Olivia Sudjic

Sudjic was born in London, England. She went to school there[5][6] and then read English Literature at Trinity Hall, Cambridge[7][8] where she won the E.G. Harwood Prize for English.[9][10][11]

Sympathy revolves around a twenty-something woman visiting New York who becomes obsessed with an older woman via the social media app Instagram. The book is recognized for addressing generational differences: "A child of the age of algorithms, she notices everything but knows the value and significance of nothing."[12] As for the structure, it resembles the disjointed experience of surfing the internet, thereby reinforcing the story's focus on technology.[3]

The reviews for Sympathy have been enthusiastic. The New Republic refers to the novel as "a remarkable debut, and with the arrival of such a novelist we can finally welcome our techno-dystopian future with open arms."[4] According to The New Republic, Sympathy is "The First Great Instagram Novel", dealing with obsession and smartphone technology.[13] The article goes on to say: "Rarely do novels so ostentatiously of the moment succeed so well at gesturing to the universal."[12] The novel was also mentioned in Vanity Fair,[14] The Financial Times,[15][16] The Spectator,[1] The Telegraph,[17] Elle,[18] Esquire,[19] Star Tribune,[20] The Times,[21] The New Yorker[22] and Vice,[23] among others.

Sudjic began writing Sympathy in 2014 while staying with her grandmother in Manhattan.[24][25] New York City ended up becoming integral to the story, representing the protagonist's "...searching and longing for connection."[26] In the beginning, Sudjic intended to write an historical novel, but changed her mind and set the story in contemporary times.[25] Sympathy has been described as a feminist work, with Sudjic stating that the internet is male dominated.[27][18]

Sudjic's second book, Exposure, was published on 1 November 2018 by Peninsula Press.[28]

• Official website