Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

I bought this as everyone raves about it - some even saying it is the best book they've ever read.It's very well written. The main characters are flawed which I liked although sometimes I didn't like them. At all.I laughed, I shed a tear.Bit whimsical in parts.But what I had of wish I'd known before I dug in, is - the main characters are gamers. So lots of tech talk. Lots of game explanations and dialogue about games. Even the lives of the characters and their experiences or feelings are at times, explained through the lens of a game.I'm not a gamer. I get the 'using games to explain life experiences and the, if only we could wipe a level out and start again' trope - sure. 'Or respawn.' Wouldn't that be great. And yes, some games are unwinnable.But the general tech parts of games to me I found a bit trying to read.Maybe not for generation X.But I you're a gamer - and love a tale of friendship over the decades - this book is for you!

This was a great genre-defying novel which I picked up purely after seeing it on a table in the bookshop. I’m not sure what I was expecting - possibly something aimed at a younger audience based on the cover - but it’s not that.This is essentially a romance - but a complex, modern, neuro-atypical romance between friends and colleagues, which feels incredibly realistic and relatable.Zevin carefully builds up her characters and world, following them from their late teens, gradually revealing their formative years and letting the audience begin to understand what makes them tick.The setting is perfect for me to relate to, being around geeky popular culture and software development, and this definitely helped draw me in. I did find however that the book to me some time to get through - there’s a lot to take in emotionally, and I don’t feel that lends itself to consuming large portions in short timeframes.Really good, and I’ll definitely be looking out for more opportunities to explore Zevin’s works.

Sometimes a book comes along that makes you reevaluate everything – who you love, how you love, and why you love. A deeply-felt exploration of platonic love with the imaginative intensity of Daisy Jones and the Six and the tenderness of Lily King, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow reminded me of how the best books can make us truly *feel*. Wonderful.

I was on board for most of this but then it never really went anywhere and fizzled out entirely by the end. Ultimately the whole thing felt like a vehicle for the author to explore different sides of their self-identity without revealing any real insight. So we have Ivy League nerds. We have a bi-racial only child. It's all terribly middle class. And then there are some under-developed side characters: A gay couple who are game designers, an absent Jewish dad who is an LA talent agent, a manic dream pixie composer girlfriend who spends most of her time in her underwear to get closer to her instrument... It all felt OK on the page until it evaporated into nothingness. Most disturbing is the Israeli gaming guru who cheats on his wife with his students and has a nasty sideline in handcuffing them to his bed while he goes out to run errands. Somehow the female lead keeps him in her life and seeks his approval. That entire relationship felt like it should have been left out of the book and left in a therapy session.The book hinges on conflict between characters who like each other. The conflicts never felt real. None of the emotional beats were ever really earned and the murder of a lovable sidekick to create dramatic tension was fairly unforgivable. There was some nice ideas in here, but it turns out to be less than the sum of its parts.

A tale of friendship, a lesson in love and a perpetual game of life with its infinite number of second chances, lost opportunities and endless challenges. And at the centre - love and friendship of course.“What is a game?" Marx said. "It's tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It's the 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.”A chance meeting at a hospital is to connect the lives of Sadie and Sam through video gaming and home entertainment. A relationship that is tested, grows, changes, and suffers from many of the obstacles life creates - love, greed, misunderstanding, vanity, discrimination, domestic violence, abuse, death and many more. However, the constant in their lives is the love and ambition for building and playing video games. Yet, like many winning partnerships, their loyalty is tested when fame and success enter their lives and the two struggle with each other, despite the intervention of their loyal friend Marx.While the book includes many side stories and sub plots, the core to this book is the relationship between Sadie, Sam and also Marx with some important themes for the reader to reflect on. There is a sad moment in the book that will play on my mind tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow!!! But I will not spoil here.It was all about the writing style and relationships for me that took the meaning of gaming to a whole new level. The characters felt so real and genuine which came through in the writing and turned a seemingly ordinary plot into something extraordinary.A modern take on some timeless themes. A story of reinvention, infinity, and the possibility of a different life, but also a stark reminder that life is complicated, complex, painful and sometimes intolerable but it is also what we make of it. Despite the distractions and when the game of life becomes the cruelty of life, it is up to the individual to decide on the appropriate course of action, because after all there are no rules and no winners. Just love and friendship made better through willingness and forgiveness. The focus on relationships was superb but I particularly loved the reinvention of Sadie and Sam’s relationship. Overall an excellent book, there is no doubt that this book will continue to be enjoyed by many tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow!!!.