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by Hendrik Groen
In this #1 international bestseller, an old man who is young at heart proves that life doesn't stop once you enter a nursing home, perfect for fans of A Man Called Ove.
Technically speaking, Hendrik Groen is elderly. But at age 83 and one quarter, this feisty curmudgeon has no plans to go out quietly. Bored of weak tea and potted geraniums, exasperated by the indignities of aging, Hendrik has decided to rebel. He begins writing an exposé: secretly recording the antics of day-to-day life in his retirement home, where he refuses to take himself, or his fellow ""inmates,"" too seriously.
With an eccentric group of friends, he founds the Old-But-Not-Dead Club, and he and his best friend, Evert, gleefully stir up trouble, enraging the home's humorless director and turning themselves into unlikely heroes. And when a sweet and sassy widow moves in next door, he is determined to savor every ounce of joy in the time he has left, with hilarious and tender consequences.
The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen is an inspiring, charming, and laugh-out-loud delight for readers of any age.
"Interspersed with Groen's biting wit and comic take on aging and all it entails... A page-turning delight for adult readers of any age and locale." ―Booklist (starred review)
"Poignant and true-to-life, an international bestseller." ―Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Engaging and hilarious, Hendrik's diary gives a dignity and respect to the elderly often overlooked in popular culture, providing readers a look into the importance of friendship and the realities of the senior care system in modern society." ―Publishers Weekly
"Funny and frank - a story with a great deal of heart." ―Graeme Simsion, New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project
"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, internationally bestselling author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
This information about The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen (Hendrik Groen, 1) was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Hendrik Groen started 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 has been translated into over twenty languages.
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