I’m going to call this post and review of Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow the very first post of the Regular Folks’ book club! For some time now, I have been playing around with the idea of making a little online book club here on the blog. I have wanted to start sharing more in depth reviews of books I’ve been reading and be able to chat with y’all in the comments about what you thought about the book, and your opinions on things in it!
Quick Synopsis
This book is having a big moment right now, it is very popular and was recommended to me many times before I finally picked it up. The story primarily follows the lives of two video game programmers, Sadie and Sam. Sadie and Sam were childhood best friends who bonded over video games and they reconnect in college. The story follows them deciding to create a game together; the successes and failings that follow; and the general ups and downs of life, career, and their friendship over the course of years and years.
Thoughts and Feelings
I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this one because it is so much about video games. Despite being heavily about video games, I found the book very palatable as someone who is a “non-gamer”. I do however, know what most of the current and past popular video games are about, so I was able to make the connection and understand what was being referenced throughout the book. If you have NEVER played a video game in your life, nor heard of a single game, this book is probably not for you. Beyond the video game aspect, at its core, this is a coming of age book, which I always love, and if you enjoy that kind of book as well, I think you will also enjoy.
Great character development and character dynamics, even if the constant miscommunications between Sadie and Sam drove me insane. They were, however, realistic of the miscommunications that plague us when we are younger. What I think is probably purposefully ironic about these two characters is that they claim to apparently understand each other so well and complement each other so well, but at the same time, they lack such basic communication between them that it results in frequent miscommunication and bickering between them. Despite this, it is easy to find yourself rooting for them the whole time.
Spoilers Ahead
I was personally not a fan of Marx’s character. To me, he was TOO perfect and then went on to be a literal martyr for the company. I understand that he was probably supposed to appear so perfect to emphasize the imperfections of Sadie and Sam, but regardless it was annoying how perfect he was. I wanted some flaw to him!
There were some parts that used some interesting writing techniques— I’m interested what y’all thought about these parts. Did they lose you here or did you like them? When Marx is in a coma following the shooting and it’s talking about him as a bird and seeing the world as an out of body experience, I thought it was highly emotional and I loved it, but it was definitely a turn from the way the rest of the book was written, so it initially caught me off guard. Also, the part of the book that changes perspective into the farming game. I wasn’t as big of a fan of this part, but it was fun for a bit trying to understand what the heck was going on.
My biggest criticism was that I really got a bit lost around the 70-80% mark of the book. It got a little slow and I felt like things could have been trimmed down a bit.
One thing I really appreciated about this book is that Sadie and Sam don’t end up together. Them ending up together would have been the easy, happy ending and the expected one after their year and years of friendship and history. One of the big themes in the story is the depth of friendship and how sometimes friendship can be more intimate than a relationship. But also how friendships are not linear and have peaks and valleys. This book’s portrayal of friendships I found to be highly relatable. The friendships that you develop in your late teens and early 20s become like family and you often think they are unshakable at the time; however, they evolve and change as you evolve and change with age. Case in point this quote from the book that I highlighted (obviously very foretelling of later on in the story of Sadie and Sam):
Promise me, we won’t ever do this again,” Sadie said. “Promise me, that no matter what happens, no matter what dumb thing we supposedly perpetrate on each other, we won’t ever go six years without talking to each other. Promise me you’ll always forgive me, and I promise I’ll always forgive you.” These, of course, are the kinds of vows young people feel comfortable making when they have no idea what life has in store for them.
Final Score
Overall I give this one 4.5/5 stars. I didn’t want to put it down the majority of the time I was reading it and I got highly invested in the characters. While it was primarily focused on a topic that I don’t know a ton about, it was easy to get sucked into the story and their world.
If you read, what do you think of it? Share your thoughts below! 🙂
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