Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin

[Anonymous]

Why did (some of) you guys recommend this book? Ugh, didn't like it; big disappointment after The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. Totally unlikeable characters, except for the ones that died!
(I recognize that I'm in the minority because I saw the reviews, but man, I don't get the like for this one).

[Anonymous]

I agree. I had several friends recommend it to me and I just didn't enjoy it. The author's voice was intrusive and odd. After the initial 100 pages, which I did enjoy, I quickly lost interest and stopped caring about the characters. I couldn't really figure out what the author's point was, and I don't think it was just because I don't care at all about video games.

[Anonymous]

I think this book is like black licorice. You're either a "five stars" reader or "I hate this" reader.

[Anonymous]

I'm in the camp of having adored this book. It was an immediate add to my top 10 favorites list.

I think either the characters resonate with you or not. I feel the opposite of them being unlikable; they really tore at my heartstrings in every way.

This book made me feel everything deeply. The characters were so tortured in the best kind of way.

I think like everything in life, your own life experiences will shape how you experienced this book.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the camp of having adored this book. It was an immediate add to my top 10 favorites list.

I think either the characters resonate with you or not. I feel the opposite of them being unlikable; they really tore at my heartstrings in every way.

This book made me feel everything deeply. The characters were so tortured in the best kind of way.

I think like everything in life, your own life experiences will shape how you experienced this book.

I agree with all of this!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the camp of having adored this book. It was an immediate add to my top 10 favorites list.

I think either the characters resonate with you or not. I feel the opposite of them being unlikable; they really tore at my heartstrings in every way.

This book made me feel everything deeply. The characters were so tortured in the best kind of way.

I think like everything in life, your own life experiences will shape how you experienced this book.

This makes sense to me, because any book that I used the words “adored”, “tore at my heartstrings”, and “feel everything deeply” is not a book I would enjoy, and I did not like this book!

To each his/her own. Doesn’t mean I devalue the book in any way, it just was not for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the camp of having adored this book. It was an immediate add to my top 10 favorites list.

I think either the characters resonate with you or not. I feel the opposite of them being unlikable; they really tore at my heartstrings in every way.

This book made me feel everything deeply. The characters were so tortured in the best kind of way.

I think like everything in life, your own life experiences will shape how you experienced this book.

I agree with all of this!

OP here. Usually wien I don’t like a book other people like, I can at least understand the appeal, even when I do t feel it. Help me understand the deep feelings you had for these characters. SPOILER ALERT





Sam stopped talking to Sadie for years over the service hours thing. Ok, he’s a kid who just lost his mom, so I understand his overreaction. But when Sadie discovers that Sam may have known about the relationship with the professor when he asked her to get Dov’s help and instead of talking to him about it, she attributes all these terrible motives to him, that he’s stealing all the credit, and she estranged herself from him for years — what kind of great friendship was that? She treated him terribly. And what’s with the relationship with the weirdo professor who totally took advantage of her when she was a student; he was teetering right on the edge of abuse. But *him* she manages to stay friends with? Really? Then all of a sudden Sam is devastated that she’s with someone else; I thought he was asexual! Zevin never described any kind of romantic or sexual interest there. Where did that come from? And the way she rebuffed his friendship over and over after their friend died (can’t think of his name, but he, Sam’s mom and the grandfather were the only characters I liked). When she was finally willing to talk to him after the grandfather died, there he was, still chasing the crumbs of attention she deigned to give him and then bam, book’s over.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the camp of having adored this book. It was an immediate add to my top 10 favorites list.

I think either the characters resonate with you or not. I feel the opposite of them being unlikable; they really tore at my heartstrings in every way.

This book made me feel everything deeply. The characters were so tortured in the best kind of way.

I think like everything in life, your own life experiences will shape how you experienced this book.

I agree with all of this!

OP here. Usually wien I don’t like a book other people like, I can at least understand the appeal, even when I do t feel it. Help me understand the deep feelings you had for these characters. SPOILER ALERT





Sam stopped talking to Sadie for years over the service hours thing. Ok, he’s a kid who just lost his mom, so I understand his overreaction. But when Sadie discovers that Sam may have known about the relationship with the professor when he asked her to get Dov’s help and instead of talking to him about it, she attributes all these terrible motives to him, that he’s stealing all the credit, and she estranged herself from him for years — what kind of great friendship was that? She treated him terribly. And what’s with the relationship with the weirdo professor who totally took advantage of her when she was a student; he was teetering right on the edge of abuse. But *him* she manages to stay friends with? Really? Then all of a sudden Sam is devastated that she’s with someone else; I thought he was asexual! Zevin never described any kind of romantic or sexual interest there. Where did that come from? And the way she rebuffed his friendship over and over after their friend died (can’t think of his name, but he, Sam’s mom and the grandfather were the only characters I liked). When she was finally willing to talk to him after the grandfather died, there he was, still chasing the crumbs of attention she deigned to give him and then bam, book’s over.

They were two very broken people who had experienced traumas that were never healed - and if they had healed from their traumas may have had a very lovely love story. In fact I do think they loved each other very deeply. The game he made for her? Truly an act of love.

