Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Title:  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Author:  Gabrielle Zevin

Publication Information:  Knopf. 2022. 416 pages.

ISBN:  0593321200 / 978-0593321201

Rating:  ★★

Book Source:  I received this book through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "Before Mazer invented himself as Mazer, he was Samson Mazer, and before he was Samson Mazer, he was Samson Masur - a change of two letters that transformed him from a nice, ostensibly Jewish boy to a Professional Builder of Worlds - and for most of his youth, he was Sam, S.A.M. on the hall of fame of his grandfather's Donkey Kong machine, but mainly Sam."

Favorite Quote:  "To allow yourself to play with another is no small risk. It means allowing yourself to be open, to be exposed, to be hurt. It is the human equivalent of the dog rolling on its back - I know you won't hurt me, even though you can. It is the dog putting its mouth around your hand and never biting dow. To play requires trust and love."

I discovered Gabrielle Zevin with A Storied Life of AJ Firky, which was a love letter to books and book lovers. Young Jane Young went to the world of women in politics and the gender divide. This book goes to the world of gaming and developers.

Sadie and Sam meet as children in a hospital. Both see friendship in the other and bond over games. A truth, a misunderstanding, and a lack of communication breaks the friends apart. Years later, the rediscover each other. Their shared interest and skills leads them to 

I love the world this book creates - the start of gaming, the development and evolution of games, and the community that developed around it. Video games today involve complex stories, digital art, and symphonic scores. It is fascinating to catch a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of the creation.

I love the start of the book. It is sweet and heart wrenching. Two children are struggling with the challenges of their lives. They are thrown together by chance. They find the support they have needed in each other. At that point, the lack of communication between the two is understandable. They are children. One does not know. The other is afraid. The longer the lie of omission goes, the greater the fear. That is understandable in children, particularly those facing so many other challenges.

That being said, Sadie and Sam's characters - particularly Sadie's - never seem to progress beyond that point. Their cycle of friendship, a lack of communication or a miscommunication leading to a break in friending repeats in the book. Perhaps, that is the tomorrow of the title, and there are many tomorrows. In young adults and grown adults, that lack of communication is less understandable and frustrating. This book covers a lot of time but it is character and not plot driven. For that to work, the characters must evolve. Sadie and Sam - but especially Sadie - do not.

That being said, this book also includes a relationship between a married individual in a position of authority with a younger, impressionable individual in their authority. Not only does this relationship begin, but it lasts over a long period of time. It is presented as acceptable. Others see and do not comment or intervene even when the individual involved is someone they care about. Do such relationships exist? Yes, of course, they do. Should they be normalized as they seem to be in this story? To each their own, but in my opinion, no. That aspect of the book definitely interferes with my appreciation of it.

Sadly, while I enjoy the look at the world of gaming, this story was not for me.

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

Young Jane Young

Title:  Young Jane Young

Author:  Gabrielle Zevin

Publication Information:  Algonquin Books. 2017. 320 pages.

ISBN:  1616205040 / 978-1616205041

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Opening Sentence:  "My dear friend Roz Horowitz met her new husband online dating."

Favorite Quote:  "Anticipating the worst doesn't provide insurance against the worst happening."

Young Jane Young dives into the world of politics, the seemy underside that often times wreaks havoc with lives. Rachel Shapiro is a mom, fierce in her love for her daughter but concerned about the choices her daughter makes and the consequences of those choices. Aviva Grossman is the young woman who falls in love with the wrong person and forever alters the course of her life. Embeth Levin is a wife who has to decide the balance between the good and the bad in her marriage. Jane Young is a woman content to leave her past far behind and live a quiet life in a small town in Maine. Ruby Young is the next generation, who draws the thread between past and present closed.

The book hits at serious issues of the gender divide that still exists in so many arenas but particularly in the world of politics. The story is about strong women who make compromises to live with the double standards and come around time and time again upon these inequitable gender standards.

A married man has an affair. The woman is shamed as having seduced him. A wife holds no expectations of fidelity. The young women caught in a political scandal is forced to build a new life after the headlines fade and move on to the next scandal. The secret of a woman's long ago past comes back to impact her current career.

This book is interesting because it is unexpected. The book is clearly focused on the women in the story even though the plot is all about the impact of their relationships with the men in their lives. The characters of the men, particularly the married politician at the heart of the scandal, are relatively one-dimensional and only present to give definition to the women's stories.

The story also begins in one direction and then takes a turn with every character. Just when I think I know where it is going, it brings in the impact on another person and tells another side of the story. Admittedly, the first half of the book is an adult perspective and the more interesting part of the book.

The entire section from the Ruby Young's perspective is a little too precocious for my taste. Ruby is young; yet, she helps her mother run her business, has her own American Express card, tells the story in letters to her pen pal, and has the confidence to take of on her own on a cross-country trip to find her past. Cute but a bit much. The ending winds back to an adult perspective and plays a game of "what if" which again brings the book back to the serious underlying issues.

The book is a quick, often light-hearted read that in its breezy manner leaves me with a lot to think about. "Because the things we don't have are sadder than the things we have. Because the things we don't have exist in our imagination, where they are perfect."

Please share your thoughts and leave a comment. I would love to "talk" to you.

A Storied Life of A J Fikry

Title:  A Storied Life of A J Fikry

Author:  Gabrielle Zevin

Publication Information:  Algonquin Books. 2014. 272 pages.

Book Source:  I received this book as a publisher's galley through NetGalley free of cost in exchange for an honest review.

Favorite Quote:  "The words you can't find, you borrow. We read to know we're not alone. We read because we are alone. We read and we are not alone. We are not alone. My life is in these books ... Read these and know my heart. We are not quite novels ... We are not quite short stories ... In the end, we are collected works."

A. J. Fikry is the owner of a small independent bookstore, Island Books, on a small island, Alice Island. His is the only bookstore on the island, catering to the small year round population in the winter and the burst of business that the summer visitors to the island bring. Surrounding him are the visitors to his bookstore, his wife's sister and her husband, the local police chief who becomes a friend, and the book rep of one of the publishers he deals with.

A.J. is a little lost. His beloved wife died suddenly. His bookstore is not doing well, and his prize possession - a rare book, of course - has been stolen. He is alone and isolated.

One day, an unexpected "package" arrives at his store, and changes his life forever. The story is about what follows that day in A.J's life. Peppered throughout at his notes on a variety of stories, some that I have read and some that are now going on my ever-lengthening to read list.

This book has been described as a "love letter to the world of books" which, of course, immediately appeals to me. It's a sweet story of ordinary people getting through life. That is its appeal. It's real. The fact that the setting is an independent bookstore certainly adds to that appeal. The book makes me feel like I am welcomed into the characters' world and become a part of it. I end the book still feeling warm and cozy.

At one point, A.J. writes, "People tell boring lies about politics, God and love. You know everything you need to  know about a person from the answer to the question:  What is your favorite book?" This is one of my recent favorites. Wonder what this tells you about me?