Read this Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow review for everything you need to know about Gabrielle Zevin’s bestselling, award-winning book. There are helpful reading tips, pros and cons, and more. You’ll learn whether it’s worth reading and what it all means. Let’s get literary!
Quick Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Review
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin contains content involving: car accident, cancer, suicide, death, grief, amputation, toxic relationship, sexism, abusive sex involving domination, homophobia, depression, and gun violence.
Plot Summary (Without Spoilers)
In Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, Samson “Sam” Masur and Sadie Green meet in a hospital as children during the 1980s. She’s there with her sister, who is receiving cancer treatment. He broke his foot in a car accident in which his mom died. They quickly bond over their shared love of video games, but life tears them apart.
Years later, Sam is a Harvard student, and Sadie is an MIT student. He spots her at a Boston train station and yells out to her, referencing the video game “The Oregon Trail”:
“SADIE MIRANDA GREEN! YOU HAVE DIED OF DYSENTERY!” (p. 6)
They reconnect and their lives forever change as a result. Together, they create their first blockbuster video game, “Ichigo,” before graduating college. Along with Sam’s roommate, Marx Watanabe, they start the company Unfair Games.
But, intelligence and success aren’t all glamour. Over 30 years, their friendship experiences epic peaks and valleys characteristic of love, family, work, and play. However, here, they’re all mixed together, along with themes like discrimination and identity.
The Main Point
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is about having a life in which the most important person is your best friend, for better or worse.
For more, watch the book trailer:
Is It Worth Reading?
PROS AND CONS
PROS
- Lush literary prose
- Uniquely blended themes of life, literature, and video games
- Diverse representation of race, class, sex, sexual orientation, disability, etc.
CONS
- Slow burn
- Excessive trauma
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is often called literary fiction about friendship and video games. I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment.
Drawing thoughtful reference to Shakespeare’s Macbeth, it’s both plot and character-driven, which is not an easy feat for an author to accomplish.
I like to say that it starts very well and continues on that path until, at one climactic event, it becomes something remarkable. (When you get there, you’ll know it.)
It left me begging the book not to end. It’s an unforgettable tale of identity, love, and, of course, the importance of “play” that people will discuss for years to come.
Reading Tips
TIPS
- Use these Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow discussion questions to read this thought-provoking book with your book club.
- I very much enjoyed the audiobook version of this novel, but I think it would work well in any format. I hope to read my print version someday because the writing is so beautiful.
- Macbeth is not necessarily a book you need to read before you read this book, but it does help to know the plot and Macbeth’s famous soliloquy, which inspired the title. I read the play and watched the 2021 adaptation, The Tragedy of Macbeth, starring Denzel Washington in tandem with this book. I found the experience of indulging in all three at the same time to be very impactful.
- You do NOT need to like video games to read this top-rated book. Yes, they are a big part of it, but you don’t need any baseline knowledge or interest to understand and enjoy it.
- For more, check out Gabrielle Zevin’s interview on The Tonight Show, which was both cool for an author to have the chance to do and insightful.
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remember, it’s a good day to read a book. – jules
