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Fridrik Erlings

Goodreads Author

Born

in Reykjavík, Iceland

Website

http://fridrik.wordpress.com/

Genre

Young Adult, Historical Fiction

Member Since

April 2010

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/erlings

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Friðrik Erlingsson

Fridrik Erlings was born in Reykjavik in 1962. From 1980 - '90 he worked as a graphic designer and illustrator. He was a guitar player and songwriter in two Icelandic rock bands; Purrkur Pillnik from '81-'83 and in '86 he founded the alternative rock band The Sugarcubes with Einar Orn and Bjork before leaving music to pursue writing.

Fridrik is the author of several novels, both Fiction and Young Adult novels. He's written numerous lyrics for contemporary pop and rock artists; he has written screenplays for film and television, the most recent the screenplay for 'Thor - Legends of Valhalla', the first feature length 3D-animation film made in Iceland. He has also lectured screenwriting at The Icelandic Film School.

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I have just begun reading "Boy on the Edge" with my students. We are curious about why you stacked the deck for Henry with so many difficulties. He has about every mark against him we could imagine in terms of life obstacles. My students were wondering if there was a reason behind this choice. At one point did you just decide to "pile every woe you could think of" on him or was there more to it than that?

Fridrik Erlings Dear Claudia. Thank you, and your students, for this very good question, which I am more than happy to try to answer.

In part Henry is a metaphor, a s…moreDear Claudia. Thank you, and your students, for this very good question, which I am more than happy to try to answer.

In part Henry is a metaphor, a symbol of loneliness; the embodiment of loneliness, which is more than just an emotion, it is a condition, for some people a serious condition for a long period of time. How does one make the reader experience Henry's loneliness, his serious long term condition, without having to remind the reader constantly with some expressive words? By showing the reader instead of telling him, that was my choice.

When the character of Henry was beginning to form in my mind, he had a club foot, a slow speech and was terrified of books. But there was a lot going on in his mind, more than anyone could have imagined by looking at him. So here came a certain challenge - to 'isolate' Henry, so to speak, as completely as possible, to make other characters alienate him, becoming afraid of him and so on - but at the same time to show all that was going on in his mind, his hopes, dreams and fears - and by this try to make the reader 'feel' his loneliness with him, becoming isolated with him.

To me, Henry's situation is much more than just a 'pile of woes'. Although much of his problems are external or physical, it is his spiritual and emotional development that I felt most interested in exploring as a writer, and to make an honest attempt to involve the reader as much as possible into Henry's inner life, into his aura, perhaps, or his way of being.

Henry's main difficulty is his speaking problem, his insecurity because of his stuttering. He has been mocked again and again when trying to read out loud in schools, and the hurt he's felt has piled up and turned into hatred of books...

- Now, because I don't know how far into the story you already are, I hesitate to tell you more at this point - but I would be really happy to answer any questions that you might have, further on in the story. Thank you so much for this question, give my best to your students, and I look forward to hear from you again.

I hope my reply has given you some answers. Please let me know.

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I just recently finished reading "Boy on the Edge", and I was wondering what happened to John and Mark. Do they drown at sea? I'd like to believe they made it (just like Henry does), but I doubt it. I love your books! Thank you :)

Fridrik Erlings Hello Kaitlin, and thank you for your post!

John and Mark's escape from the Home of Lesser Brethren is in part based on a news article, that was one of…moreHello Kaitlin, and thank you for your post!

John and Mark's escape from the Home of Lesser Brethren is in part based on a news article, that was one of my inspirations for this story. Two boys disappeared from a village, in the area where I placed the story. A thorough search went on for a long time but they were never found - until months later their bodies were discovered in a container, on board a container ship, somewhere in Southern Europe.

Although John and Mark's escape is based on this fact, we might however hope with Henry that they made it to their place in the sun. Perhaps they did, perhaps not. Henry likes to think that they did; that thought gives him hope, a hope that he too might make it to his 'place in the sun' so to speak. That hope gives him courage and strength to endure.

Thank you for your kind words about my books, Kaitlin.

All the best to you!

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Fridrik Erlings’s books

Average rating: 3.58 · 496 ratings · 97 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	Benjamin Dove by Fridrik Erlings (Goodreads Author), Fridrik Erlings (Goodreads Author) 3.94 avg rating — 329 ratings — published 1992 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Boy on the Edge 3.65 avg rating — 179 ratings — published 2012 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Fish in the Sky by Fridrik Erlings (Goodreads Author), Friðrik Erlingsson 3.38 avg rating — 177 ratings — published 1998 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Benjamin Dove Hardcover November 1, 2007 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Fridrik Erlings (?)

“I’m still not old enough to be able to pretend I don’t feel anything.”
― Fridrik Erlings, Fish in the Sky

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“I am like a lizard: changing color every day.”
― Fridrik Erlings, Fish in the Sky

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“I am a star, a twinkling star. I’m an infant on the edge of a grave and an old man in a cradle, both a fish in the sky and a bird in the sea. I’m a boy on the outside but a girl on the inside, innocent in body, guilty in soul.”
― Fridrik Erlings, Fish in the Sky

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