A gorgeous book

Plus great telly and a scandalous story

A gorgeous cover for a gorgeous book

I’m in the market for a love story about two video game designers, said no one ever. And yet Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, the story of Sam and Sadie who meet in a hospital gaming room in the 80s, is utterly gorgeous and took me completely by surprise.

The novel follows their friendship into adulthood as they pursue their passion for playing video games and creating their own immersive alternate realities where they can escape the limitations of their fallible bodies and a stubbornly unpredictable world. This is no conventional love story and I’ll be careful what I say for fear of any spoilers. Suffice to say that this book is a gorgeous meditation on friendship, creativity, desire, loss and redemption and I devoured it.

I don’t think I’d ever given gaming the time of day beyond playing Super Mario and Tetris as a kid and in adulthood, being aware of how addictive gaming can be and the attendant concerns parents have for their children’s wellbeing. This novel positions video games as an art form as valid and imaginatively rich as literature, music or art and Zevin, herself a gaming nerd, does a brilliant job of illustrating the joys and nuances of that world without making it feel inaccessible or unrelatable.

Again, I’ll be vague for fear of giving too much away but there is one particular section of the book that is so beautifully and heartbreakingly written that I cried heavy tears and couldn’t stop thinking about it for days. And another experimental chapter that felt genuinely radical in its conception and execution. If you’ve read the book, I’d love to hear what you thought in the comments. If you haven’t, go and read it and tell me what you think.

Have you been watching Bad Sisters? It’s a dark comedy, murder mystery about a group of sisters who try to kill off their monstrous brother in law. It’s from the brilliant Sharon Horgan who has one of those golden handshake deals with Apple TV where she gets to spend zillions making whatever she likes and you can tell in every frame of the show.

Set in Ireland, the landscapes are so lusciously shot, it’s a total visual feast. But it’s the dark humour and the performances that makes this show so good. Eve Hewson in particular, as the youngest sister Becka, is charismatic and adorable and the dynamic between the sisters feels totally believable. And the brother in law! God he’s AWFUL. Creepy, controlling, gaslighting, you are willing the sisters to just do him in. I think there are a couple of episodes left in the series and I don’t want it to end.

I have recommended The C Word before but I did just want to quickly flag that the new series just started with a totally engrossing double episode about Lindsay Lohan. I’ve read a lot about LiLo and the shit show that was/is her treatment in the press but there is so much outrageous, fascinating detail in these episodes and I enjoyed Dunham and Bennett’s insights and pop psychology. Notable mention for the phrase “Batmitzvah tits” in one episode. Enjoy.

What have you been doing to distract yourself from the burning hellscape outside the window?

Please share in the comments!

See you next time.

Hannah