“Sympathy Tower Tokyo” | Reviewed by William Winkler

Imagine a culture in which convicted felons are housed in a luxurious tower in the middle of a major metropolitan area. No negative speech is permitted and the inhabitants have access to a fully stocked library, an indoor pool, and their choice of cuisines. The theory driving this concept is that each inmate (if they can be called that) is an example of Homo Miserabilis, recognition that each has chosen a life of crime because they have never been in a situation inspiring happiness.

This is the premise of Rie Qudan’s new novel “Sympathy Tower Tokyo," translated by Jesse Kirkwood. Set in near-future Tokyo, the book examines the planning behind the tower, its construction, and utilization.

The book’s format is a series of internal monologues, journal articles, and interviews. The speakers are Sara, the tower’s architect; Takt, her occasional lover and later a supervisor in the tower; Max, an American author who plans to write an article about the tower and its architect; and Masaki Seto, philosopher and creator of the concept of Hom Miserabilis.

Sprinkled throughout the chapters are artificial intelligent generated answers to questions posed by the protagonists. The novel’s author has admitted these responses to be true AI, a nod to the evolution of AI, a theme running throughout the book

The novel depends not on plot or strong character development, but rather on the thoughts of its main characters as the tower is planned, built, and inhabited. It is a short book. It is difficult to see how the author could have expanded it given its musing nature.

The translation is smooth and fluid, depending in part on between the three writing systems employed in modern Japanese, outlined by the translator in a preface.

Buy the book.