Olivia Sudjic
Olivia Katarina Sudjic (born 1988)[1] is a British fiction writer whose first book Sympathy received positive reviews in the press, from publications such as the New York Times,[2] The Guardian[3] and The New Republic.[4]
Olivia Sudjic | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988 (age 34–35) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Known for | Sympathy |
Background
Sudjic was born in London, England, daughter of the art writer and critic Deyan Sudjic and lifestyle editor (including for Condé Nast Traveller magazine) and brand consultant Sarah Miller, daughter of architect and professor of architecture at the Royal College of Art John Miller and stepdaughter of his wife, the architect and designer Su Rogers.[5][6][7] She was educated at the City of London School for Girls[8][9] and then read English Literature at Trinity Hall, Cambridge[10][11] where she won the E.G. Harwood Prize for English.[12][13][14]
Sympathy (2017)
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."[15] 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.[16] The article goes on to say: "Rarely do novels so ostentatiously of the moment succeed so well at gesturing to the universal."[15] The novel was also mentioned in Vanity Fair,[17] The Financial Times,[18][19] The Spectator,[20] The Telegraph,[21] Elle,[22] Esquire,[23] Star Tribune,[24] The Times,[25] The New Yorker[26] and Vice,[27] among others.
Sudjic began writing Sympathy in 2014 while staying with her grandmother in Manhattan.[28][29] New York City ended up becoming integral to the story, representing the protagonist's "...searching and longing for connection."[30] In the beginning, Sudjic intended to write an historical novel, but changed her mind and set the story in contemporary times.[29] Sympathy has been described as a feminist work, with Sudjic stating that the internet is male dominated.[31][22]
Exposure (2018)
Sudjic's second book, Exposure, was published on 1 November 2018 by Peninsula Press.[32]
Asylum Road (2021)
Sudjic's third novel, Asylum Road, was published on 21 January 2021 by Bloomsbury.[33] The narrator, Anya, is from Sarajevo, and survived the siege of that city; the novel is about her disintegration.[34] The title refers to the street in Peckham on which the former asylum was located.[35]
Asylum Road was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature's 2022 Encore Award[36] and the Society of Authors' 2022 Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize.[37]
References
- ^ "Yugoslavia is gone, renamed and redrawn, but my family's history lives on within me | Olivia Sudjic". TheGuardian.com. 30 August 2019.
- ^ Phillips, Kaitlin (13 April 2017). "In This Tale of Online Intimacy, the Only Wise Characters Are Luddites". The New York Times.
- ^ a b "Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic, book review: It's a gripping odyssey into one woman's online-addled inner life". Independent.co.uk. 26 April 2017.
- ^ a b Livingstone, Jo (17 March 2017). "The First Great Instagram Novel". The New Republic.
- ^ "Take a look inside novelist Olivia Sudjic's London flat". Financial Times. 26 April 2019.
- ^ "My Space:Sarah Miller | Christie's".
- ^ "Sarah Miller: My Life in Media". Independent.co.uk. 2 September 2007.
- ^ "'Sympathy Powder in the Internet Era, A Conversation with Olivia Sudjic' by Anna Martin".
- ^ "Five Minutes With...Olivia Sudjic". May 2017.
- ^ "Meet the new faces of fiction for 2017". TheGuardian.com. 22 January 2017.
- ^ "Olivia Sudjic".
- ^ "Q&A with author Olivia Sudjic". Financial Times. 21 July 2017.
- ^ "Olivia Sudjic - Pushkin Press". www.pushkinpress.com.
- ^ "Become an FT subscriber to read | Financial Times". Financial Times. 21 July 2017.
- ^ a b Eyre, Hermione (26 May 2017). "Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic review – up-to-the-minute debut". the Guardian.
- ^ Livingstone, Josephine (17 March 2017). "The First Great Instagram Novel". The New Republic. ISSN 0028-6583. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
- ^ Crosley, Sloane (4 April 2017). "What to Read Right Now: Peter Heller's Celine, Sheryl Sandberg's Option B, and More". Vanity Fair.
- ^ Wilkinson, Carl (2 June 2017). "Become an FT subscriber to read | Financial Times". Financial Times.
- ^ Wilkinson, Carl (2 June 2017). "Subscribe to read". Financial Times.
{{cite news}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ "Tales of three cities - The Spectator". 5 August 2017.
- ^ Bird, Orlando (11 May 2017). "What will 'the great internet novel' be like?". The Telegraph – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ a b "Olivia Sudjic Talks To ELLE About Her First Novel 'Sympathy', Navigating Social Media And Being A Millennial Rent-A-Voice". 2 June 2017.
- ^ "12 Books Perfect For Your Summer Holiday". 12 July 2017.
- ^ "Review: 'Sympathy,' by Olivia Sudjic". Star Tribune.
- ^ Wilson, Fiona (27 May 2017). "Review: Sympathy by Olivia Sudjic" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ Yorker, The New (24 October 2017). "What We're Reading This Week" – via www.newyorker.com.
- ^ "'Sympathy' Is the Debut Novel From Olivia Sudjic About Instagram and Intimacy". 28 April 2017.
- ^ Maitland, Hayley (May 2017). "Five Minutes With...Olivia Sudjic".
- ^ a b Beckerman, Hannah; Clark, Alex; O'Keeffe, Alice; Kellaway, Kate; Sethi, Anita; Lewis, Tim; Parkinson, Hannah Jane; Cross, Stephanie; O'Kelly, Lisa (22 January 2017). "Meet the new faces of fiction for 2017". the Guardian.
- ^ "A Conversation with Olivia Sudjic - Read It Forward". 15 May 2017.
- ^ "45 Queer and Feminist Books You Need To Read in Early 2017". 16 January 2017.
- ^ "Exposure by Olivia Sudjic". Peninsula Press.
- ^ "Bloomsbury: Asylum Road". Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Guardian: "Inside the mind of a survivor", 6 February 2021". Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Lunate: "Asylum Road"". Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Royal Society of Literature: 2022 Encore Award". Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ "Society of Authors: 2022 Awards Shortlists". Retrieved 18 June 2022.
External links
- Official website