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A review by shoutaboutbooks
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
‘If this were a game, he could hit pause. He could restart, say different things, the right ones this time.’
Yes, yes, I know. I am very late to the party on this one. I had actually started reading Tomorrow x3 back in August 2023, but I immediately fled from its palpable nostalgia and sentimentalism. At the time, I was simply too emotionally preoccupied to be swept up by what I felt would be an advocation of love and forgiveness (which, my lived experience was teaching me, should not be considered synonyms). So I turned away and placed it aside. But now it’s literally 2025 and I needed to know what all the fuss was about.
I’m sure you’ve all read it by now, so I won’t preach to the choir but the fuss was valid. It’s beautiful, immersive storytelling and I loved its invokation of literature, art, music and, of course, games. It manages to balance the specific and technical with the relatable and accessible. We are all welcomed into this world, and have understandably been captivated by it.
I loved the first half of this BUT, I’m not sure it managed to deliver the conflict/emotional revelations it took so much care to foreshadow. Everything after the climax was sort of underwhelming. Did I enjoy this? 100%, platinum trophy. Did it make me cry? Yes, several times. Do I feel changed or enriched? No, not especially. Do I feel a bit deflated, actually? Yes, and I think it's because this book made me wish so fiercely that I could be a child again, watching my brother play Banjo Kazooie in a moment where everything is still possible. Instead, my decisions have got me stuck playing the same level every day and now I'm too tired of todays to want to progress to tomorrows. I don't think this is the feeling I was supposed to end up with 🙂
I’m certain nostalgia will eventually call me to read this again and, potentially, I might enjoy it more for not having to contend with my own apprehensions/expectations.
Yes, yes, I know. I am very late to the party on this one. I had actually started reading Tomorrow x3 back in August 2023, but I immediately fled from its palpable nostalgia and sentimentalism. At the time, I was simply too emotionally preoccupied to be swept up by what I felt would be an advocation of love and forgiveness (which, my lived experience was teaching me, should not be considered synonyms). So I turned away and placed it aside. But now it’s literally 2025 and I needed to know what all the fuss was about.
I’m sure you’ve all read it by now, so I won’t preach to the choir but the fuss was valid. It’s beautiful, immersive storytelling and I loved its invokation of literature, art, music and, of course, games. It manages to balance the specific and technical with the relatable and accessible. We are all welcomed into this world, and have understandably been captivated by it.
I loved the first half of this BUT, I’m not sure it managed to deliver the conflict/emotional revelations it took so much care to foreshadow. Everything after the climax was sort of underwhelming. Did I enjoy this? 100%, platinum trophy. Did it make me cry? Yes, several times. Do I feel changed or enriched? No, not especially. Do I feel a bit deflated, actually? Yes, and I think it's because this book made me wish so fiercely that I could be a child again, watching my brother play Banjo Kazooie in a moment where everything is still possible. Instead, my decisions have got me stuck playing the same level every day and now I'm too tired of todays to want to progress to tomorrows. I don't think this is the feeling I was supposed to end up with 🙂
I’m certain nostalgia will eventually call me to read this again and, potentially, I might enjoy it more for not having to contend with my own apprehensions/expectations.