A Novel About Friendship, Disguised as a Novel About Video Games
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin tells the story of thirty years of friendship, creativity, and conflict between Sadie and Sam, two video game developers who build an empire together — and nearly destroy their bond in the process. You don’t need to know anything about video games to be swept away: it’s primarily a novel about people.
A Structure That Spans Three Decades
The novel follows Sadie and Sam from their first meeting as teenagers in a hospital to adulthood, covering college, their first successful video game, and all the crises — personal and professional — that arise. Zevin skillfully manages the time jumps without ever losing the emotional thread of the story.
The Real Theme: Creation as an Act of Love
Under the surface of the narrative about the world of video games, the novel explores what it means to create something together with another person — and how this process can be more intimate, and more dangerous, than a romantic relationship. Sadie and Sam are never a couple in the traditional sense, yet their bond is one of the most intense in recent contemporary literature.
Strengths
The secondary characters — particularly Marx, the third non-protagonist member of their development studio — are written with the same depth as the protagonists. Zevin avoids simplification: none of the characters are purely heroes or antagonists; each makes understandable and painful mistakes.
Weaknesses
The sections dedicated to the technical description of video game development, while well-documented, can slow the pace for those not interested in the topic. However, they remain a minority compared to the main focus on the characters.
Who This Book Is For
If you loved ensemble novels about long-lasting friendship, or simply seek a story that can move you without easy sentimentality, this book is for you — whether you know what it means to program a video game or not.
The Verdict
One of the most beloved and awarded novels in recent years, and rightly so: it is rare to render a complex, enduring, and imperfect friendship so vividly on the page. A read that lingers long after the last page.
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