Surnames
Is this a particularly Swedish thing that almost all the characters in the (mainly) 2nd and 3rd books were called by their surnames. I got very confused at times who was actualy female. ie Millenium staff, police men/women, even Erica was know as Berger most of the time.
I haev just read all three books over a 9 day period. Fantastic – apart from the Surname issue
Posted by Viv in christchurch , 18 July 2010
11 comments on “Surnames”
Did you notice how many surnanes begin with “B”? That, coupled with the use of surnames almost exclusively, made me almost give up reading the third volume. But, I couldn’t stand the suspense, so I simply made a list of names that I could use for reference!
Posted by sharpey in Richmond ,
I just finished all three books and was enthralled with each one. I just cannot imagine how one individual could have made up all of that informatin and detail!! I did find it confusing at times to keep all the characters straight and who the good guys and the bad guys were. I was hoping to find out who her sister was in the third book. Did anyone notice that SHE on TV 4 never had a name, unusual because of all the other names in the book. Do you think that was Salander’s sister?? All we really know is that she is beautiful and not Blomkvist type.
Posted by Robin in North Granby ,
You are so on target….about the last names being so similar….I finally just kept on reading and let the plot unfold…..
I had to give everyone “American Names” in my head so I could keep them all straight. So everytime I read Modig I thought “Mary” so I would it was a female officer.
I saw a video of the guy who wrote Stieg’s biography (‘the man who left too soon’). He said that basically the Millenium series was a story about Stieg. He lived that life as a crime investigator. In fact the author said that there is a conspiracy theory ou there that Stieg was murdered by Nazi’s. Hmmmmm.
Posted by Bosco in Sebastopol, CA ,
I am in the process of reading “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” in the original Swedish version, and one thing I noticed immediately is that the characters almost always without exception are referred to by their first and last names. This is a major difference between the Swedish and English versions.
Posted by Scott in Minneapolis ,
Swedes have always been more conservative in using last names.First names are many times so similar and therefore using the last name adds a clearer view about who you are addressing. A common point in Sweden is that people greet each other WITHOUT using the first name, while in North America it is usually used. Such as: How are you doing today Fred? In Swedish it is more common to say: How are you doing today?
Posted by Mats in Vancouver ,
in the Dutch version of the books, most of the time characters are named by their first and last name too, like in the Swedish version
Posted by Britt in Antwerpen, Belgium ,
I got frustrated for all the surnames, first names, and nick names with similar spellings (which I can’t even sound out correctly). Had to guess the character according to the plot and conversation, or simply went back to the previous pages…painful..
Posted by Chian in Shanghai, CN ,
About the name Stieg. This name is not a normal Swedish name. Ordinary spelling is Stig. There is a author name Stig Larsson in Sweden. If I remember right they (Stig and Stig) had a meeting and decided that one of them have to change the name on their books and article. Stieg lose that dispute. This happen long time before the “Millennium books.
Posted by Harri Holmström in Göteborg ,
“She” on TV-4 is not a person but a program (programme). P. 13 of GWDT “the woman from She on TV-4.” In later occurrences it is used to refer to both the program and the host (presenter).
Posted by Charles in Louisille, KY ,