[Anonymous]

One thing I liked about it was the way one of would seem to be behaving badly but when you got inside their head you could understand how things happened

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the camp of having adored this book. It was an immediate add to my top 10 favorites list.

I think either the characters resonate with you or not. I feel the opposite of them being unlikable; they really tore at my heartstrings in every way.

This book made me feel everything deeply. The characters were so tortured in the best kind of way.

I think like everything in life, your own life experiences will shape how you experienced this book.

I agree with all of this!

OP here. Usually wien I don’t like a book other people like, I can at least understand the appeal, even when I do t feel it. Help me understand the deep feelings you had for these characters. SPOILER ALERT





Sam stopped talking to Sadie for years over the service hours thing. Ok, he’s a kid who just lost his mom, so I understand his overreaction. But when Sadie discovers that Sam may have known about the relationship with the professor when he asked her to get Dov’s help and instead of talking to him about it, she attributes all these terrible motives to him, that he’s stealing all the credit, and she estranged herself from him for years — what kind of great friendship was that? She treated him terribly. And what’s with the relationship with the weirdo professor who totally took advantage of her when she was a student; he was teetering right on the edge of abuse. But *him* she manages to stay friends with? Really? Then all of a sudden Sam is devastated that she’s with someone else; I thought he was asexual! Zevin never described any kind of romantic or sexual interest there. Where did that come from? And the way she rebuffed his friendship over and over after their friend died (can’t think of his name, but he, Sam’s mom and the grandfather were the only characters I liked). When she was finally willing to talk to him after the grandfather died, there he was, still chasing the crumbs of attention she deigned to give him and then bam, book’s over.

They were two very broken people who had experienced traumas that were never healed - and if they had healed from their traumas may have had a very lovely love story. In fact I do think they loved each other very deeply. The game he made for her? Truly an act of love.

Exactly! I truly loved the way the author explored the way trauma (in this case, surviving someone else's premature death) echoes and reverberates throughout one's life - touching everything from love and trust to friendship, creativity, and personal growth (or lack thereof).

I absolutely read it as a love story between Sam and Sadie, but in their own completely non-traditional, non-romantic kind of way. They felt completely real and authentic to me at every age of their lives. By far the best novel I've read this year, and maybe a lifetime Top 10?

Oh, and I don't like video games or RPG at all in real life. But the game development and play was an incredible vehicle (and at times metaphor) all the way through. I loved it.

[Anonymous]

What was Sadie’s trauma?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What was Sadie’s trauma?

Her sisters cancer as a child- it’s very common for siblings to have impacts as their needs are ignored. She had an unhealthy relationship with her professor which borderlines on abuse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What was Sadie’s trauma?

Her sisters cancer as a child- it’s very common for siblings to have impacts as their needs are ignored. She had an unhealthy relationship with her professor which borderlines on abuse.

This is OP again. I did not think Zevin portrayed the sister's cancer as a trauma for Sadie. I think that a sibling's illness certainly can be a trauma, but it was barely mentioned later and wasn't mentioned as having significant emotional impact to Sadie or the sister. As for her professor, I did not understand how Zevin was intending to portray that. I said upthread that I thought it was bordering on abuse as well, but Sadie remained cordial with him and didn't seem to see it that way. I guess that is why I just didn't have the sympathy for how she treated Sam. Anyway, very interesting discussion. Thanks to all for sharing their thoughts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
OP here. Usually wien I don’t like a book other people like, I can at least understand the appeal, even when I do t feel it. Help me understand the deep feelings you had for these characters. SPOILER ALERT





Sam stopped talking to Sadie for years over the service hours thing. Ok, he’s a kid who just lost his mom, so I understand his overreaction. But when Sadie discovers that Sam may have known about the relationship with the professor when he asked her to get Dov’s help and instead of talking to him about it, she attributes all these terrible motives to him, that he’s stealing all the credit, and she estranged herself from him for years — what kind of great friendship was that? She treated him terribly. And what’s with the relationship with the weirdo professor who totally took advantage of her when she was a student; he was teetering right on the edge of abuse. But *him* she manages to stay friends with? Really? Then all of a sudden Sam is devastated that she’s with someone else; I thought he was asexual! Zevin never described any kind of romantic or sexual interest there. Where did that come from? And the way she rebuffed his friendship over and over after their friend died (can’t think of his name, but he, Sam’s mom and the grandfather were the only characters I liked). When she was finally willing to talk to him after the grandfather died, there he was, still chasing the crumbs of attention she deigned to give him and then bam, book’s over.

Keep in mind I'm the PP with the flowery language you (or another poster?) didn't like...

To me, your own paragraph explains the appeal of the characters. They're raw, they're complicated, they're human. I read a strong reaction out of you re: Sadie and her professor. You yourself are saying, WTF Sadie? That's what I mean when I say these characters made me feel deeply. I questioned them, didn't understand them, felt sorry for them and got frustrated with their choices. Loving this book didn't mean I loved the characters and all they did or didn't do. It just means I loved that I cared so much about them.

So many books I read lately I can barely pay attention to the storyline because I'm not engaged with the characters. This book was the opposite experience.

[Anonymous]

This was just named Book of the Year by Book of the Month (voted on by readers)