I first heard about Tom Sweterlitsch’s novel, Tomorrow and Tomorrow from JJ Hensley, a fellow author and guest contributor to This Awful/Awesome Life.

He recommended I review the book for this issue because there had been serious interest from Hollywood about acquiring the movie rights to Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

I’m a big believer in reading the book before seeing the movie whenever possible, so this opportunity was too good to pass up.

Sweterlitsch writes in the first person present, so his readers will share the experiences and memories of his protagonist. Our post 911 world view and many of our concerns about society at large support his dystopian vision of the future.

Sweterlitsch has created a future controlled by an invasive surveillance state. Technology supports a society shaped by its baser inclinations. Commercialism, pornography, and violence are rampant and public executions are carried out on live television with the blessing of our president.

Thanks to an adware device, which can be surgically implanted in our head with a special lens for our eye, the internet is available 24/7. Memories can be recreated and relived. Video footage can be accessed and watched.  

Ten years after a terrorist attack destroys the city of Pittsburgh, survivors are still coming to grips with the loss of loved ones and insurance companies are still settling life insurance claims. John Dominic Blaxton, whose wife Theresa Marie and their unborn child were killed during the attack, works as an insurance investigator. While investigating an undocumented death, Blaxton discovers a woman named Albion whose existence is being erased. His attempts to save her may become his salvation if he can survive an intricate game of cat and mouse.

Instead of delving into the attack on Pittsburgh and the terrorists’ motivations, Sweterlitsch focuses on the survivors – what they remember – the people and things they lost and how they cope. Despite undergoing therapy, Blaxton dulls his pain with drugs. Unable to move on, he thinks of his wife constantly and accesses interactive memories of their life together almost daily. The seemingly insignificant details Blaxton cherishes make Theresa and his pain real to us. If you have lost a loved one, these are the things you remember. Sweterlitsch reminds us life may be measured in years, but it’s the moments that matter – the everyday conversations, sights, sounds, smells, or the feel of a lover’s touch. These are the things that only exist in our memories and fade with the passage of time.

Tom Sweterlitsch’s books Tomorrow and Tomorrow and The Gone World are available in bookstores and in paperback and eBook on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

Don’t miss J.J. Hensley’s review of The Gone World in This Awful Awesome Life,

https://www.thisawfulawesomelife.com/home/2019/5/7/not-simple-but-simply-brilliant-the-gone-world-by-tom-sweterlitsch-by-jj-hensley