Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

A wonderfully written story about the adult years of growing up, on a backdrop of the intense creative processes of video game design. I want these games to be real. I want to feel the characters expression through their art.

There are books where it’s a novel situation played out through understandable and straightforward characters. And then there are books where you have no idea how someone can keep so many deep actors in their head, you wonder if they were real people. Each character with their own motivations, and perspective. Sometimes I cheered for them. Sometimes I hated them. Always I loved them.

In any case, it’s a beautiful story. Heartbreaking and tragic.

I liked this. I might not play enough games to fully appreciate it? But I was very into the complicated friendship and the emphasis on the rarity of that connection.

There is a beginning and a middle. The end it's up to you.

This is a very good book about relationships of all kinds - familial, romantic, friendly - and the relationships that are harder to define in a single word. Sure, it's also about video game design, narrative structure, being empathetic and kind, and a little love letter to Southern California. It feels like the 1990s, and also timeless. Zevin writes wonderfully about gender, race, age, and all the ups and downs of those definitions across generations.

Very highly recommended, for people who like people.

I loved a lot of this: the deep character building; the reality-details; and the odd topic of early game development. I found at the end, though, that I didn't love it as much as I had while I'd been reading. I grew to dislike Sadie pretty strongly, and felt like her character didn't get as much development as the men, and therefore her choices and behaviors felt abrupt and awful. I'm annoyed that the one woman in the book wasn't treated as carefully and fully as the other two--it really spoiled the whole barrel for me. Having said that, the story and the writing are pretty amazing in how they pull you in and don't let go.

I didn't feel like there was any clear plot driving this story. I didn't like any of the characters, except Marx. In fact, Sam and Sadie are at each other's throats for the majority of the story. Both holding grudges against perceived slights that have been blown way out of proportion and exacerbated by refusing to talk through their issues. I dislike stories where the main conflict is caused by miscommunication.
I enjoyed the discussion of game design and I would love a chance to play Pioneers!

I picked this book up after seeing it on the "best" list from the Washington Post, and was not disappointed. I am not a gamer. But this isn't really a book about video games -- it is about the fascinating friendship which grows among the main characters. To reveal too much about how these friendships evolve would inevitably give up the

The characters in the book are roughly the same age as me, and there is a lot in this book that will speak to kids of the 80s and 90s. I was practically offended when, on page 99, the Zevin writes that Chris Cornell was "the lead singer of the grunge band Soundgarden." Who else would it be?! Kidding aside, I never felt like this book dragged, and watching the evolution of the friendship felt true. A great read.

Wow, what an unexpected gem. I saw this book on a bunch of best-read lists for 2022, and I was drawn in by the description. I thought I'd be reading a fictionalized version of the history of building video games, like Console Wars, but I got this beautiful book about friendship instead. The closest comparison I can make is The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon. Regardless, this book deserves all the accolades it has been receiving.

A lot to like but it didn’t live up to the hype for me.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read. The alternate history with firm moorings in actual video game development timelines made it feel very grounded and relatable. The principals are all folks with whom I would enjoy having as friends, making it all the more wrenching as they encounter their various heartbreaks and difficulties loving each other as well as they might wish. (And I want to play most of the fictional games!) The Sadie/Sam "we love each other deeply but are never together romantically" angle was refreshing; that sort of dynamic seems underexplored in fiction. Great stuff.

I liked this. I might not play enough games to fully appreciate it? But I was very into the complicated friendship and the emphasis on the rarity of that connection.