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A Finnish alcoholic sits in a park next to the sandbox of a Swedish suburban apartment house. Empty beer cans lie around him, and in his plastic bag he has more beverage containers that are still unopened.
The trash containers are overflowing, and the building's walls are covered by graffiti. The balconies of immigrants' apartments are bulging with satellite antennas.
The sight is a familiar one in Swedish suburbs. This time, however, the context is that of a new story book for children. I just read it to my two-year-old daughter.
The two books by renowned Swedish illustrator Gunna Grähs have received good reviews. Grähs does not write about elves or quaint farm houses. Instead, in the political tradition of the 1970s, she writes about alcoholics, degradation, and little boys who help a friend in need.
The young, dark-haired Dino meets Heikki lying in the bushes in the front yard. Heikki is in a severe state of self-recrimination. He starts to cry because in his drunken stupor, he has forgotten to feed his cat.
Dino takes Heikki's keys and goes to his home to see how the cat is doing. "You are a good guy, Dino", grunts the stubble-chinned Heikki Myllylä from the bushes.
I broke out into incredulous laughter as I was reading, because the image was so unexpected in a children's book. "Don't laugh", my daughter scolded me. She wanted to know if Heikki Myllylä's cat was all right.
http://www.hs.fi/english/article/1135225057969
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