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Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tommorrow
"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" is a story by Kurt Vonnegut written in 1953, and first published in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine in January 1954 titled as "The Big Trip Up Yonder".
The story is set in 2158 A.D., after the invention of a medicine called Anti-Gerasone, which is made from mud and dandelions and is thus inexpensive and widely available. Anti-Gerasone halts the aging process and prevents people from dying of old age as long as they keep taking it; as a result, America now suffers from severe overpopulation and shortages of food and resources. With the exception of the very wealthy, most of the population appears to survive on a diet of foods made from processed seaweed and sawdust.
The title "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" comes from a famous line from Shakespeare's play "Macbeth". The soliloquy in the play paints life as a succession of useless moments, lots of "sound and fury" that amount to "nothing." Through the allusion, Vonnegut comments upon the lives of characters who live in a world where everyone has the comfort of life, but no duty or pressure to contribute anything good or positive.
The story is set in 2158 A.D., after the invention of a medicine called Anti-Gerasone, which is made from mud and dandelions and is thus inexpensive and widely available. Anti-Gerasone halts the aging process and prevents people from dying of old age as long as they keep taking it; as a result, America now suffers from severe overpopulation and shortages of food and resources. With the exception of the very wealthy, most of the population appears to survive on a diet of foods made from processed seaweed and sawdust.
The title "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" comes from a famous line from Shakespeare's play "Macbeth". The soliloquy in the play paints life as a succession of useless moments, lots of "sound and fury" that amount to "nothing." Through the allusion, Vonnegut comments upon the lives of characters who live in a world where everyone has the comfort of life, but no duty or pressure to contribute anything good or positive.
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First published January 1, 1954
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About the author
Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
641 books36.5k followersKurt Vonnegut, Junior was an American novelist, satirist, and most recently, graphic artist. He was recognized as New York State Author for 2001-2003.
He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.
After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.
His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.
Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)
He was born in Indianapolis, later the setting for many of his novels. He attended Cornell University from 1941 to 1943, where he wrote a column for the student newspaper, the Cornell Daily Sun. Vonnegut trained as a chemist and worked as a journalist before joining the U.S. Army and serving in World War II.
After the war, he attended University of Chicago as a graduate student in anthropology and also worked as a police reporter at the City News Bureau of Chicago. He left Chicago to work in Schenectady, New York in public relations for General Electric. He attributed his unadorned writing style to his reporting work.
His experiences as an advance scout in the Battle of the Bulge, and in particular his witnessing of the bombing of Dresden, Germany whilst a prisoner of war, would inform much of his work. This event would also form the core of his most famous work, Slaughterhouse-Five, the book which would make him a millionaire. This acerbic 200-page book is what most people mean when they describe a work as "Vonnegutian" in scope.
Vonnegut was a self-proclaimed humanist and socialist (influenced by the style of Indiana's own Eugene V. Debs) and a lifelong supporter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The novelist is known for works blending satire, black comedy and science fiction, such as Slaughterhouse-Five (1969), Cat's Cradle (1963), and Breakfast of Champions (1973)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
October 20, 2017
A (very short) satire / study about the downside of the possible advancements in gerontological longevity treatments.
December 16, 2024
A nice palate cleanser after a disappointing lions game
I hate gramps. However, I can’t help but respect him cause if I was 172 years old I’d be pretty annoyed by my family too, esp cause they probably all wanted me to just go ahead and die already
I hate gramps. However, I can’t help but respect him cause if I was 172 years old I’d be pretty annoyed by my family too, esp cause they probably all wanted me to just go ahead and die already
May 23, 2021
Read this along with 2BRO2B for a book club that decided to start with some short stories before we delved into a full length book next month. Definitely an interesting short story and I'm sure very forward-thinking for the time, but reading it now I would say it's just okay and I probably had a better time talking about it and expanding different areas of society he didn't touch on than I had actually reading the story.
February 1, 2021
Very sardonic stuff
October 29, 2023
This book was recommended to me by Rachel and I ended up listening to the audiobook. Forme it started off slow but then as the story progressed, I really begin to find it interesting. Told a beautiful story of the lives of a few friends and how we interact with people we love
January 9, 2023
Deep, heart-punching story about the stories we tell ourselves, relationships that don't fit tidy labels, and a little entrepreneurship (the last couple paragraphs of the book could have been my conversation about our start-up in the 90's).
