Reviews with content warning for Body horror - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

64 reviews

labedzla's review against another edition

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sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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maziodynes's review against another edition

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dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-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

2.75

I read this book fairly quickly, and except for some long tangents of telling rather than showing and some wild word choices, I enjoying the writing. But I found myself on a rollar coaster of "wow this is great, I like this!" to cringing at how badly these characters communicate and how off some of the gaming references are.

It's obvious the game development process stuff was well researched. I found myself really enjoying Marx's perspective as a games producer myself. however, the game dev "lingo" and the games they brought up in context were off or didn't make sense for the time (or even the character's personalities). The author researched game dev history, and design, but it seemed like she didnt actually talk to many developers, and it showed.

The MMO segment at the end was particularly weird from a player perspective - nobody pretends like they arent playing a game unless theres some REALLY stringent RP going on, rare in a full online game unless you have friends you actively slchoose to do it with.

I found any and all mentions of sex in this book to feel far too clinical. It made sense sometimes for Sadie and Sam's over-intellectual povs, but even from Marx who is an emotionally intelligent and loving person, any POV of sex felt completely stripped down of emotion. The scenes felt so impersonal they may have well been omitted, esp when they were one-off sentences of "they had sex." But of course, we get the excruciating physical and emotional details when Sadie is sexually abused by Dov. Make it make sense

This is a personal hangup, but I couldn't get behind was the fact that Sadie kept Dov in her life the entire time. I understood needing to keep the professional relationship for Ichigo, at least at first. But how the is the game that your abuser made your COMFORT GAME? and you're still GETTING BRUNCH with him 10 years later?!? and he gives her that teaching position... it just makes me absolutely sick and soured my perception of Sadie. I wanted to root for her, but between some "not like other girls"-isms and her inability to work on her mental health in any capacity, I just couldn't after a while. And I liked Sam as a character alone, but his obsessive friendship /romantic tension with Sadie was too toxic for me to end up rooting for in the end.

There were some beautiful lines in this book, some sentiments about life and friendship, and my chosen career that truly moved me. but the relationships between the characters ultimately left me wanting more resolution.

Marx was the emotional heart of this book for me in the end. His second-person chapter reduced me to tears. tbh, that chap alone is why I am giving this a 2.75 instead of 2.

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hannah_dv's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

It’s a fun book in being about video-games and the creative process but I do think the author was trying to do too much and seemed to use the book to virtue signal her opinion on every possible issue.

The book has suicide, car-crash, chronic pain, amputation, DV, shooting, death, LGBT violence

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carlafiorenzo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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avadore's review

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found this book so frustrating, I just wanted sam and Sadie to talk, like actually talk, to each other!!! I can't believe such a strong creative partnership could be marred by so many misunderstandings! Also so brutal and violent in a couple of places, really stomach churning and upsetting. The more reflective parts saved it for me, especially the couple of lines about aging right at the end.

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mlwe's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

My Review:
Sam Masur and Sadie Green have a complicated history, but intertwined within the chronic sickness, failed relationships, and desperate identity searches is love. Their love for their work, their families, and each other repeatedly pulls them together. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the story of two people who continue to find and love each other day after day.

The author dives into the emotions of her characters, both beautiful and ugly, and uses them to smooth and sharpen the edges of life. The character's attitudes towards gaming and their drive to excel jump off the page, keeping the reader invested in the plot. However, as life's challenges constantly confront the characters, Sam and Sadie lose sight of their initial intentions and aspirations. The distance the author created, once a hazy lens romanticizing the story, becomes a source of frustration and disconnect.

The novel undergoes major tonal and stylistic changes three-fourths into the novel. While relevant to the plot, <I can't imagine Mark's death told differently,> it disorients the reader. I found the precedent the author created comforting, and the new shift confusing enough to interrupt my reading. I appreciate that the change mimics the new feelings the characters face, but prefer a slower escalation or more foreshadowing. <Specifically, since Sadie experiences multiple periods of depression/grief, the author could have included Sadie gaming before Sam dragged her out of it.> Overall, I was immersed in the first part of the novel, and enjoyed the plot and characters, but fell out of love with them as the story progresses.

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