“The way to turn an ex-lover into a friend is to never stop loving them, to know that when one phase of a relationship ends it can transform into something else. It is to acknowledge that love is both a constant and a variable at the same time.”
occasionally, i would read a book that leaves me speechless, unable to grasp my emotions. this is one of those times.
i won’t give a summary of because i am incapable of doing it even if i want to. in my opinion, the synopsis doesn’t do it justice, either. the best way to understand this book is to experience it yourself.
this is a tragedy intertwined with a love story, but not any love story. i went into this expecting to read something like Alone With You in the Ether, and i closed this book knowing that no story resembles this one.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is an incredible tour de force. to write something as meta as the process of making video games with a lyrism this profound is no easy task. Zevin’s descriptions of the process, so technical, transport the reader into an imaginary world so vast that at one point, i saw myself in the game sam and sadie made. additionally, i salute the author’s courage to include difficult literary techniques (e.g.: second-person pov) in an already intricate setting.
ultimately, the brilliance of this book comes from its characters. i don’t think i have cared for characters this deeply since Alone With You in the Ether. sam, sadie, and marx are written with depth and empathy. they evolve like real people would, for better and worse. their humanity shines through the tragedies, pulling me into their suffering: that’s how i know that characterization can only go so far. this is what differentiates unpleasantly brilliant books from mediocre but entertaining ones.
and god, the intimacy between the three characters. there is something about the chemistry, the interactions, and their thoughts that made me wonder: can love can be greater than this?
in the end, i know that this book is absolutely not for everyone, and not everyone who loved and hated this will feel the same emotions throughout the experience. for now, i leave this book at 4.5 (it will change eventually) but Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow will stay in my mind and my heart for a long time.
pre-review:
this book induces in me such profound grief, that i am feeling physically unwell.
rtc once i recover