Sympathy Tower Tokyo

‘So über-zeitgeisty that it might have been written this morning, yet it is far more than merely topical or trendy, as deep moral, political, social, cultural, architectural and lingual problems collide throughout this short novel. A contemporary gem.’ Spectator

Welcome to the Japan of tomorrow. Here, the practice of a radical sympathy toward criminals has become the norm and a grand skyscraper in the heart of Tokyo is planned to house wrongdoers in compassionate comfort – Sympathy Tower Tokyo.

Acclaimed architect Sara Machina has been tasked with designing the city's new centrepiece, but is riven by doubt. Haunted by a terrible crime she experienced as a young girl, she wonders if she might inherently disagree with the values of the project, which should be the pinnacle of her career. As Sara grapples with these conflicting emotions, her relationship with her gorgeous – and much younger – boyfriend grows increasingly strained. In search of solace, in need of creative inspiration, Sara turns to the knowing words of an AI chatbot…

Awarded Japan's highest literary prize, Sympathy Tower Tokyo is an extraordinary novel from one of the most exciting new voices in world literature. Partly inspired by conversations with an artificial intelligence, it offers an extraordinary defence of the power of language written by humans, a touching exploration of the imaginative impulse, and an often hilarious send up of our modern world's unrelenting conformity.

Review

So über-zeitgeisty that it might have been written this morning, yet it is far more than merely topical or trendy, as deep moral, political, social, cultural, architectural and lingual problems collide throughout this short novel. A contemporary gem ― Spectator

Stuns and illuminates. Sympathy Tower Tokyo is an ode to language and possibility and the ongoing question of how to be in an ever-changing world. -- Bryan Washington, author of Memorial

A brilliantly ambitious struggle and mediation on language, thought and existence. A wondrous book -- Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars

A fantastical fable. Sympathy Tower Tokyo is an architectural feat; at the length of a novella it houses satire, polemic and complex characters ― Financial Times

About the Author

Rie Qudan (Author)
Rie Qudan was born in Saitama, Japan. After she made her debut in 2021 with Bad Music, which won the Bungakukai New Writers Award, she was quickly acclaimed as one of the most exciting new writers in Japanese literature. In 2022, her second work, Schoolgirl, was shortlisted for the Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s most prestigious literary award. Her third work, The Poetry Horse, won Noma Literary Newcomer Award. Her runaway bestselling fourth novel, Sympathy Tower Tokyo was published in 2024, and won the Akutagawa Prize.