“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…” by Gabrielle Zevin

672.

My photo

I started reading the book, gave up, started again and… was thoroughly hooked.

I sort of know a bit about making games… actually, I don’t. I know less than nothing. I don’t even play games much because I get obsessed with them and can’t stop and I have other things I want to do with my life.

All I do know is that my daughter is a Maker of Games and I’m immensely proud of her but she might as well be handcrafting mathematical widgets for all I can tell you about what she actually does.

“Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow…” is a book about people who make games, starting in the 90s.

So Sam and Sadie are the genius programmers and Marx, their friend, is the producer. The characters of the three of them are brilliantly delineated, clear as a bell. I don’t know how Zevin does it, because not a huge amount happens at first. They make games. Some games are successful, some not, even though they deserve to be. I’m sure there are lots of inside jokes — maybe some about Sadie’s teacher and kinky lover, Dov. They bicker and have sex with people though not as often as you might expect. They move to California.

It doesn’t matter. The writing is so marvellous, so delicate and sinewy like a ballet dancer, you don’t want to stop…