Jonas Jonasson: ‘My success is that I spread hope’

The Swedish author on his new novel, Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All, and why we need to laugh – and climb out of windows – more often

The new novel details the history of religion in Sweden. What made you want to tackle that subject now?
I have nothing against religion but I always thought that the Bible was overrated. Many of the stories are terrible. I think we should look more critically at the Bible, which to me has very little to do with belief. According to the Bible, we’re supposed to fear God. I don’t buy that at all. I fear Isis. Fear to me is a bad word.

Your novels have eccentric protagonists caught up in extraordinary events. How do you create your characters?
I collect characters in real life: I read about them, I see real people on TV, I meet them and store them in my head. And then I go to the library in my head and I pick people and mix them up. For this book, I could have picked a driving instructor not knowing how to drive, or an economist not knowing how to count. Instead, I picked a priest not believing in God.

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