Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

[Teresa]

A place to discuss about Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

[Kes]

Thanks Theresa, I'll kick off -

Sam Masur was a complex co-leading character. did you feel empathy / sympathy for him throughout the book & did it change as the book went on?

Did you suspect that he was on the autism spectrum? Or was he simply mistrusting from his life experiences & on-going trauma?

[Teresa]

It's been a while since I read the book and I was also reading this while reading Fourth Wing, so I hope I remember correctly

From what I remember, I didn't like the characters Saddie and Sam individually. But I do like their friendship and Marx

[Kes]

Yep, much of their issues came down to poor communication skills and getting in their own heads about outcomes.

Some of my favourite endings are "love" stories where characters don't end up as romantically compatible because their connection transcends romance which is what I appreciated with what happened here.

I think Sam just had so much unresolved trauma - that he addressed poorly - to be a viable suitor for Sadie let alone the women whose interests he discards. Sadie's relationship with her former professor was indulgant as she wasn't getting healthy affection prior to Marx. I was initially caught off guard with the pairing of Sadie and Marx until I realised they weren't telling the traditional / predictable love story of Sadie and Sam.

I wondered if it wasn't for Sam's losses - his mother, his foot and his grandfather - if I would've empathised with him, as he was more often than not, a jerkoff.

I actually thought those were some of the most human elements of the writing - we can solve all of the world's problems if we really wanted to but pride gets in the way.

[Natalie]

Sam did appear to be somewhere on the spectrum, I didn't think it needed to be explicitly said in the book as this shouldn't define someone but I also do think he was mistrusting from his life experiences. He had a traumatic childhood, so I empathise with him. There were times where I felt frustrated with him, but felt that way with Sadie too.

[Kes]

Well said. I was really invested in Sam's relationship with his mother & grandfather and respected his perserverence / stubborness on not allowing his disability to overrun his life.

Absolutely no need to explicitly mention about being on the spectrum - just more wondering if anyone got that sense as it speaks to the quality of writing when something is implied more than defined.

Any other thoughts on characters, developments or the writing?

[Kes]

also FYI, Paramount Pictures has picked up the film rights for "Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow"with Gabrielle Zevin to write the script but not much has been said since that news broke out in 2021.

The book did pick up greatly in popularity since then - likely just has been floating about with last year's strike likely pushing it back

https://deadline.com/2021/02/paramoun...

[Natalie]

Jono had also questioned whether Sam was on the spectrum too, so we all thought it.

Didn't think it would be a book I'd love as im Def no gamer (only if you count The Sims and need for speed lel) but took me by surprise and loved it! When I'd finished reading, found it hard to be invested in another book.

I also reallllly didn't like Dov, although doubt many people would.

Was heartbroken when Marx was killed, in a horrendous way :( really spoke about gun violence and those who are against gay marriage.

[Kes]

Dov was a wanker - having that said, was interesting how they also managed to keep a civil relationship well after their affair, speaks more to the mentor relationship than their physical relationship.

The games aspect was really just a buy-in & a backdrop - the real heart of the book is lifelong relationships (working, friendship, romantic & competitive) and how the characters perservere in the face of internal and external trauma.

[Jonathan]

Sam had a few dimensions to him - certainly the socially awkward, geeky side with spectrum tendencies but later on he became the charismatic promo guy and face of the company they built. So much so that Sadie became envious of him, even resentful for a long period of their on again/off again friendship. I'd say that there was a part of Sadie that always saw him as a charity case and hencr couldn't compute when he was gaining more fame/recognition

[Kes]

Absolutely. Sam's stubbornness to get the amputation on his own terms was a pretty powerful (and negligant) act but one that he had to decide on his own as that wasn't Sadie's despite the logic. Sam's transformation gave me Mark Zuckerberg - Social Network vibes.

There's so much of the little details that stuck with me (keeping in mind it's been months now since I've read it) - little things like the secret highways - did you notice the markers/symbols that appeared on your pages? wonder if that's actually based on anything real.

Sam's mother's death was devastating for me, which was especially what caught me off guard when Marx's occurred - but it was kind of monumental that they had both lost the closest unconditional loves in their lives by the book's end and were left with each other.

[Kes]

I read an interesting take on the supporting characters in the novel, likening them to NPC's (Non playable characters) in a video game. For example, Joel's daughter in the Last of Us is an NPC - characters whose purpose is to move the main character's stories and development arcs along.

In this instance, Sam's mother, Dov and Marx are all NPCs in Sam & Sadie's game / story.

[Kes]

if you enjoyed, even if through frustration, the elements of Sam & Sadie's working relationship & ultimately kinship - I recommend giving the Partners podcast a listen - https://open.spotify.com/show/6VQym4V...

it's by Hrishikesh Hirway, who created my fave podcast Song Exploder, about different partnerships across different creative fields and how they work harmoniously (and sometimes not) to achieve their goals.

[Jonathan]

Spot on with the Zuckerberg Social Network vibes. think I was even picturing a half Asian Jesse Eisenberg as my version of Sam. also pictured a Ramona flowers from Scott Pilgrim look alike as Sadie

[Teresa]

I’m interested in playing the games from the book

[Kes]

https://gabriellezevin.com/emilyblast...