will be 'complexities, love, relationships, death, stress, growing up, friendship, and grief' along with some exciting video games presented in this story. It was interesting to look behind the scenes that go into coming up with how these gamers work hard to develop these games. The story will keep one captivated. This was my first time reading about gaming, and I was indeed impressed by this reading.Thanks to Knopf Publishing Group and NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my review.
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LibraryThing member Twink
I admit, I didn't even look at the description of Gabrielle Zevin's new novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. I picked it up as one of her past books, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. is a favorite of mine.
So, it was a surprise going in. Video games play a large part of the book and that is
On first meeting the adult characters, I thought - oh, I'm not keen on them at all. And then I realized how 'real' they were. Zevin hasn't sugar coated anything. Each and everyone of them has strengths and weaknesses. And yes, I was talking out loud quite often, questioning the actions, decisions and paths that Zevin sets her players on. They were perfect in their realistic portrayal. All of the emotions you can think of are found in the lives of Sadie, Sam, Marx over the course of decades. The supporting characters are just as well drawn. And I was completely immersed in their lives. Each of the lead three is given a voice and we are privy to their thoughts, emotions and actions.
And where do all those years take the three? Sometimes where I wanted and often where I didn't want to go. But again, Zevin has written "the good, the bad and the ugly' paths for her characters to travel. Just as we do.
I chose to listen to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Which really worked for me - I was drawn into the story in a way a print book would not have. The reader was Jennifer Kim and I thought she was a great choice. Her voice suits the plot and style of writing. Her voice is clear, easy on the ears and enunciated well. Her speed of speaking is just right. She captures Zevin's characters and plotting easily, giving movement to her narration. Julian Cihi has a lesser role as a narrator, but again, the voice is perfect for the mental pictures I had drawn of the characters. A wonderful presentation of a book I didn't think I would enjoy. I was so very wrong - I loved it.
Don't wait for tomorrow - pick up a copy of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow today.
So, it was a surprise going in. Video games play a large part of the book and that is
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immediately introduced. And I thought, this book isn't for me. But then I was drawn in... Zevin's imagined games are fascinating and yes, they beckon to the listener to come in and be a part of them. (I was truly fascinated by the details of designing games and the reasoning behind certain decisions.)On first meeting the adult characters, I thought - oh, I'm not keen on them at all. And then I realized how 'real' they were. Zevin hasn't sugar coated anything. Each and everyone of them has strengths and weaknesses. And yes, I was talking out loud quite often, questioning the actions, decisions and paths that Zevin sets her players on. They were perfect in their realistic portrayal. All of the emotions you can think of are found in the lives of Sadie, Sam, Marx over the course of decades. The supporting characters are just as well drawn. And I was completely immersed in their lives. Each of the lead three is given a voice and we are privy to their thoughts, emotions and actions.
And where do all those years take the three? Sometimes where I wanted and often where I didn't want to go. But again, Zevin has written "the good, the bad and the ugly' paths for her characters to travel. Just as we do.
I chose to listen to Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Which really worked for me - I was drawn into the story in a way a print book would not have. The reader was Jennifer Kim and I thought she was a great choice. Her voice suits the plot and style of writing. Her voice is clear, easy on the ears and enunciated well. Her speed of speaking is just right. She captures Zevin's characters and plotting easily, giving movement to her narration. Julian Cihi has a lesser role as a narrator, but again, the voice is perfect for the mental pictures I had drawn of the characters. A wonderful presentation of a book I didn't think I would enjoy. I was so very wrong - I loved it.
Don't wait for tomorrow - pick up a copy of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow today.
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LibraryThing member pgchuis
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.
I'm quitting this at 16%. I requested it because I loved 'The Storied Life of AJ Fikry' so much, but I am not the right reader for this book. It reads young adult to me and it is about gaming, a genre and activity I have no interest
I'm quitting this at 16%. I requested it because I loved 'The Storied Life of AJ Fikry' so much, but I am not the right reader for this book. It reads young adult to me and it is about gaming, a genre and activity I have no interest
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in. I am also finding it rather slow. I know Zevin to be a good writer and so I hope other readers enjoy this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member bookworm12
A mixed bag for me. Part of me loved the complicated relationships and gaming descriptions, but it was also exhausting because the characters are so selfish. It reminded me of The Marriage Plot (book) and Mythic Quest (TV show).
“Marks was a prodigious reader and he felt like Sadie might be the
“Marks was a prodigious reader and he felt like Sadie might be the
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kind of book that one could read many times and always come away with something new.” Show Less
LibraryThing member nancyadair
What is a game? Marx said. It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption,”
from Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
In the 90s, my son and husband bought me The Sims. They were both gamers and thought I needed to be
Our son and my husband still game, sharing tips. Right now my husband is building a railroad. I can hear the ‘choo choo’ sounds now and then. Our son’s friends all game and they have known each other since college days when they gamed three or four times a week. Now working men, they game online weekly.
