Thank you for the opportunity to read 'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow'.

Initially, this seems to be a book about gaming which is not a topic I know much about however, it develops into so much more - a story over a period of about thirty years, charting the relationship between Sam and Sadie who meet as adolescents. Their relationship is deep and very human with its joys and painful times.

I was fascinated to read that Gabrielle Zevin's parents actually worked in the gaming industry and Sam's cultural background is similar to Sam's. There are obviously autobiographical aspects to the novel.

I’ll start by saying that I absolutely loved this novel set in the world of independent computer games from the 90s onwards.

It took me a chapter or so to get into the book but then I was swept up in the story of Sam, Sadie and Marx – who end up setting up a games company with games created mostly by Sam and Sadie.

Sam and Sadie themselves first meet when Sam is in hospital as a child and he runs into Sadie who develops a close bond with Sam who has suffered a trauma that we only become fully aware of later on in the novel.
The timeline flickers back and forth, with flashbacks from the near present – interviews given to Kotaku – but the narrative really flowing from the time that Sam and Sadie find themselves both at college at the same time.
This is a story that fully immerses itself in video games and the culture of setting up a video games company. But in truth it’s also about relationships – at the heart of it, Sam and Sadie. And the relationship between those characters is very real. They rely on each other to create their games, but they also hurt one another at times. Between them is Sam’s roommate from college, Marx, who is the do-er who gets their company set up and provides the initial resources to allow them to follow their dreams.

This beautiful book fully conveys the world of independent gaming, and while I have never been a hardened gamer, there was enough here for me to recognise the depth to which author Gabrielle Zevin has gone to create this world.

I came away from this book really wanting to play Ichigo, their launch title the gameplay of which is beautifully described.

Thoroughly recommended.

Gabrielle Zevin is a writer I have always admired. She doesn't disappoint in this novel about two gamers. Sam Masur and Sadie Green meet as children in hospital where they bond over a love of computer games. They mature into successful game designers whose internal worlds deeply affect their relationship. Game playing is a central theme in an unusual yet worthwhile read.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a novel about video games, and friendship, and ultimately about kinds of love and what it takes to create things. Sam and Sadie meet in a hospital in 1987 and bond over Super Mario, but then their friendship falls apart. Years later, both at college, they run into each other in a train station. Immediately they know they must be friends again, and they start working to make a game together, along with Sam's roommate Marx. Together, they create a game and find success, but as they attempt to build upon this and make more, it is clear that the real world isn't as perfectly designed as a game one.

This is an intriguing book, especially for anyone who likes gaming. From the opening, it is clear that the world of video games is very much intertwined with it, as well as being the narrative as the protagonists work to make games, and it's fun to have those references within it, as it has a real sense of gaming history. There's a lot of description of making games and what they put into the games, and some interesting exploration of things like gender and sexuality within the gaming world, and ideas of cultural appropriation in games. A section later in the book is written as a game (for a reason that becomes clear) and that felt like something a bit different and fresh, though at first it might feel like a sudden departure from the narrative.

Other than games, the book is particularly centred around friendship and love, and different kinds of relationships. In particular, there's Sam and Sadie's dynamic, which the book examines a lot and even looks into some of their moments of miscommunication, showing how things aren't as simple when they aren't scripted in a game. The focus on the love within friendship is very important, and especially when it can also be tempestuous and blurred between business partners and friends. Marx is also a great character, bringing out how there's often other people's work behind big creative partnerships, but also showing a quietly purposeful kind of friendship between him and Sam.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow (on a side note, I really enjoyed when the title was explained, both for the reference and why it is relevant) is a surprising book, a novel that focuses on video games and creating art, but also on friendship above all else, and the work that goes into friendships as well as creating video games. The narrative voice is distinctive, filled with detail and prescient comments, and might not be for everyone, but the content and worlds the book explores feel fresh, a different take on nostalgia and building on the past.

This is one of my favourite books of the year. It is a beautifully written story, the unconventional love story of two people who meet aged 11.. If you were to read that it is about gaming, and creation of the games, you might not wish to read it. Don't be deterred! It's simply a really good story that I rushed through, enjoying all the twists and turns. It's a reflection on what's important growing up, family and friendship, oh and a bit of Shakespeare too.

I've been a huge fan of Zevin's work since the incredible Elsewhere came out in the UK and this book betters even that,
I'm not a gamer but like the best books or films not knowing the intricacies of this world didn't detract at all, enough detail was given that I could follow everything and it made me want to play some of the games created.
So many different topics are touched on in the novel which will make great discussion points in book groups but it never became an 'issues' book - just a fantastic novel about a cast of characters who you love/hate/are exasperated by as you would be in real life.