Very little it would seem, until the small matter of 5000 kroner thrusts them together, for better or worse.
Per Persson is the receptionist at a central city down-and-out hotel.
He has little patience for mankind in general, and even less for his late father. Johanna Kjellander is a priest without a congregation.
Or a belief in God for that matter.
Somewhat unusually for a priest, she too hates the world at large, and her father in particular.
Finally, Johan Andersson, or Hitman Anders to his friends (and enemies), is a guest in room 7.
Recently released from prison, his aim is not to return.
To achieve this, his strategy is to consume just enough alcohol to prevent sobriety while abstaining from pills.
It seems when alcohol and pills combine, someone ends up dying, and he ends up in prison.
Again.
Together Persson and Kjellander devise a scheme whereby they exploit the hopelessly inept Hitman Anders to the financial gain of all (but mainly Persson and Kjellander).
All goes swimmingly until Anders, somewhat inconveniently, finds God.
Faced with a dwindling supply of cash now that Hitman Anders believes he should love his neighbour rather than do them bodily harm, Persson and Kjellander launch a desperate plan to maximise the cash in their suitcases before going into hiding.
Unsurprisingly, not all goes to plan.
What follows is a rollicking, farcical tale in which nothing is impossible.
A priest finds herself in upper management over an assassin, a hitman becomes a priest.
And a receptionist becomes, well, whatever is required at the time.
Hitman Anders and the Meaning of It All is Swedish author Jonas Jonasson's third novel.
His first, The 100-Year-Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared, was released to critical acclaim, and was followed up by The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden.
Hitman Anders, like Jonasson's previous two books, is a madcap, lighthearted romp whose charm lies in unpredictably stringing together a series of outrageous, hilarious events.
However, although enjoyable, this book starts to feel a little formulaic and shallow: Unlikely characters are thrust together in unlikely circumstances.
Implausible events follow.
All (or at least most) live happily ever after.
And there is little character development.
But perhaps that is the book's charm.
It is a light read that does not pretend to be anything different.
Its joy lies in its lack of pretension.
Because, as Jonasson himself has said: "If we didn't deal with mankind with a glint in the eye, I don't think we could survive.''
- Maria van't Klooster is an avid Dunedin reader.
