First App Note is on Chapter One
The setting is Stockholm, Sweden. "Kalle" Mikael Blomkvist is a reporter, as well as a proprietor and publisher of Millennium, an investigative magazine. The book begins with Mikael leaving court. He was just sentenced of slander. A person outside the court calls him "Kalle”. This got to him, and made him reminisce of how he started out in journalism. Mikael stands on the courthouse steps, and began to answer correspondents' question. He recalls exposed bank robbers as a youth. This is how the book begins.
Now Stieg Larsson tells takes us through his memory. After the robbers were caught, a reporter named him "Kalle," after a child detective from the books of Astrid Lindgren. Astrid Lindgren was an admired Swedish writer of children's prose. Blomkvist has always hated this nickname. However, he never flips out in front of the journalists. The fact that he doesn’t loose his cool, tells a lot about him and what is to come.
Thus far in the story, the reader is learning about memories and getting a very basic overview of the situation in Sweden. Blomkvist takes a bus to a quiet café where he contemplates his court fines and his sentence of 90 days in jail. During the trial, he felt calm, but now he's overcome with a sense of doom. The reader must understand that he knows that once he finishes his jail sentence, it will be a struggle to get a job. The reason being no editor would easily trust him again. At this point, Blomkvist begins to wonder how he ended up in this whole mess in the first place.
Now things take a slight turn. Stieg Larsson uses a space break to indicate a flashback — a technique he uses throughout the narrative to express a change in time. The Wennerstrom affair began a year and a half before the trial, on a summer afternoon. This flashback takes the reader to when Blomkvist became fascinated with Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Wennerstrom is the boss who sued him for slander. The trial came about after Blomkvist described Wennerstrom's dubious corporate undertakings. This was a tricky situation.
Now imagine a day on the water. Our protagonist is sailing with acquaintances, when he spots Robban Lindberg docking next to him. They are stopping at the island of Arholma. They spend time in Blomkvist's boat that night, drinking and conversing professional morals. Note that business and morals keep surfacing! These are common, important themes in the story. Lindberg works as a high-end banker, and since Blomkvist writes about corporate corruption, their conversation intrigues him.
Then, Lindberg brings up Wennerstrom. He talks about Wennerstrom’s company and the possiblility of a scam! More scandal, now it gets confusing; pay attention to the details. He said that Wennerstrom's company got sixty million kronor from the Swedish government; to open a packaging factory named Minos. It stayed open for two years, and then closed.
He then says that Wennerstrom's company returned 6 million kronor to the government, of the original 60 million kronor loan. Lindberg says he reviewed the documentation, and couldn't find anything dishonest in it. Regardless, something felt peculiar to him.
Several years after the Wennerstrom's Minos operation crumpled, Lindberg was in Poland. He discovered that Minos was never the factory that was described on paper! He talked to locals, and learned that Minos never had sufficient resources to manufacture anything. Blomkvist now knows for sure about the fraud.
The reader learns that interest rates were high in the 90’s, and loans were difficult to obtain. Wennerstrom viewed the loan as cash to finance his company. Lindberg says to use him as an unidentified informant if he further investigates Wennerstrom's financial schemes.
The reader learns about the story through a flashback. Stieg Larsson did this to improve the personality of the hero, Mikael Blomkvist, as well as to build on the theme of trust. The author uses flashback to relate the challenges Blomkvist will face now that his libel trial has ended.
This next part is fascinating. Blomkvist's discussion with Lindberg reveals that the journalist is a curious person who is deeply interested in exposing corporate corruption. Using Lindberg as an anonymous source no doubt contributed to the libel case against Blomkvist, and the agreement raises the reader's curiosity about Lindberg and Blomkvist's relationship: Why was Blomkvist convicted of libel if Lindberg's story is true? This flashback engages the reader with these two characters and acts as a clue to how the Wennerstrom investigation ended up in the courts.
The flashback helps us understand this confusing plot that does not occur in chronological order. Jumping to different times builds tension, and let’s us learn details about each character. It also adds realism to the book, because in real life things don’t happen in perfect order, nor always at the best time.
The biggest word to remember for Chapter One is trust! Trust, trust and trust. Trust me, this is a word that is very relevant to the entire book, not just the beginning chapter. For example, Blomkvist ponders how he's going to fix his life. He is trying to get away from his monetary and occupational troubles. This makes Blomkvist relatable because many of us have financial problems, as well as issues with our jobs.
He knows that key to continuing his journalistic career is regaining the trust of editors. Blomkvist is unsure how to rebuild the trust, especially since he now sees that his ability to trust himself has been called into question. The reporter questions the intentions of folks like Lindberg.
Blomkvist previously believed Lindberg was a reliable acquaintance. I noticed after reading this chapter several times that trust is one of the key components to this story. Issues of trust are brought up constantly. Everyone can relate to having trust issues in their life, and this makes the characters and the story relatable.
