Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
It feels as though reading was always a part of my life. My older sister, Jackie, helped me learn to read (she was a strict teacher, “making” me sound out words, rather than letting me be lazy about figuring out difficult, multi-syllabic words). And my mother was an avid reader; she read far into the night and was fairly forgiving when it came to allowing us to delay chores when we were reading. Plus, she never censored any books that my sisters and I wanted to read.
I took those same approaches with my daughter, and I’m proud to say that she, too, is a passionate reader. In fact, she probably reads more broadly and prolifically than I do (and that’s saying something!).
The book club that I joined more than 20 years ago also is great for “pushing” me into reading books that would not typically be on my list. I love fiction...historical fiction...fiction with a strong thread of fantasy...fantasy...poetry. I generally eschew non-fiction. Period. BUT...my book club friends always include non-fiction (and poetry) books in our yearly selections. Thanks to them, I have read many memoirs and biographies, and I have thoroughly enjoyed them.
As much as I love reading, many books are vaguely disappointing. I am never disappointed by books authored by Margaret Atwood, Barbara Kingsolver, and Maggie O’Farrell. One of my favorite books is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. John Irving is officially off my list of all-time favorite authors (after The Last Chairlift...yeah...I’m pretty done with Irving, even though he penned one of my all-time favorites: A Prayer for Owen Meany).
As I write this post, I just finished a book that I loved. It is a book that was made even better with pitch- perfect narration by Jennifer Kim and Julian Cihi. That book is Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by an author I never knew before: Gabrielle Zevin.
The plot is simple: Sam and Sadie (each 12 years old) meet in a hospital where he is a patient and Sadie's sister is a patient. They spend long hours getting to know each other, via video games, and become the best of friends. But...friends have disagreements, and Sam and Sadie part ways. In college, they meet again, and their even deeper friendship leads to their creating a video game and, ultimately, to forming a business that includes Sam's college roommate, Marx.
I am not a "gamer"; in fact, I have never played a video game. However, that knowledge gap was not a barrier to this book. The characters and character development...the gorgeous writing...the creating of interesting new worlds...the sometimes messy friendships...the striving to make something important...the possibilities of restarting life and making different choices, via video games...the tragedies that befall every life...the fact that tragedy can either make or break a person...the ways in which broken people change and return stronger. All of those things made this book memorable. I read it as obsessively as a person might play a video game, and I am recommending it to everyone I know.
Wow. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. An amazing book. A book I want everyone to read...so we can talk about it.
Check out my Goodreads page for more of my books...and more of my reviews. And...please...read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/111111954?ref=nav_mybooks
