A review by webtheweeb
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
It is so selfish to even have the thought that a book might be somehow cosmically, impossibly written with you in mind. Still, as a young woman who often has to clamp her mouth tight to avoid constantly talking through the recently discovered miracle of open-world RPG games designed largely with men in mind, I did have that thought, accompanied by ones about how fortunate I am that it’s not, after all, written with me in mind. But I did have that thought. And I did love this book.
What I think Zevin does so brilliantly through her odd third-person omniscient, retrospective narrator is deliver details that catch your eye, innocently at first, details that make you think, “Huh. That’s interesting, but I’m not quite sure why I’m drawn to it,” or “Was that explained? Did I miss something?” and then lulling you into a brief but blissful sense of security, only to absolutely sucker-punch you a page or two later with that delicious piece of information you were missing. My G-d, the poster of Sam’s mom in the restaurant. The careful arrangement of every aspect of Sam’s college life by Marx. The freight, and the groove, and the heads and shoulders. These instances, in some cases, literally took my breath away. I had to close my eyes for a second, breathe, recover. Then dive back in.
I loved that I didn’t particularly love any of the characters. I felt that the narrator allows their reader to maintain a professional distance from the story at hand. You’re dipping into lives, but you are not in them. You are the player, being guided along. And my goodness, does this book understand what it is to love video games.
I had a lot of things I wanted to say in this review. I’m not remembering them all now, but I do know that this book will be clattering about in my head for a while, even though I consumed it in just a day. It was wonderful. It was devastating. It was being understood. It was weird. That second-person Marx POV chapter? Absolutely brilliant and unlike anything else I’ve ever read, and good enough to provoke the catharsis one needs after reading a book with the weight of this one.
All said, I’m so thankful that I finally decided to give this one a try. I think I’m going to start a second Stardew playthrough now.
What I think Zevin does so brilliantly through her odd third-person omniscient, retrospective narrator is deliver details that catch your eye, innocently at first, details that make you think, “Huh. That’s interesting, but I’m not quite sure why I’m drawn to it,” or “Was that explained? Did I miss something?” and then lulling you into a brief but blissful sense of security, only to absolutely sucker-punch you a page or two later with that delicious piece of information you were missing. My G-d, the poster of Sam’s mom in the restaurant. The careful arrangement of every aspect of Sam’s college life by Marx. The freight, and the groove, and the heads and shoulders. These instances, in some cases, literally took my breath away. I had to close my eyes for a second, breathe, recover. Then dive back in.
I loved that I didn’t particularly love any of the characters. I felt that the narrator allows their reader to maintain a professional distance from the story at hand. You’re dipping into lives, but you are not in them. You are the player, being guided along. And my goodness, does this book understand what it is to love video games.
I had a lot of things I wanted to say in this review. I’m not remembering them all now, but I do know that this book will be clattering about in my head for a while, even though I consumed it in just a day. It was wonderful. It was devastating. It was being understood. It was weird. That second-person Marx POV chapter? Absolutely brilliant and unlike anything else I’ve ever read, and good enough to provoke the catharsis one needs after reading a book with the weight of this one.
All said, I’m so thankful that I finally decided to give this one a try. I think I’m going to start a second Stardew playthrough now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Cancer, Mass/school shootings, Racism, and Car accident
Minor: Abortion