Book Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

“To allow yourself to play with another person is no small risk. It means allowing yourself to be open, to be exposed, to be hurt. It is the human equivalent of the dog rolling on its back—I know you won’t hurt me, even though you can. It is the dog putting its mouth around your hand and never biting down. To play requires trust and love.”

Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Review:

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is such a touching, human story about the ups and downs of friendship. It’s been a long time since I’ve been so deeply captivated by a storyline.

The story follows Sadie and Sam from their childhood friendship through to adulthood. Having met in the hospital, it’s needless to say that their relationship hasn’t always been easy. As with most long-term friendships, there is an ebb and flow. This becomes especially true in college and their adult lives when they become collaborators. While the center of the plot is on the ups and downs of their friendship/partnership, we also get to know them as individuals. 

There is a lot happening in this book. I can’t pretend that I followed every bit word for word when I’m at best a casual gamer. There were parts I didn’t understand or plain had no interest in. But the overall story? I loved it. Sam’s flashbacks were my favorite hands down. While I didn’t particularly love the characters themselves (or rather, I didn’t find myself attached to or deeply relating to them), I thoroughly enjoyed their stories and journeys. It’s a heavy read, but such a great example of the human condition. The video game nostalgia is fun, too!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• The focus on Sam’s backstory in particular.
• While the story was mostly told in a linear order, it also had a non-linear timeline. It worked well for me.
• The video game nostalgia! I don’t see gaming a lot in books. Even though I’m only a sporadic gamer, I’ve always been interested in the psychology behind the way people play. This book illustrates what it means to play with or against someone.
• The lack of romance. It’s hard to find a book that shows friendship.

What I didn’t like:

• The technical jargon was over my head.
• There were a lot of scenes that felt unnecessary to the plot which made the book drag in places.

Afterthoughts:

This was such a treat to read. I love finding books that I want to savor. I might have taken longer with this one if not for the end-of-the-year book voting. I don’t know if it’s going to go down as an all-time favorite for me, but it was certainly a highlight of my 2022 reading list. I’m glad it won Book of the Year through Book of the Month!

Where to buy the book: