Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

For other uses, see Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow (disambiguation).
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow
Cover of book with title in colorful lettering against a background of a blue wave rendered in the style of a Japanese woodblock print
Cover of the first edition, which features The Great Wave off Kanagawa in the backgroud
AuthorGabrielle Zevin
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublishedJuly 5, 2022
PublisherKnopf Publishing Group
Pages416
ISBN978-0-593-32120-1

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a 2022 novel by Gabrielle Zevin. The novel follows the relationship between two friends who begin a successful video game company together. It is Zevin's fifth novel for adults and tenth novel overall.

Premise

Set over the course of several decades, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows video game developers Sadie Green and Sam Masur, childhood friends who reunite while both studying at universities in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Along with Sam's roommate and friend Marx Watanabe, Sam and Sadie begin developing a video game and later co-manage a successful video game studio.[1]

Background

Zevin began working on the novel at the end of 2017 and wrote the majority of it in 2020 during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Having attended Harvard University during the 1990s, and lived in Los Angeles, Zevin's portrayal of Cambridge and Los Angeles are largely based on her own experiences.[1] In deciding to write about video game developers, Zevin was inspired by early generations of gamers, referred to as the "Oregon Trail Generation," and how exposure to video games since the late 1970s has impacted gamers' expectations for their own lives.[2]

Zevin has credited real-life video games and events with inspiring the fictional games portrayed in the novel. Sadie's fictional game Solution is "a take on Train", while the fictional game Pioneers reflects Zevin's experience playing Stardew Valley. Zevin also took inspiration for the main characters from real-life game designers, including Ken Williams, Roberta Williams, John Carmack, and John Romero.[3][4]

Reception

The novel was well received by critics,[5] including starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews[6] and Publishers Weekly.[7] Kirkus said the novel is "[s]ure to enchant even those who have never played a video game in their life".[6] Publishers Weekly called the novel "a one-of-a-kind achievement".[7] In a review for The Washington Post, Ron Charles wrote favorably of the book's moral complexity, and related its Shakespearean title to the generative possibilities inherent in gameplay.[8]

Wired called the novel "utterly absorbing", and The New York Times Book Review referred to it as "delightful and absorbing" and "expansive and entertaining".[9] Paste recommended readers listen to the audiobook to better navigate "the complex, perspective-shifting format".[10] NPR's Maureen Corrigan praised the "big, beautifully written" book for placing a non-romantic relationship at its center, and for taking on the issue of cultural appropriation.[11] In contrast, Sam Brooks gave a negative review writing for The Spinoff, describing the characters as "barely distinct from anybody who has a vague interest in gaming" by the time the novel ends, and criticizing the game industry setting as "an unshapely tote bag, unsuited to carry anything that Zevin has bunged into it."[12]

In March 2023, game designer Brenda Romero told The Washington Post that the game Solution represents a substantial, uncredited appropriation of Romero's own game, Train, and the way "being complicit" was presented by Romero as the theme and purpose of the game is presented as if invented by the one of book's protagonists and by extension the book's author. "I have no doubt that Train is the best game I'll probably make," Romero said. "It is the one thing I will have to show for dedicating my life to games. And somebody decided that was just fair game." Todd Doughty, Knopf Doubleday's senior vice president for publicity and communications, was quoted in reply: "'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' is a work of fiction and when crafting a novel, every author draws from the world around them. As Gabrielle Zevin publicly stated in last year's 'Wired' interview, Brenda Romero's undistributed board game, 'Train,' which Zevin has never played but was aware of, served as one point of inspiration among many for the novel, including books, plays, video games, visual art and locales. The entire world, characters and themes of 'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' are solely Zevin's fictional creation and the only games listed in the author's acknowledgments are video games. Again, 'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' is a novel and not an academic or nonfiction text containing indexes, notes, or works cited. Knopf stands behind Gabrielle Zevin and her work."[13]

Awards and honors

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was a New York Times Best Seller, being listed on its 2022 Notable Books List, and an IndieBound best seller.[6] In July 2022, it was a book club pick for Amerie and Barnes & Noble,[14] as well as an Apple Books best seller for Fiction and Literature.[15] It continued to be an Apple Books best seller[16] in August and was also a Belletrist Book Club pick.[17] Amazon named the novel the best book of 2022,[18] as well as a Goodreads Choice Award winner in Fiction.[19] Indigo[20] and Kirkus[6] also included Tomorrow in their lists of the best books of the year.

Adaptation

In 2021 even prior to its publication, Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment purchased the film rights for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow for $2 million.[1][21][22] The film will be produced by Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey, and Isaac Klausner,[21] with Zevin writing the script.[21][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Zevin, Gabrielle (June 30, 2022). "'Games Are Another Form of Storytelling': PW Talks to Gabrielle Zevin". Publishers Weekly (Interview). Interviewed by Nathalie op de Beeck. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  2. ^ Zevin, Gabrielle (2022-08-11). "Gabrielle Zevin Believes Games Show People Who They Really Are". Wired (Interview). Interviewed by Will Bedingfield. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  3. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (2022-07-12). "In Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, intense friendship and game design are intertwined". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  4. ^ Zevin, Gabrielle (2022-07-05). "How LA influenced Gabrielle Zevin's novel 'Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow'". The Orange County Register (Interview). Interviewed by Diya Chacko. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  5. ^ "Book Marks reviews of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin". Book Marks. Archived from the original on 2023-02-26. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  6. ^ a b c d "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  7. ^ a b "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin". Publishers Weekly. 2022-03-30. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  8. ^ Charles, Ron (June 28, 2022). "In Gabrielle Zevin's novel, two video game designers chase love IRL". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2022-07-02. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  9. ^ Bissell, Tom (2022-07-08). "How to Design a Beautiful, Cruel Universe". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  10. ^ Gunderson, Alexis (2022-07-06). "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow Is Gabrielle Zevin at Her Most Expansive". Paste Magazine. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  11. ^ Corrigan, Maureen (July 28, 2022). "The immersive novel 'Tomorrow' is a winner for gamers and n00bs alike". NPR. Archived from the original on 2022-11-14. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  12. ^ Brooks, Sam (2022-08-30). "Review: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow feels so yesterday". The Spinoff. Archived from the original on 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
  13. ^ "'Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow' sparks a debate about credit in fiction". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2023-03-24. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  14. ^ Aquino, Gilcy (2022-07-18). "Book Club Picks for July 2022". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  15. ^ "Apple Books Category Bestsellers, July 31, 2022". Publishers Weekly. 2022-08-02. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  16. ^ "Apple Books Category Bestsellers, August 13, 2022". Publishers Weekly. 2022-08-16. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  17. ^ "Book Club Picks for August 2022". Publishers Weekly. 2022-08-08. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  18. ^ Schaub, Michael (2022-11-15). "Amazon Names Its Best Books of 2022". Kirkus Reviews. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  19. ^ "Announcing the Winners of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards!". Goodreads. Archived from the original on 2022-12-09. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  20. ^ "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin". Penguin Random House Canada. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  21. ^ a b c Fleming, Mike Jr. (2021-02-08). "Paramount Pictures Locks $2 Million Deal For Gabrielle Zevin Novel 'Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow;' Temple Hill Producing". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2021-02-08. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
  22. ^ Templeton, Molly (2021-02-08). "Paramount Picks Up the Rights to Gabrielle Zevin's Not-Yet-Published Novel Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow". Tor.com. Archived from the original on 2022-11-15. Retrieved 2022-11-15.