Friða Ísberg and THE MARK

“The book is me trying to have a conversation with my father and reach a middle ground.”

Friða Ísberg is here to talk about THE MARK (Faber and Faber) translated by Larissa Kyzer. The book centres on a referendum in Iceland about whether mandatory tests should be imposed on its citizens. Friða talks about writing over the divide, arguments with her father, and Icelandic literary culture and how they have all shaped the book. 

Rippling Points

02:05 - what is the mark?

04:12 - where are the divides?

06:30 - working in London while Brexit happened

08:07 - Frida's relationship with her dad and how it informed The Mark

11.15 - feeding emotion into a novel

13:46 - is it easier to write characters we agree with?

18:31 - Icelandic meaning of The Mark and how it relates to divides.

21:25 - why an empathy test?

25.51 - who is profiting from the mark?

28:30 - is one in ten a published writer in Iceland?

31:22 - do writers have a public duty?

Reference Points

Writers

Fernanda Melchor

Jacqueline Rose

George Saunders

Ali Smith

Films

There's Something About Mary (1998, dir: Peter and Bobby Farrelly)