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Please Note: I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.
Synopsis (from Goodreads):
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 over 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.
Review:
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin, follows the highs and lows of a deep friendship. Over decades, Sam and Sadie connect and disconnect. First as children, and then back and forth as adults. I loved that this story touched on so many themes, from love and friendships, to becoming adults, to what it means to be a woman in the gaming industry. It all fits elegantly together to form a tapestry of an unforgettable story.
What I Liked:
Story Structure:
The story is structured as interviews that Sam and Sophie give to media outlets, and as flashbacks. I loved the style. It gave the reader clues to future events in the story, putting together different puzzle pieces. When the pieces fell into place, it was extremely satisfying.
Characters:
Sam and Sadie are very much alike. Both are genius-level intelligent, and awkward with others. When they find each other as children, they feel an immediate connection. But one of the problems that each of them has is that they often read social signals incorrectly. This often creates friction between them, and leads to them "breaking up" for years on end. They have a pattern of connecting and then having terrible misunderstandings that leaves both of them exhausted with each other. Deep down, each of them know they bring out the best, and worst, in each other.
I also enjoyed many other characters in this book, especially Sam's grandparents, who raised him, and Sam's roommate, Marx. At first, Marx seems insignificant to the story. He is Sam's long-suffering roommate and protector. But Marx becomes an important bridge between Sam and Sadie, as well as their business partner. I loved how Marx sort of snuck up on the reader and became a pivotal character for both Sam and Sadie.
Themes:
Friendship is the major theme of the book. Do you have a friend that you haven't talked to in years, but then you call them and it like no time has passed? It's a comforting feeling, but also one that involves loss. Why did you lose touch with them in the first place? What deeper friendship could you have had if you kept them closer? Sam and Sadie have these moments of deep closeness, and even deeper betrayal.
I dearly loved the author exploring what it means to be a woman in a field that is dominated by men. The gaming industry is notorious for treating women poorly. It has been deeply misogynistic and hostile towards women, discounting their contributions and questioning how they even became part of the gaming world. Sadie is constantly having to consider how it will look if she make certain decisions. Will using her former professor's game engine seem like she is incapable of doing great work? Will it look like a man helped her out? Will people take her seriously? Sam never has to face such scrutiny.
What I Was Mixed About:
Perhaps it was intentional, but Sadie deals with a lot of internal guilt, while the men in the story never do. Both Sadie and Sam do some pretty awful things, yet Sadie seems to be the only one who feels bad about them. Her guilt also leads her into destructive behavior that was had to read about. But, Sam is also no angel. You never see him even realizing he has something to be sorry about. Okay, I suppose he does have some guilty feelings, but they are buried DEEP inside.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Release Date: July 5th, 2022
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Viking Press
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Page Length: 416 Pages
Source: NetGalley
Format: E-Book
Recommendation: This is a story about the video game industry, but also of a friendship that ebbs and flows over decades. I was entertained, and really moved by this book.
