Reviews tagging Terminal illness

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin

18 reviews

lilybearillini3's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is easily one of the best books this year, if not the best fiction.  There were many points when I was moved to tears.  It is absolutely beautifully written and the narrator's voice (for the audiobook) was perfect and calming.  

I honestly don't know how to write a review for this and do it justice, I am at a loss of words.  It is a story of great friendship, love, and trials.  Every character had their complexities and were not always, if at all, likeable

Spoiler

except Marx, Marx is perfect

, but that is reality.

There was never a dull point of this book, I was interested and engaged the entire time.  The choice to show their friendship over decades was refreshing and I also really liked that we didn't switch POVs every chapter, I feel like that concept has been played out.  The video game nerd in me loved that the author did their research on video game history and what it takes to make video games.  While I don't like the miscommunication trope, I didn't find myself frustrated.  I understood why they weren't communicating because the characterization was so well done.

I normally don't go into books with expectations, but John Green said it was one of his favorite books of this year, so the need to read it was urgent.  John Green didn't let me down.  It was truly an honor to read Sadie, Sam, and Marx's journey.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Ableism, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Abortion, Drug use, and Cultural appropriation

Minor: Antisemitism and Terminal illness

toriauricht's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Injury/injury detail, Grief, Medical content, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexism, Pregnancy, Car accident, Terminal illness, and Mental illness

Minor: Drug use

isleoflinds's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

I went into this book with mixed expectations. I tried reading it when it was first released, but couldn't get into it. When it started getting a lot of attention, I heard a negative review for it that made it sound really interesting, so I took another shot. As an ace person who is pretty steeped in nerd culture, I was really excited for a story sold as "two friends who were often in love -- but never lovers." To that end, I was not disappointed. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow delivered all the gaming nostalgia and a heart-tugging story about a different kind of love. However, there were elements of the book - especially the second half -  that were tedious and, at least to me, undercut a lot of the first half seemed to build up to. 

I thought that the characters - Sadie and Sam - were really well-rounded and flawed, but believable people. I was disappointed in the development of the character Marx, who felt most often like a plot device despite also appearing to be almost as significant as Sam and Sadie. Many of the tropes included about halfway through also felt unnecessary and I think a lot of the tension between Sadie and Sam could have happened without employing them. In general, I think Sadie's story was marred by too many gender-related difficulties. I know that being a woman in tech (now, but especially in the 90s) was difficult, but the bulk of the harm she experienced wasn't even related to her work, and I just wish we could have seen her face other issues. 

The structure of the book was incredibly compelling - it is built around the vague idea that each "part" is its own game. Especially in the first half of the book, I could really feel the themes aligning with the structure of the book in an intriguing way. The story took a lot of turns in the second half that were just not for me (

Spoiler

miscommunication trope, two accidental pregnancy tropes for the same character, dead baby daddy, and just a general waste of what could have been a really enlightening use of the NPC chapter concept.

) and I do think it affected my reading. The execution of Part IV was by far my favorite use of the novel's video game structure, however, and made the closeout of the story more satisfying.

Overall, I think that Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow had great bones for a story, I just wish it had been a little shorter and/or that it had spent more time considering the significance of Marx. In a story about the complex ways that people can love one another, Marx was central to this, and making <spoilers>the NPC</spoilers> seemed more of an afterthought to be profound rather. 

My final very small complaint is the little statement at the end about <spoilers>"this generation thinking their whole personality is their trauma." I am a millennial, so perhaps this very Gen X sentiment just isn't for me, but in 2022, the inclusion of this bit feels quite purposeful. It was said and largely abandoned, squeezed in at the end and unexplored. Why say something that significant and then end the book with "oh I guess maybe our trauma made us who we are too... or maybe not!" Trauma use colloquially often refers to 'the difficult things I have experienced in my life that give me perspective on the world and how I interact with it.' Perhaps this is nuanced, but it just felt quite dismissive and not necessary.</spoilers>

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Gaslighting, Sexism, Terminal illness, Torture, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/injury detail, Mental illness, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Classism, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, and Sexual violence

chichisode's review

adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

if a little life was less trauma porn and more of just "life happens to us and sometimes life means shit", also video games and just games in general. but we keep going. fucking cried when the reasoning behind the title was revealed on page. strong read for escapists— yes, even when you're not a gamer.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Homophobia, Injury/injury detail, Medical content, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, and Hate crime

Moderate: Car accident, Genocide, Ableism, Cancer, Abortion, Alcohol, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Drug use, Eating disorder, Suicide, Pregnancy, Antisemitism, Vomit, War, and Violence

owenwilsonbaby's review

dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

"Maybe it was the willingness to play that hinted at a tender, eternally newborn part in all humans. Maybe it was the willingness to play that kept one from despair."

A book that had so many lines I wanted to include here that I actually found it pretty hard to choose. Zevin has crafted such a wonderful piece of art. There are so many layers to this that I think I need to reread it almost immediately. The entire last third made me want to ugly cry. Every scene of this book was on the surface about moving its tightly-wound plot onward, yet simultaneously managed to further an extraordinary portrait of play, art, ethics, performance, love and sex, disability and illness, relationships and family. Zevin's ideas about these varied topics are finely painted, always finding room for levity, lightness, nuance and exploration. At the same time, the scenes that lean more heavily into these themes never feel like they lack depth. If anything, the lightness of touch here in everything from narrative voice to plotting to recurrent images and motifs felt carefully considered. I learned so much about the gaming world and its history which I have never really interacted with before. And yet most of all I feel the novel's important insights boiled down to how humans relate to and care for another. That despite everything, in the end, love can be very simple. The conversation with Dong Hyun near the ending of the book where he incredulously looks at Sam and says "Are you kidding? [...] Everything is funny now." Insane. I wanted to sob.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Ableism, Racism, Terminal illness, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Drug use, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Classism, Mass/school shootings, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Xenophobia

gabe7372's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Gun violence, Homophobia, Injury/injury detail, Murder, and Suicide

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Abortion

eregriel's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Cancer

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexism, Racism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Drug use, Cursing, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Medical content, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Drug use, Classism, Toxic friendship, and Abortion

kelsea's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, and Gun violence

Moderate: Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion and Terminal illness

jennikreads's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Cultural appropriation, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/injury detail, Gun violence, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexism, Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Cursing, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Blood and Car accident

Minor: Terminal illness, Cancer, and Abortion

breekeeler's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An incredibly beautiful books about creativity and passion and love and friendship. A book about what it means to connect and what it means to be happy. Zevin isn’t afraid to wade into the messiness of life, yet the book doesn’t ultimately feel nihilistic. Instead it feels heartwrenchingly honest and even hopeful. I am so glad I picked this one up. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Medical content, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Gun violence

Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexism, Abortion, and Terminal illness