Game Over...Try Again?

I just put down "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" by Gabrielle Zevin a few days ago, and it's stuck with me in a way books rarely do. It's actually the first novel I've read in about two years - the last one was "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters back in 2023.

As someone who's played video games since the '90s, this book hit differently. It gets into the nitty-gritty of how games work, how they're made, and how they're sold. Most books don't touch this stuff, which made it feel real to me right away.

The heart of the story is Sam Masur and Sadie Green's relationship. These two game developers build their entire lives around gaming - creating together, fighting over their work, and letting games shape pretty much everything about them. Their collaborator Marx plays a role too, but it's really about Sam and Sadie.

What really got me was how the book uses dying in video games as this running theme. Any gamer knows that dying in a game isn't the end - you just try again. You get another life, another chance. When a game's over, you can always replay it or start something new. Sam and Sadie's relationship follows this pattern too - endings that aren't really endings, just pauses before something new begins.

They make games together, they end projects, and sometimes the games seem to end parts of them too. Their fights about what they're creating mirror that "Game Over" screen we've all seen, but just like in games, they find ways to reset and start over.

Sam says something that stuck with me - that he and Sadie are more than just potential lovers, they're collaborators making something bigger than romance. While that sounds dramatic, I get what he means. Finding someone to love isn't actually that rare, but finding someone you can create amazing things with? That's special.

Making games isn't just following instructions or ticking boxes. It's about feeling your way through with another person. Sam and Sadie never really fall in love in the traditional sense, but they have this creative connection that's just as powerful in its own way.

I keep thinking about this book because it gets something real about both gaming and relationships. There's something honest about how it shows creative partnerships and the way our passions shape our lives. If you play games and care about stories with actual depth, this one might stay with you too. It certainly has with me.