There are novel characters you admire – and then there are those where, after just a few pages, you think: "I'd go with him (despite everything)." Wo das Paradies beginnt does exactly that with its hero: Jon Skata seems approachable, fallible, and at the same time astonishingly resolute. His story is told by Renata Petry – and after just the first few chapters, you realize that this is a human being on a journey, not just a "main character."
At the beginning, Jon is neither a knight nor a prophet. He is a merchant, young, in love, a little proud – and in Visby/Gotland, he finds himself in a situation where one wrong word is enough to rewrite his life. His famous vow to travel to paradise does not arise in a quiet moment of enlightenment, but from friction, emotion, and the desire to prove himself. That's precisely what makes him so interesting: he isn't "called"; he decides. And he realizes too late that decisions have a price.
Jon Skata: A Hero of Pride, Love, and a Single Sentence
What drives Jon is a mix of love and honor – and that feels surprisingly modern. He doesn't just want to "win"; he wants to be worthy. This touches on a classic reader fantasy: someone who doesn't complain but just goes. At the same time, Jon remains human because his determination doesn't come from superiority, but from insecurity. He's not someone who has everything under control; he's someone who still acts despite doubts.
In an interview with the publisher, the author describes this mechanism as a moment when a life hangs on a single word. Renata Petry states there: "I believe everyone can recall a situation in their life where a single decision, expressed by a 'yes' or a 'no,' led to far-reaching consequences." Jon is written exactly like that: as a character who says "yes" – and then lives with the consequences, step by step, mile by mile.
How a Merchant Becomes an Adventurer (Without Losing His Soul)
Jon is not an adventurer because he loves risk. He becomes one because the world forces him to become bigger than his original plan. As soon as the journey rolls towards Regensburg, Austria, and on to Venice, his core trait emerges: responsibility. He doesn't always make perfect decisions, but he rarely chooses comfort. This becomes particularly clear when Matti appears – disguised as a "boy," pursued, vulnerable, yet astonishingly resilient. Jon could look away. He could "just" pursue his goal. But he takes her with him and thus attaches a danger to himself that could shatter his entire endeavor.
This is the moment Jon Skata becomes a character you gladly accompany. For he doesn't become a hero by being stronger than others, but by taking more responsibility than would be sensible. And yet, he doesn't remain a naive idealist: He knows that Matti's disguise could be revealed, that rumors could be deadly, that in the Middle Ages, morality and survival don't always mean the same thing.
Between Palu, Matti, and the Question: Who Am I When Things Get Serious?
Jon is rarely alone – and therein lies another strength of the novel. In Palu, he has a cousin who often voices what readers are thinking: "This can't end well." Palu is suspicion, pragmatism, dry survival knowledge. Matti is courage, disguise, a longing for freedom. Jon stands between them, and you notice how his character rubs against and sharpens itself on the two. Every scene where the group has to rush on makes Jon a little clearer: What is more important to him – his vow, his love, or the people he doesn't want to lose along the way?
Anyone who wants to delve deeper into this great emotional driving force – the longing for new beginnings and the search for meaning – will find a unique perspective in the article "New Beginnings and the Search for Meaning in the Novel". With Jon, this longing is never abstract: it becomes visible in paths, rivers, maps, harbors – and in the question of whether paradise is a place or a touchstone.
A Protagonist Who Grows – And Remains Relatable
In the last third, you particularly notice: Jon doesn't become "cooler," but more real. He learns that loyalty is not comfortable, that love is not just a goal but a decision, and that courage sometimes means moving forward even when you're afraid. This is precisely why Jon Skata works as the protagonist of a historical adventure novel: because he carries the great journey without seeming artificial. And when you close the book, the question that lingers is less "Where is paradise?" and more: "What would I go out for myself?" – a question that Renata Petry deliberately stages and that makes the novel resonate long after.
Note: The book is available in German as a printed, i.e., paperback edition (ISBN 978-3-910347-85-4) and as an EPUB (ISBN 978-3-910347-86-1) in bookstores or here in the publisher's shop.
