The new life-affirming, hilarious and heart-warming fictional diary from the beloved octogenarian and international bestselling author.
Hendrik Groen started his diaries on the literary website of
Torpedo magazine. His first diary The Secret Diary of Hendrik
Groen, 83 Years Old has been translated into over thirty languages
and On The Bright Side went straight to number 1 in its native
Netherlands.
Hester Velmans is the author of two popular children's novels and
an award-winning translator specializing in modern fiction. Her
translation of Renate Dorrestein's A Heart of Stone won the Vondel
Prize for Translation.
I laughed until I cried and then laughed and cried some more
*David Suchet*
Thoughtful, anxious and gruff... Laced with humour
*Mail on Sunday*
Full of off-beat charm and quirky characters
*Stylist*
A story with a great deal of heart, it pulled me in with its
self-deprecating humour, finely drawn characters and important
themes. Anyone who hopes to grow old with dignity will have much to
reflect on
*Graeme Simsion*
Amusing [and] wickedly accurate ... I was constantly put in mind of
One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, another comi-tragedy concerning
the tyranny of institutions of the unwanted. Enjoy Groen's light
touch but do not be fooled by it. We live in an ageing society. The
Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen is a handbook of resistance for our
time
*Sunday Express*
There are many laughs in this book but it's so much more than just
a comedy. It's a story about how friendship, selflessness and
dignity lie at the heart of the human experience. When I'm an old
man, I want to be Hendrik Groen
*John Boyne*
Highly entertaining ... a delightful and touching saga of one man's
way of coping with old age ... we may assume that Hendrik Groen is
a character of fiction. But it is a fiction so closely based on the
observation of real life that it is utterly convincing
*Daily Express*
A joy to read, as much concerned with friendship and dignity as it
is with the debilitating effects of aging ... An entertaining and
uplifting story of a man in the winter of his days, stoic in the
face of bureaucratic nonsense and an unabashed need to wear a
nappy. Imagined or not, this is the diary of someone who wants
nothing more than to be allowed see out his days with dignity and
respect. It's not too much to ask, really, is it?
*Irish Times*
Praise for The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old
*-*
Very funny
*Financial Times*
Terrific. This geriatric Adrian Mole made me laugh
*Woman and Home*
I laughed until I cried and then laughed and cried some more
*David Suchet*
So much more than just a comedy. It's a story about how friendship,
selflessness and dignity lie at the heart of the human experience.
When I'm an old man, I want to be Hendrik Groen.
*John Boyne*
A story with a great deal of heart, it pulled me in with its
self-deprecating humour, finely drawn characters and important
themes. Anyone who hopes to grow old with dignity will have much to
reflect on
*Graeme Simsion*
A funny but also touching diary praised for its wit and realism
*BBC Radio 4 Front Row*
Hendrik pens an exposé of his care home, sets up the
Old-But-Not-Dead club and relishes the arrival of a new female
resident. This geriatric Adrian Mole made me laugh and think.
Terrific
*Woman and Home*
Very funny
*Financial Times*
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