The love the depth of career passion that is shown, without being overly dramatic or saturating us with that aspect of the characters. This connection to the work is their success driver and their downfalls but could have distracted from the story if not handled so well.
A couple chapters with change of point of view and storytelling style jolted me, but only for a quick moment.
The love the depth of career passion that is shown, without being overly dramatic or saturating us with that aspect of the characters. This connection to the work is their success driver and their downfalls but could have distracted from the story if not handled so well.
A couple chapters with change of point of view and storytelling style jolted me, but only for a quick moment.
February 23, 2024
Uhmmmm Marx didn’t deserve that literally my fave character and probably the best chapter in the book
June 7, 2025
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. is one of those short stories that punches far above its word count. It's dark, witty, and wildly uncomfortable—in the best way possible. Vonnegut takes a simple sci-fi idea—what if humans could live forever?—and pushes it to its natural, awful conclusion. Spoiler: it's not a dream. It’s a nightmare wearing a lab coat.
The story paints a future where death has been nearly eliminated, and the result is... pure chaos. Overpopulation, generational resentment, lack of purpose. No one dies, but no one lives either. Families are stacked on top of each other in overcrowded apartments, hoarding years and bitterness. It’s claustrophobic and absurd, but Vonnegut doesn’t just want to disturb you—he wants you to think.
The philosophical weight here is huge. What is life without limits? If tomorrow always comes, what reason do we have to do anything today? Vonnegut isn’t just criticizing science or politics—he’s pointing the finger at human nature. Our refusal to let go. Our obsession with more time, more comfort, more control. But more isn’t always better. Sometimes it’s just more.
And all of this is told with Vonnegut’s classic deadpan tone. He makes you laugh, then makes you cringe for laughing. He doesn’t offer easy answers—he hands you a mirror, cracked and a little dirty, and asks you to take a good long look.
In short: this story is eerie, brilliant, and still painfully relevant. A must-read if you’ve ever daydreamed about immortality… or just putting off something important until “tomorrow.”
The story paints a future where death has been nearly eliminated, and the result is... pure chaos. Overpopulation, generational resentment, lack of purpose. No one dies, but no one lives either. Families are stacked on top of each other in overcrowded apartments, hoarding years and bitterness. It’s claustrophobic and absurd, but Vonnegut doesn’t just want to disturb you—he wants you to think.
The philosophical weight here is huge. What is life without limits? If tomorrow always comes, what reason do we have to do anything today? Vonnegut isn’t just criticizing science or politics—he’s pointing the finger at human nature. Our refusal to let go. Our obsession with more time, more comfort, more control. But more isn’t always better. Sometimes it’s just more.
And all of this is told with Vonnegut’s classic deadpan tone. He makes you laugh, then makes you cringe for laughing. He doesn’t offer easy answers—he hands you a mirror, cracked and a little dirty, and asks you to take a good long look.
In short: this story is eerie, brilliant, and still painfully relevant. A must-read if you’ve ever daydreamed about immortality… or just putting off something important until “tomorrow.”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 13, 2023
I read this when I was still unsure about the title choice for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Having finished both, I can safely say that they are unrelated but this was a cool little story.
This has got that trademark Vonnegut pessimism in spades, and it's about a world where the old folks never die and there's nothing left for the next generation to do but crash at grandpas and pay into social security. Reminded me of Scythe.
I recommend reading this in Welcome to the Monkey House because for whatever reason Project Guttenberg is missing the opening dialogue between Em and Lou.
This has got that trademark Vonnegut pessimism in spades, and it's about a world where the old folks never die and there's nothing left for the next generation to do but crash at grandpas and pay into social security. Reminded me of Scythe.
I recommend reading this in Welcome to the Monkey House because for whatever reason Project Guttenberg is missing the opening dialogue between Em and Lou.
