Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Sadie and Sam are old childhood friends who bump into each other while both are in college. As children they had spent a short but intense time together, sitting in a hospital room, playing video games. Just that little spark their random meeting reignites their turbulent friendship. And so there lifes end up entangled in a complicated relationship of platonic love, rivalry, support and fighting, long times of cool abscense and short intense periods of fruitful coworking. All of this is connected by the main character's love for computer games, as they try to establish a video game company.

This story was very well written and constructed, sucking you right in, although nothing much happens except for you know humans. It has a sharp humor to it, and I enjoyed every minute.

A short warning, though: The main characters Sam and Sadie are not likeable at all. They are complicated, ambitious and sometimes outright mean to each other. You'll end up asking the empty room in which you happen to be while reading: "Why are you like this?". But I still ended up rooting for those two weird people and most importandly their friendship, which is not cosy but stormy, to say the least. So, but maybe that is love? Learning to accept one another, weathering the storm?

A last note: This book deserves a content warning for abusive relationships and sexual abuse...

But I didn't enjoy it. Though I can understand why people might like it, I won't be recommending it to anyone.

Overall I think I just found Sam and Sadie unlikeable as characters. I feel like they were pretty jerky to everyone around them, and each other, and themselves, for pretty much of the time.

I also didn't like how some elements of the story were "ret-con'd" in several chapters later: "oh hey, I never mentioned he's had a dog this whole time, well he has, and now I'll detail those past events, even though we're five chapters beyond that point." And on a similar point, there are several plotlines and characters that get introduced that seemingly go nowhere, or just outright get left undeveloped after they serve their singular purpose of introducing "blank". Like, for example, the dog.

Finally, I found the ending completely unsatisfying. I know this is a subjective point, but the last page kind of just happened and then I realised that the next bit of text was acknowledgements and not another chapter.

No tenía ni idea de lo que iba a leer, solo sabía que era bueno y que iba de videojuegos, había referencias y eso. Así que imaginé que sería algo de ciencia ficción tipo "Ready player one", iba yo muy despistado 😅.

Pero lo he disfrutado mucho mucho, es una novela, que por supuesto va de la vida misma, y de sus personajes, y que gira en torno a los videojuegos, que disfrutarás más si has jugado y conoces las referencias, pero que tampoco son necesarias.

Me ha tenido muy enganchado, MUY bien escrita, de verdad. Se nota que hay un trabajazo detrás, de personajes que evolucionan y cambian y son verosímiles, y de hilar cosas, para soltar información en el momento adecuado, con desplazamientos en el tiempo que no se sienten como flashbacks/flashforwards típicos (de esos que interrumpen la narración para darte una pieza que justo es necesaria para avanzar la trama) sino muy bien integrados, además del trabajo de documentación sobre el tema.

También me ha gustado mucho que toma riesgos, intenta innovar en formatos, en los títulos de cada parte, en estilos... Y conseguir unir todo esto, consiguiendo que cada cosa aporte en lugar de restar...

En definitiva, me parece una novela muy bien atada, y lo he disfrutado muchísimo. Recomendada!

Feel like everyone I know read this book last year - so I'm a little behind the curve - but finally I got around to see what all the hype is about.

I really enjoyed it. Having been a big gamer as a kid a still somewhat now, it all felt super real to me.

The characters were beautifully drawn, fully realised, deep and complex people.

There were a couple or irks I had (someone got word-of-the-day toilet paper for Christmas eh?) but nothing that stopped me having a great time with this book.

structurally flexible. engaging characters. lightly nostalgic (but not too much!). devoured in 4 days: it was enjoyable!

it was sad, at times. i think i enjoyed all characters? except for probably dov. the rendition of relationships over such a span of time is something i don't recall ever reading. the internal monologues and renditions of conflicts from different points of view were something special, i feel

A wonderfully written story about the adult years of growing up, on a backdrop of the intense creative processes of video game design. I want these games to be real. I want to feel the characters expression through their art.

There are books where it’s a novel situation played out through understandable and straightforward characters. And then there are books where you have no idea how someone can keep so many deep actors in their head, you wonder if they were real people. Each character with their own motivations, and perspective. Sometimes I cheered for them. Sometimes I hated them. Always I loved them.

In any case, it’s a beautiful story. Heartbreaking and tragic.

There is a beginning and a middle. The end it's up to you.

És un llibre, com diu a la portada, «Una declaració d'amor a la vida.» que funciona pausadament, tranquiŀlament, amb tendresa pels seus personatges i que et fa sentir segur, que per més que pateixin, no pot acabar malament. Com en un videojoc, saps, des del principi, que al final, guanyes, signifiqui el que signifiqui això. om en un videojoc, saps que al final guanyes, signifiqui el que signifiqui això i et permet relaxar-te i gaudir de la resta: la fotografia d'un moment molt important per la creació i consolidació dels videojocs com a art i producte comercial a la vegada. Els anys 90 del segle XX van marcar com evolucionarien i quins dilemes morals produirien els videojocs, sempre amagats a l'ombra d'una societat que no els entenia, però que ells, els pioners, tenien clar què feien. Però no només això. L'autora, hàbil i ambiciosa intenta traslladar l'ambient de cada videojoc que dissenyen els seus personatges a la noveŀla i se'n surt prou bé. En tot moment tens aquella sensació de diversió del videojoc, de fugida endavant: Demà, i demà, i demà.

El joc conté pinzellades d'assaig sobre videojocs i societat, sobre tecnologia, etc. Es nota que coneix bé el mundillo, tot i que segurament no en forma part directament.

A part d'això m'ha fet molta enveja, sobretot per haver-se inventat els jocs que a ella li hauria agradat jugar. Solutions, EmilyBlaster, Ichigo, Both Sides... son jocs que es nota que l'autora s'ha divertit descrivint-los, donant-los forma i fent que la gent hi jugués. I a mi, que la meva vocació frustrada és guionista de videojocs, només podia sentir enveja per algú que ha escrit els jocs que volia jugar i hi ha jugat, encara que fos imaginàriament per muntar un món com aquest.

Un llibre fantàstic. No sé si ja ho he dit. ;)