Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (2022) 401 pages

I listened to the audiobook on Libby narrated by Jennifer Kim with a short section narrated by Julian Cihi. The title comes from a speech in Shakespeare's Macbeth. A couple of my co-workers have also read and reviewed this novel here on the blog. I really enjoyed this story of two friends, their love of video games, and their careers as game designers. The characters of Sam and Sadie are just a bit older than I am growing up in the '80s and '90s. I remember learning computer skills in elementary school, in part, by playing Oregon Trail. Sadie also shares a love of Magic Eye images, those repetitive patterns that you stare beyond to bring out a hidden 3D object. Their lives and the other people in their lives are so richly drawn and realistic. I found exploring the process of video game design fascinating. The ups and downs of building and marketing their games, as well as family and romantic relationships kept me engaged.

 

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, 401 pages

Sam and Sadie first met at a hospital when they were kids — Sam was a patient, slowly recovering from a crushed foot, while Sadie was dragged along by her mom to visit her sister, who had cancer. But somehow, the two bonded over a shared love of video games, eventually leading them to found Unfair Games with Sam's college roommate, Marx. 

In essence, this book is the story of Sadie and Sam and their complicated relationship with one another, with games, and with themselves. However, that's also a really REALLY misleading description, as it delves into emotional intimacy, the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated field, the changing technologies and trends of video games over the past 30 years, grief, living as a minority in the U.S., and so many other things. And Zevin presents it all with grace and delicacy and a compelling plot full of video games that I, a non-gamer, would totally love to play. I really wish I'd read this one in 2022, as it definitely would have been on my Best of 2022 list. Oh well. I won't let that stop me from suggesting the heck out of this book.