I still don’t game. I read. I have always read. Back in 1969 when I was a high school junior I purchased Immortal Poems of the English Language; mind you, I got $2 a week allowance and I spent 90 cents on this book. I loved poetry. And one poem I underlined and later highlighted was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a work I had not yet even read.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
from Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Pretty dark stuff.
To Marx, a character in Gabrielle Zevin’s remarkable novel named for that Macbeth speech, a game offered something life did not: a do over, as many as you need to get it right.
Few of us get it right in life, and Zevin’s characters are just human. There is Sam Masur whose crushed foot encompasses his life in deep paid for decades. And Sadie Green, the gamer girl who became his soul mate when they meet at eleven years old. They fit together, until they didn’t. Sam is unable to be open about his feelings and pain and needs, Sadie making assumptions about Sam’s motives and actions.
Marx, Sam’s college roommate, loves them both and is the oil that keeps things going. Especially when the group embarks on creating their own game, which becomes a huge hit and propels them into fame.
Over decades, these characters come together and separate, battling demons and each other. It’s a riveting story that I could not wait to get back to every night, reading past my normal bedtime. My heart was broken several times. They are visited with worldly grief and pains, abuse, loss, death, hurt. Years pass without Sam and Sadie speaking to each other.
Then they get a do-over. And our hearts soar.
You can play Sadie’s first game, Emily Blaster here.
On a personal note, I loved the use of William Morris’ textile design The Strawberry Thief which informs Marx’s experience. And that Sam found a dog that was part Shiba Inu, our breed of choice for 30 years. It was fun coming across games that our son played as a kid, like Oregon Trail.
My son called dibs on reading this book next. He was a writing major, but it was his gaming experience that landed him a job that turned into his career. You have to love that.
Thanks to #AAKnopf for a free book.
from Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
In the 90s, my son and husband bought me The Sims. They were both gamers and thought I needed to be
Show More
brought into the fold. I found it nerve racking. I kept killing my Sims. I could not deal with the guilt. My husband, on the other hand, became obsessed with The Sims.Our son and my husband still game, sharing tips. Right now my husband is building a railroad. I can hear the ‘choo choo’ sounds now and then. Our son’s friends all game and they have known each other since college days when they gamed three or four times a week. Now working men, they game online weekly.
I still don’t game. I read. I have always read. Back in 1969 when I was a high school junior I purchased Immortal Poems of the English Language; mind you, I got $2 a week allowance and I spent 90 cents on this book. I loved poetry. And one poem I underlined and later highlighted was Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow from Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a work I had not yet even read.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
from Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Pretty dark stuff.
To Marx, a character in Gabrielle Zevin’s remarkable novel named for that Macbeth speech, a game offered something life did not: a do over, as many as you need to get it right.
Few of us get it right in life, and Zevin’s characters are just human. There is Sam Masur whose crushed foot encompasses his life in deep paid for decades. And Sadie Green, the gamer girl who became his soul mate when they meet at eleven years old. They fit together, until they didn’t. Sam is unable to be open about his feelings and pain and needs, Sadie making assumptions about Sam’s motives and actions.
Marx, Sam’s college roommate, loves them both and is the oil that keeps things going. Especially when the group embarks on creating their own game, which becomes a huge hit and propels them into fame.
Over decades, these characters come together and separate, battling demons and each other. It’s a riveting story that I could not wait to get back to every night, reading past my normal bedtime. My heart was broken several times. They are visited with worldly grief and pains, abuse, loss, death, hurt. Years pass without Sam and Sadie speaking to each other.
Then they get a do-over. And our hearts soar.
You can play Sadie’s first game, Emily Blaster here.
On a personal note, I loved the use of William Morris’ textile design The Strawberry Thief which informs Marx’s experience. And that Sam found a dog that was part Shiba Inu, our breed of choice for 30 years. It was fun coming across games that our son played as a kid, like Oregon Trail.
My son called dibs on reading this book next. He was a writing major, but it was his gaming experience that landed him a job that turned into his career. You have to love that.
Thanks to #AAKnopf for a free book.
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LibraryThing member jghewson
Like the man said..."Utterly brilliant. In this sweeping, gorgeously written novel, Gabrielle Zevin charts the beauty, tenacity, and fragility of human love and creativity. One of the best books I've ever read." —John Green
LibraryThing member sublunarie
This novel exceeded my expectations in almost every way.
A true insight into how our internal, emotional lives steer the ship in our relationships. How the relationships we have with people, no matter how complicated, are the glue that holds us together.
A true insight into how our internal, emotional lives steer the ship in our relationships. How the relationships we have with people, no matter how complicated, are the glue that holds us together.
LibraryThing member shelleyraec
I adored Gabrielle Zevin’s novel, The Storied Live of A.J. Fikry, so I leapt at the opportunity to read Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow.
The novel features two characters, Sadie and Sam, who meet as children and bond over video games. Zevin then shares the ups and downs of their personal and
It’s just been awarded the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction so my disappointment with the story seems to be uncommon. I thought the focus on gaming might be a barrier but that wasn’t an issue, though I’m not a gamer I found the industry details quite interesting. My issue was that even while I actually really liked the portrayal of the complicated relationship between Sadie and Sam, I didn’t care for them as individual characters. The disconnect meant I struggled to stay interested, which was not helped by problematic pacing.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow has a lot of stans, unfortunately I’m not one of them.
The novel features two characters, Sadie and Sam, who meet as children and bond over video games. Zevin then shares the ups and downs of their personal and
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professional relationship over the next three decades.It’s just been awarded the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction so my disappointment with the story seems to be uncommon. I thought the focus on gaming might be a barrier but that wasn’t an issue, though I’m not a gamer I found the industry details quite interesting. My issue was that even while I actually really liked the portrayal of the complicated relationship between Sadie and Sam, I didn’t care for them as individual characters. The disconnect meant I struggled to stay interested, which was not helped by problematic pacing.
Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow has a lot of stans, unfortunately I’m not one of them.
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LibraryThing member Citizenjoyce
Wow, what a book, and I'm not even a gamer. If I were I don't know that I'd be able to go on to another book for a while until I'd digested this one. As it is, I'm just thankful that I found this wonderful story that both uplifted me and drove me crazy. There's a reason I went into labor and
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delivery instead of psychiatric nursing. Depression is too frustrating. I admire people who can deal with it both from the aspect of the depressed person and from the viewpoint of her friends. I won't name all the facets of life Gabrielle Zevin covers here. I've enjoyed her other books but this one is everything. I've done almost nothing for the past 2 days but read it. I can't remember the last time that happened. Show Less
LibraryThing member rmarcin
Sam sees Sadie in a crowded subway station in Boston, after years apart. Sadie and Sam first met when they were very young, as pre-teens. Sadie's sister is in the hospital for treatment, and Sam is there due to a car crash and the subsequent injuries. They bond over video games, but when it comes
However, when they meet again, Sadie asks Sam to review a game she has created. In doing so, Sam and Sadie are brought back together. Their collaboration along with Sam's roommate and guidance from Sadie's teacher/married lover, jolts them into stardom. They become extremely successful, but with success comes tragedy.
Sam and Sadie love each other, but never become romantically involved. Rather, this story tells a tale of ups and downs that life takes and it is a journey of missteps, as well as ambition, heartache, and forgiveness.
A cleverly written story in the world of video games which will appeal to those who are gamers, especially.
Heartbreaking at times, and at other times, hopeful - it is an epic story.
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to light that Sadie was logging service hours while visiting Sam, he feels a betrayal of her friendship. However, when they meet again, Sadie asks Sam to review a game she has created. In doing so, Sam and Sadie are brought back together. Their collaboration along with Sam's roommate and guidance from Sadie's teacher/married lover, jolts them into stardom. They become extremely successful, but with success comes tragedy.
Sam and Sadie love each other, but never become romantically involved. Rather, this story tells a tale of ups and downs that life takes and it is a journey of missteps, as well as ambition, heartache, and forgiveness.
A cleverly written story in the world of video games which will appeal to those who are gamers, especially.
Heartbreaking at times, and at other times, hopeful - it is an epic story.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bookappeal
Lots of kids say they want to be video game developers but the two main characters in Zevin's novel actually do it. Meeting as kids in a difficult situation, Sam and Sadie formed a unique bond and then didn't see each other for years. When they're reunited during college, their special friendship
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doesn't need much of a spark to re-ignite. But the real magic happens when they collaborate on a game. Sam and Sadie's relationship is complex and compelling, especially as other characters move in and out of their lives over the years. Zevin packs this story with a lot of elements - possibly too many - and uses overly long descriptive passages to envelop the reader in different settings. Overall, though, the journey is worth it as these characters, much like the field in which they work, grow and change. Show Less
LibraryThing member Jonez
4.5
Reminiscent of one of my favorite movies, "A Home at the End of the World." This is more than just a story about video game development, it is more than a nostalgia trip. It's about the power of love and friendship. This book made me cry, and that is a rare thing for a book to do. The
Reminiscent of one of my favorite movies, "A Home at the End of the World." This is more than just a story about video game development, it is more than a nostalgia trip. It's about the power of love and friendship. This book made me cry, and that is a rare thing for a book to do. The
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characters, this story and writing griped me hard, and it's refusing to let go. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2024)
National Jewish Book Award (Finalist — 2022)
The Morning News Tournament of Books (Quarterfinalist — 2023)
RUSA CODES Reading List (Shortlist — 2023)
Wingate Literary Prize (Shortlist — 2023)
Books Are My Bag Readers Award (Shortlist — Fiction — 2023)
BookTube Prize (Octofinalist — Fiction — 2023)
Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award (Shortlist — 2023)
NPR: Books We Love (2022)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction/Poetry — 2022)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Fiction — 2022)
Globe and Mail Top 100 Book (2022)
Los Angeles Public Library Best of the Year (Fiction — 2022)
LibraryReads (Monthly Pick — Hall of Fame — July 2022)
Lariat Adult Fiction Reading List (Selection — 2023)
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best: Adults (Selection — 2022)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2022-07-05
Physical description
531 p.; 21 cm
ISBN
9788419332158