3.5 stars ( )

“What touched him the most was the sound of Sadie’s voice, untouched and clarion, speaking to him through a game, across time and space…. Sadie was speaking to Sam. After a long silence, he could hear her voice again, and he determined that what he felt was hope” (337).

This is an archaic story—a hero’s journey through worlds both known and unknown—encoded with a perfectly ‘90s-retro vibe. This is a story about the duality of a game in all its seriousness and playfulness; it’s about life as a game and the birth of an idea into a narrative and then into a game, something anyone can participate in, winning or restarting.

There are two main players in this story—Sadie and Sam, the sometimes collaborators, sometimes best friends, sometimes frenemies. Regardless of their status, though, they are unequivocally connected (always have been) so much so that “[Sadie] almost seemed to be an extension of [Sam], and he, of her” (120). In the cold, grey months of their late-college years, these childhood gamers reconnect in order to collaborate on creating the perfect game—Sam wanting to escape into worlds he builds and controls and Sadie wanting to prove her worth as an elite programmer and artist. Through a series of circumstances, including their authentic chemistry as creators, their relationships with friends and mentors in Cambridge, and the fortuitous time and place of the turn of the century, Sam and Sadie beat the odds, building an overnight success. But their newfound fame, past traumas and insecurities, and complicated working-personal relationships cause a perfect storm, leading to a decades-long odyssey of obstacles and possibility.

This book about gaming and relationships and storytelling is such a worthwhile read, causing a maelstrom of emotions, most especially the slight sting of nostalgia. And it’s that perfectly unique moment in time—right on the cusp of a technological explosion but still in the nascent gaming era—where we get to watch two tragic characters respond to the passing of time; the longing for absent people; and the contrast between an escapist, fantasy world and the reality of a sometimes dark, broken world. In the end, this is a story that you’ll want to restart again and again. ( )

Games People Play

Two young gamers, Sadie and Sam, begin a friendship passing the time during a hospital stay. The friendship develops into a creative relationship and a gaming company.
Along the way the relationship she became strained as the friends begin to play mind games with each other.
I enjoyed the writing, it was a fast read.
The story had insights into relationships, grief, disability as well as the creative process.
Unfortunately I am not a gamer, so the endless description of games bored me. ( )

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a story of friendship and video games. Initially, the story had a slow start, and it took long enough to get to the point. I am myself a video game lover, and it was fascinating to read the technical details of developing a video game. Apart from that, the story focuses on love and friendship. I chose the book as a part of the #52booksin52weeks challenge.

Somewhere, I felt myself dragging myself along with the story. The characters were also not interesting. Although I have heard so much about the book, maybe it was not for me. I would give the book 3 stars. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book I borrowed this on ebook from my library.

Thoughts: Previous to reading this I had also read Zevin's "The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry" which I liked. I had been wanting to read this book for some time. It was an intriguing read and bounces back and forth a lot between characters and time. I ended up enjoying it but also felt like it was a bit slow at parts and wandered off track occasionally.

This is the story of Sam and Sadie, two long time friends who end up meeting again in college and making a video game together. When the game is a huge success, they end up starting their own company together. However, as they face personal disasters and questionable life decisions, they constantly struggle to keep the company together without their creative differences pulling it apart. They both undergo tragedy and pain (in other words this thing we call life) and deal with it in very different ways.

I really enjoyed this look at the gaming industry through time. Sadie and Sam are just slightly older than I am and it was fun to relive my gaming history while they lived through it. Looking at how the industry has changed was both fascinating and nostalgic for me.

Although this is set in a backdrop of the video game industry, this book is really about two amazing people trying to keep their lives together through loss, depression, and tragedy. Sadie struggles a lot with being accepted in the gaming industry as a woman. I did like seeing the contrast and change from when she went to college to when she was teaching college. I could definitely relate to this being a woman and in engineering. Although things haven't changed fast enough in some of the more male dominated industries, they definitely have changed even from when I got my college degree in engineering in the late 90's.

I found both Sadie and Sam to be incredibly frustrating at times; they are both selfish and think they are superior to each other in different ways. However, they both have a unique working style and when they collaborate on work they can make something amazing together. I did think the question of them having a romance was visited too often throughout, Zevin kept trying to drive the point home that they could be excellent co-workers and supportive friends (in their own way) without being lovers. However, it was like she kept second guessing herself. It seemed a bit confused, like even the author here didn't know what she wanted to happen.

The book closes fairly unfinished feeling, however, that is true of these life story kind books and I think it was appropriate for this book as well.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this and am glad I read it. It was a nostalgic look at growing up with video games. I liked some of the extra insight into the industry as well. Sam and Sadie are fascinating, if frustrating, characters to read about. The story also feels a bit unfinished. I have enjoyed both of Zevin's books that I have read and will continue to check out future books by her. They have intriguing characters and always provide some food for thought. ( )