Summary
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin explores the complex relationship between two friends as they navigate the world of video game design. The novel follows Sam and Sadie over three decades, from their chance reunion in college to their rise as successful game developers. Set against the backdrop of the evolving video game industry, the story skillfully weaves together elements of friendship, love, and creative collaboration while raising questions about identity, disability, and the nature of success.
Published in 2022, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow won widespread acclaim for its innovative storytelling and engaging characters, became a New York Times bestseller, and earned a spot on numerous Best Books of the Year lists. Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill Entertainment acquired the film rights, with Zevin set to write the screenplay and Siân Heder attached as director.
Plot
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows the lives of Sam Masur and Sadie Green, two friends who meet as children in a hospital. Years later, they reunite by chance while attending college in Massachusetts. Bonding over their shared love of video games, they decide to collaborate on creating their own game with Sam's roommate Marx.
The trio forms a company called Unfair Games and develops their first blockbuster, Ichigo. This catapults them to fame and fortune before they even graduate. As their success grows, so do the complexities in their relationships. Sam and Sadie navigate the challenges of their creative partnership, personal ambitions, and the intricacies of their friendship, which often borders on romance but never quite crosses that line.
Over the next three decades, Sam and Sadie's journey takes them from Cambridge to Venice Beach and beyond. They experience the highs of creating successful games, like Mapleworld and Master of the Revels, but also face personal and professional setbacks. The story explores themes of identity, disability, failure, and the redemptive power of play.
Tragedy strikes when Marx is murdered by an extremist targeting Sam, leading to a period of estrangement between Sam and Sadie. However, their shared passion for game design eventually brings them back together. The novel concludes with Sam and Sadie reuniting to plan their next game, having found that creating together is one of the few things that truly makes them happy.
Themes
The power of creative collaboration
The complexities of platonic love and friendship
Identity and self-discovery through game design
The impact of disability and trauma on personal growth
The blurred lines between virtual and real-world experiences
The evolution of the gaming industry over three decades
The redemptive nature of play and creativity
Setting
Set primarily in the United States, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow spans three decades, from the 1980s to the 2000s. The story unfolds across various locations, with particular focus on Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Venice Beach, California. These contrasting settings reflect the characters' journey from college students to successful game developers.
Cambridge serves as the backdrop for Sam and Sadie's reunion and the early days of their collaboration. The bustling academic environment of Harvard and MIT provides a fertile ground for their creative endeavors. As the characters' careers take off, the narrative shifts to the sun-soaked shores of Venice Beach, where they establish their company, Unfair Games.
Beyond these primary locations, the novel's setting extends into the virtual worlds created by Sam and Sadie. Their video games, from the whimsical Ichigo to the ambitious Mapleworld, become integral parts of the story's landscape. These digital realms serve as both a reflection of the characters' evolving relationship and a commentary on the rapidly changing tech industry of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Characters
Sam Masur: One of the two protagonists, a brilliant game designer. Sam suffers from a disability after a childhood car accident that killed his mother. He reunites with Sadie in college and co-founds Unfair Games. Sam struggles with jealousy and communication issues throughout their tumultuous friendship and creative partnership.
Sadie Green: The other protagonist, a gifted game programmer. Sadie meets Sam as a child while her sister is being treated for leukemia. She has a complex relationship with Sam as they navigate fame, creative differences, and personal conflicts over their decades-long partnership in game development.
Marx Watanabe: Sam's college roommate who becomes a close friend and business partner. Marx acts as the voice of reason and peacemaker between Sam and Sadie. He later enters a relationship with Sadie and helps manage Unfair Games.
Dov Mizrah: Sadie's professor and mentor who becomes her lover. An Israeli war veteran and successful game programmer, Dov plays a crucial role in the development of Ichigo but complicates Sadie's personal and professional life.
Alice Green: Sadie's older sister who was treated for childhood leukemia. Her jealousy causes the initial rift between Sam and Sadie as children.
Sam's Mother: Though deceased before the main events of the story, her death in a car accident profoundly impacts Sam's life and development.
Quick facts
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow spans three decades, from the 1980s to the 2000s, following the lives of the main characters Sam and Sadie.
The novel's title is derived from the famous “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” soliloquy in Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Gabrielle Zevin wrote the majority of the book in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow addresses themes of disability, non-romantic relationships, and cultural appropriation in the gaming industry.
Zevin drew inspiration for the fictional games in the novel from real-life video games, including Oregon Trail and Stardew Valley.
The novel's portrayal of Cambridge and Los Angeles is largely based on Zevin's experiences living in these cities.
Paramount Pictures acquired the film rights for $2 million, before the book was published.
In 2024, Siân Heder, known for directing CODA, was hired to direct the film adaptation, and Zevin herself is writing the screenplay.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was named Amazon's Best Book of 2022 and won the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was ranked #76 on The New York Times list of the 100 Best Books of the 21st century.
About the Author
Gabrielle Zevin (1977-) is a celebrated American author. She made her literary debut in 2005 with Margarettown. Three months later, she published her first young adult novel, Elsewhere. While both works attracted critical acclaim, it was her 2014 novel The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry that gained her international recognition. This novel became a global bestseller, translated into over 30 languages, and was adapted into a feature film. Her latest novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, released in 2022, has garnered numerous accolades, was named one of the best books of the year by multiple publications, and has been optioned for film by Paramount Pictures.
In addition to her fiction, Zevin is a screenwriter. She earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her screenplay Conversations with Other Women and is writing the screenplay for the film adaptation of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.
Shaped by her diverse heritage—her father has Eastern European Jewish roots, while her mother immigrated from Korea—Zevin was born in New York City and grew up in Florida. She studied English at Harvard University, where she met her partner, Hans Canosa. Now based in Los Angeles, Zevin continues to be a prolific and versatile writer. Her works have been translated into 40 languages, and she has occasionally contributed book reviews to The New York Times and NPR. With her ability to craft compelling narratives across different genres and media, Gabrielle Zevin has established herself as a prominent figure in contemporary American literature.
