Book Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the 2022 novel by Gabrielle Zevin that fed my Xenial heart. I was born in 1979 in a microgeneration that sort of belongs to Gen-X but also has some Millennial characteristics but also is kind of its own thing. While the characters in the book and the author herself are a few years older than me, when reading this book, I felt like it was written for people right around my age.

It’s a book about young people pursuing their dreams. It is a book about the process of creating something new, video games in this case. It is a book about friendship and the strength of friendship in a non-romantic relationship. However there is also romance in this book.

I can see this book being made into a movie in a few years.

Here is what I loved about it:
I loved that it started off with the two main characters playing Super Mario Brothers in the late 1980’s. Then progressed to them attending college in the 1990’s. Then progressed to the post- 911 world. It is a book that takes readers through the last 30 or so years.
I enjoyed the discussion about the process of creating video games. There wasn’t a ton of discussion about game creation but it was interesting to learn a little bit about how video games are created. Though I do not necessarily label myself as a gamer, though I do play games sometimes, I have had enough experience playing video games to understand what was being introduced. I do not think one must be a gamer to appreciate this book.

I also liked that while the blurb on the cover of this book emphasizes that this is not a book about romantic love, there was some romance in this book. Katie likes a little romance, it keeps things interesting.
I like that Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow felt original. It reminded me of Michael Chabon’s The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay except about video games not comics and written from a female perspective. Some aspects of the relationship between the two main characters reminded me of Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.

Ultimately it is a book about two friends creating art who don’t always get along but keep making art anyway.
I recommend it if you like stories about creativity, art, video games, the 90’s and 2000’s, and friendship.