I don't feel the need to prove myself by writing the next generational novel.

I do listen to Abba. And a lot of '80s and '90s pop music.

Swedish taxes are high, and we don't get as much as we used to for them. And our schools aren't so good.

In Sweden, we've moved away from the notion that mothers have some magical, special bond with children.

People in Sweden talk a lot about the weather - how much we hate it. But Finns get more depressed.

Don't ever get old. With each year that passes, the old Viking idea of jumping off a cliff to one's death looks better and better. The only thing to hope for is that you get so senile that you think you're twenty years old again. That would be fun to relive.

I've always viewed myself as a brand. When I started 10 years ago, that was very controversial. 'Marketing' and 'PR' were dirty words for the literary world, but that has changed. Once the book is finished, I want as many people as possible to read it.