Hendrik Groen may be old, but he is far from dead and isn't planning to be buried any time soon. Granted, his daily strolls are getting shorter and he has to visit his doctor more than he'd like. But surely there is more to life at his age than weak tea and potted geraniums?
Hendrik Groen stated his diary on the literary website of Torpedo magazine. He says about his novel- 'There's not one sentence that's a lie, but not every word is true.' The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old has been translated into over twenty languages.
'A great deal of heart' Graeme Simsion 'Praised for its wit' BBC
Radio 4 Front Row 'When I'm an old man, I want to be Hendrik Groen'
John Boyne 'I laughed until I cried' David Suchet 'Thoughtful,
anxious and gruff... Laced with humour' Mail on Sunday 'Amusing
[and] wickedly accurate' Sunday Express
*-*
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
*The Rosie Project*
Thoughtful, anxious and gruff... Laced with humour
*Mail on Sunday*
Full of off-beat charm and quirky characters
*Stylist*
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 Independent*
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. ***** FIVE STARS
*Daily Express*
Hendrik Groen is king
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*
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*
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