The setting is Stockholm, Sweden. "Kalle" Mikael Blomkvist is a reporter, as well as a proprietor and publisher of Millennium, an investigative magazine. The book begins with Mikael leaving court. He was just sentenced of slander. A person outside the court calls him "Kalle”. This got to him, and made him reminisce of how he started out in journalism. Mikael stands on the courthouse steps, and began to answer correspondents' question. He recalls exposed bank robbers as a youth. This is how the book begins.
Now Stieg Larsson tells takes us through his memory. After the robbers were caught, a reporter named him "Kalle," after a child detective from the books of Astrid Lindgren. Astrid Lindgren was an admired Swedish writer of children's prose. Blomkvist has always hated this nickname. However, he never flips out in front of the journalists. The fact that he doesn’t loose his cool, tells a lot about him and what is to come.
Thus far in the story, the reader is learning about memories and getting a very basic overview of the situation in Sweden. Blomkvist takes a bus to a quiet café where he contemplates his court fines and his sentence of 90 days in jail. During the trial, he felt calm, but now he's overcome with a sense of doom. The reader must understand that he knows that once he finishes his jail sentence, it will be a struggle to get a job. The reason being no editor would easily trust him again. At this point, Blomkvist begins to wonder how he ended up in this whole mess in the first place.
Now things take a slight turn. Stieg Larsson uses a space break to indicate a flashback — a technique he uses throughout the narrative to express a change in time. The Wennerstrom affair began a year and a half before the trial, on a summer afternoon. This flashback takes the reader to when Blomkvist became fascinated with Hans-Erik Wennerstrom. Wennerstrom is the boss who sued him for slander. The trial came about after Blomkvist described Wennerstrom's dubious corporate undertakings. This was a tricky situation.
Now imagine a day on the water. Our protagonist is sailing with acquaintances, when he spots Robban Lindberg docking next to him. They are stopping at the island of Arholma. They spend time in Blomkvist's boat that night, drinking and conversing professional morals. Note that business and morals keep surfacing! These are common, important themes in the story. Lindberg works as a high-end banker, and since Blomkvist writes about corporate corruption, their conversation intrigues him.
Then, Lindberg brings up Wennerstrom. He talks about Wennerstrom’s company and the possiblility of a scam! More scandal, now it gets confusing; pay attention to the details. He said that Wennerstrom's company got sixty million kronor from the Swedish government; to open a packaging factory named Minos. It stayed open for two years, and then closed.
He then says that Wennerstrom's company returned 6 million kronor to the government, of the original 60 million kronor loan. Lindberg says he reviewed the documentation, and couldn't find anything dishonest in it. Regardless, something felt peculiar to him.
Several years after the Wennerstrom's Minos operation crumpled, Lindberg was in Poland. He discovered that Minos was never the factory that was described on paper! He talked to locals, and learned that Minos never had sufficient resources to manufacture anything. Blomkvist now knows for sure about the fraud.
The reader learns that interest rates were high in the 90’s, and loans were difficult to obtain. Wennerstrom viewed the loan as cash to finance his company. Lindberg says to use him as an unidentified informant if he further investigates Wennerstrom's financial schemes.
The reader learns about the story through a flashback. Stieg Larsson did this to improve the personality of the hero, Mikael Blomkvist, as well as to build on the theme of trust. The author uses flashback to relate the challenges Blomkvist will face now that his libel trial has ended.
This next part is fascinating. Blomkvist's discussion with Lindberg reveals that the journalist is a curious person who is deeply interested in exposing corporate corruption. Using Lindberg as an anonymous source no doubt contributed to the libel case against Blomkvist, and the agreement raises the reader's curiosity about Lindberg and Blomkvist's relationship: Why was Blomkvist convicted of libel if Lindberg's story is true? This flashback engages the reader with these two characters and acts as a clue to how the Wennerstrom investigation ended up in the courts.
The flashback helps us understand this confusing plot that does not occur in chronological order. Jumping to different times builds tension, and let’s us learn details about each character. It also adds realism to the book, because in real life things don’t happen in perfect order, nor always at the best time.
The biggest word to remember for Chapter One is trust! Trust, trust and trust. Trust me, this is a word that is very relevant to the entire book, not just the beginning chapter. For example, Blomkvist ponders how he's going to fix his life. He is trying to get away from his monetary and occupational troubles. This makes Blomkvist relatable because many of us have financial problems, as well as issues with our jobs.
He knows that key to continuing his journalistic career is regaining the trust of editors. Blomkvist is unsure how to rebuild the trust, especially since he now sees that his ability to trust himself has been called into question. The reporter questions the intentions of folks like Lindberg.
Blomkvist previously believed Lindberg was a reliable acquaintance. I noticed after reading this chapter several times that trust is one of the key components to this story. Issues of trust are brought up constantly. Everyone can relate to having trust issues in their life, and this makes the characters and the story relatable.