May 29, 2025
A sort of darkly funny sorry that is actually a win-win... but, I wonder, why people continue then to make soooo maybe babies. or is hard to imagine so much reproduction anatomy. This world itself, with its deasil cars has very little of it. I am also pretty sure in Kurt'd era the scattered little white people were excitedly trying to control how all the world breeds (third world and minorities, you thought you could fuck?) I don't think it would be something that's not controlled with people living and fucking and making babies left and right. I would imagine it to go in the opposite direction, when we have a "death proof" society, that's when we would have the least people to enjoy it. Suicides left and right, maybe even culturally like rituals. I'd love to read Sayaka Murata style, end of life ritual set here. also the way the whole story just feels like a chawl or a slum in India's growing metropolises. ofc there are multiple generations in this small space. this is the reality of third world countries.
July 5, 2024
Imagine a world where people live forever and the population has exploded like an overinflated balloon at a kid's birthday party. The Schwartz family, crammed into their tiny apartment, squabbles over space and inheritance while Grandpa Schwartz hogs the only comfortable spot—because, well, he’s been around the longest. Vonnegut’s sharp wit slices through the absurdity of eternal life like a hot knife through a stick of dystopian butter. If you ever wondered what it would be like to live forever, "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" makes it clear: it's less about eternal wisdom and more about eternal arguments over who gets the last piece of synthetic cake.
February 22, 2023
I’m the end, I loved this book! I am 80 years old and not really a gamer, but it drew me into the world of game development and made me want to try😊. Some parts were were not as enjoyable as others, but the writing is so beautiful and the narration was so pleasant to listen to, I was held captive to the end!
Very thought provoking also.
Very thought provoking also.
November 30, 2023
KV doesn't have the balls to imagine a post-scarcity society. "Oh no, what if we eliminate capitalism and perfect medicine and everyone has the right to comfort, but we realize that we all just wish we could drive a diesel engine again?!?!" dumb. i like his surrealist and anti-war ideas, but he is not really progressive in any other way, which can make for some baaaad speculative fiction.
March 2, 2024
"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" by Kurt Vonnegut captivates with its inventive narrative, rich character development, and unexpected plot twist. This story is perfect for higher level EFL pupils and opens up discussions about how life is to be lived when life expectancy can be stretched beyond belief.
June 11, 2025
Gaming? Was my first reaction when this book was recommended to me. It's a friendship love story told through the world of gaming - which was very well written and researched. There are few books I would read again, Tomorrow, Tomorrow & Tomorrow is one of the few. It's one of those books that is so rich with details that I guarantee the second read would be very different than the first.
April 24, 2021
"Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow", by Kurt Vonnegut (1953)
Although set in 2158 A.D. it is not really sci-fi or fantasy. It is a story about over-population in a domestic patriarchal household. (3 stars)
Although set in 2158 A.D. it is not really sci-fi or fantasy. It is a story about over-population in a domestic patriarchal household. (3 stars)
April 18, 2021
i read it for class, and i wrote an essay about the subject of death in the story. i wouldn’t pick it up for my own reading but it was an okay read
November 27, 2021
4/5 quite depressing view of the future. "Most of the world's ills can be traced to the face that Man's knowledge of himself has not kept pace with his knowledge of the physical world."
January 11, 2022
Bleak condemnation of mankind's avarice combined with fear of death to create overpopulation hell
August 5, 2022
So good, only great books make you as emotionally invested as this one did!
January 29, 2023
a different type of story (subject) It drug on forever never quite getting interesting
February 21, 2023
Pretty good read
June 8, 2023
A wonderful story about love, games and imagination. Totally recommend it, specially if you’re a gamer.
September 7, 2023
I enjoyed this story but I suck at reviews so get this book anyways
Want to read
December 8, 2023Rec by Kristen & Maddie Channel (retro color cover)
January 3, 2024
LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK! fave book I have read in a long time
January 15, 2024
Get high on life today with anti-gerasone! Only $ Free.99!
PS. How do these people even earn money to buy it anyway? Or maybe I missed sth
PS. How do these people even earn money to buy it anyway? Or maybe I missed sth
March 24, 2024
Very long winded and took me a while to get into, but once things started to pick up a bit around halfway through it was a page turner!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews