Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is an engrossing new novel by Gabrielle Zevin, bestselling author of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. This novel follows two video game creators and lifelong friends, Sadie Green and Sam Masur, whose paths are inextricably linked but never quite perfectly aligned. Sadie and Sam meet as children in a Los Angeles hospital — Sadie is keeping her older sister company as she receives cancer treatment, and Sam is recuperating from a car accident that badly injured his left foot. The two misfits bond over a love of video games and find much-needed escape in Oregon Trail, Super Mario Bros., and each other. Fast forward a few years to 1995, and Sadie and Sam are both attending college in Massachusetts, at MIT and Harvard, respectively. Both are still gamers and both are looking for a way to make their mark on the world. They decide to create a video game together, with Sadie as the main programmer and Sam heading the design and story aspects — the result is Ichigo, a game that catapults their careers farther than either imagined. Gaining a large amount of celebrity in a short amount of time, Sadie and Sam must quickly become adults in order to navigate the business and stay at the top of their craft. Throughout this growth spurt, the partnership endures but the friendship suffers, and Sadie and Sam learn that life doesn’t always afford the unlimited chances one gets in a video game. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a beautifully written story about friendship and art, and the healing power of both.
Before I talk about how much I loved this book, I want to give some background information: I don’t know anything about video games. I didn’t grow up playing video games, and somehow managed to avoid holding controllers all the way into adulthood. And yet, I loved this book. So if you’re hesitant to pick up this book because you’re not interested in video games, here’s my plea to give it a chance — I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow hooked me from the first chapter, and didn’t let go until the very end. I was continuously in awe of Zevin’s craftsmanship; she centers the novel around the complex friendship between Sadie and Sam, but also creates these lush, independent lives for both protagonists so that it feels as if you’re reading three overlapping stories. And these stories are constantly connecting in surprising ways, fitting into each other like puzzle pieces. The characters felt achingly real, and my heart broke every time Sam and Sadie and Marx (their lovable, ever-optimistic friend and producer) missed a connection with one another. Throughout the book, Zevin poses some really insightful questions about why we play and why we create, all while weaving in delightful allusions to Shakespeare, Los Angeles history, and Japanese and Korean culture. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a work of art that’s compulsively readable, and I absolutely loved it.
I’d recommend this book to…
- Anyone who loves reading about friendships based on the mutual love of a craft… it’s similar in theme to The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
- Anyone who delights in elegant writing and mind-blowing storylines… it’s similar in style to Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
- Anyone who wants to sit in that bittersweet spot between sorrow and hope… it’s similar in tone to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett
