The Mark

<p><b>'Searingly brilliant . . . [Ísberg] like George Orwell and Anthony Burgess before her, lets the dystopian ironies speak for themselves.’<br></b><i><b>TLS</b></i><br><br><b>'Absolutely stunning.' </b><br><b>HERNAN DIAZ<br><br>'A masterpiece.' </b><br><b>KAVEH AKBAR </b><br><br><b>A debut novel of urgent big ideas imbued with pacy plotting and atmospheric power, by an exciting new talent.</b><br><br>The Icelandic Psychological Association has prepared a test. They call it a sensitivity assessment: a way of measuring a person’s empathy and identifying the potential for anti-social behaviour.<br><br>In a few days’ time, Iceland will vote on whether to make the test compulsory for every citizen. The nation is bitterly divided. Some believe the test makes society safer; others decry it as a violation.<br><br>As the referendum draws closer, four people – Vetur, Eyja, Tristan and Ólafur – find themselves caught in the teeth of the debate. Each of them will have to reckon with uncomfortable questions: Where do the rights of society end and the rights of the individual begin? When does utopia become dystopia?<br><br><b>No matter which side wins, they will all have to find a way to live with the result.</b></p>