After immensely enjoying The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, I picked up a copy of another book by Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

Two nerds, Sam and Sadie, meet each other during their free childhood when Sam is in the hospital for a long time with a broken foot. Sadie visits him regularly. After he is discharged, they lose sight of each other again.

When they study again, they meet again. Both are creative and fond of games. They decide to build a game. Marx, a friend, joins them as a producer.

The game becomes a huge success. They only needed the engine of an obscure friend of Sadie’s, Dov. He turns out to be an oppressive character, leading Sam into a deep depression, which strains their relationship. The game’s sequel also becomes a success. They have since set up a company dedicated to building games and moved from Boston to LA. The relationship between Sam and Sadie remains platonic, going up and down in waves.

The company builds a game with a virtual world in which Sam and Sadie can express their free morals. For example, they create a world where same-sex marriage is not only accepted but celebrated. Sam plays the Mayor of this world. This controversial world leads to furious reactions in the real world from conservative groups who see it as an attack on traditional values. This gets out of hand, and one day, the company is raided, and Marx is shot.

The story devolves into a surreal, dreamlike narrative of Marx lying in his hospital bed, trying to survive. Beautiful style reminiscent of Johnny Got His Gun, the intensely disturbing story about a soldier who wakes up in the hospital and finds that he has lost his sight and his arms and legs. The story about Marx is less disconcerting but beautifully written. The whole experience brings Sam and Sadie back together.

Not as weird as Fikry, yet equally enjoyable.

I stumbled upon it at Broese in Utrecht (a very nice bookshop that has a small section of Dutch authors in translation; it is a nice gift for friends from abroad).

A.J. Fikry is a lonely 40-year-old bookseller. He runs a bookstore on Alice Island. His wife has recently passed away, and he is struggling to find direction in his life. When an expensive first edition of an early Tamerlane is stolen from his home/shop, and shortly thereafter, a child is found abandoned in his store, his life changes. He adopts the baby, Maya. He befriends Amelie, the representative of a publishing house. They hesitate to live together, afraid of adjusting to another person. Acquaintances and family urge both to start a normal family, something neither of them feels like doing.

(In that sense, a funny similarity to Earthlings, in which an aversion to conventions is also a theme. It is probably not a coincidence since it is yours truly who ultimately selected these books).

A.J. marries Amelia. Maya becomes a writer.

He is delighted to have produced such a fantastic nerd.

Deliciously wacky book.

PS. I just found out that the book has a movie adaptation. We set through it. Not a good movie.