Allan and Udo

Minna Lindeberg 2012: Allan och Udo
Illustrated by Linda Bondestam

 Allan and Udo have been a couple a long time now. But it is not always easy to be together, when you are totally different from the other.

On Christmas Eve Udo refuses to celebrate . He has had a long carreer in the military and now he is depressed. He is going to sit in the kitchen until Christmas is over. Allan is sad, he knows how hard it is to cheer up someone who is depressed.

Allan lures Udo to dream land In dreamland anything can happen. Old men can fly, cakes do not have bottoms and a mysterious baker is sneaking around and getting Udo to forget Allan.  Udo tries to get away, but cannot. Allan comes to the rescue and  Udo remembers all great memories with Allan.

When they wake up, they go for a walk and see the stars and everything around them is wonderful again.

The book deals with how difficult it sometimes is to play together, how sweet sorrow memories can be and how dreams have a logic of their own. The book tells us how it must feel like to grow old, when all your dreams are behind you. In best cases as memories. It reminds us not to take those who are the dearest for granted.

This book was selected as one of the most beautiful books of 2011 and the most refreshing thing is that the relationship of the two men isn't explained in anyways. I wish that was the case in modern Finland as well, where still being different is not welcomed.