A #1 international bestseller in the vein of Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove: a funny and tender-hearted tale about friendship, love, and an old man who is young at heart.Technically speaking, Hendrik Groen is….elderly. But at age 83 1/4, this feisty, indomitable curmudgeon has no plans to go out quietly. Bored of weak tea and potted geraniums, exasperated by the indignities of aging, … indignities of aging, Hendrik has decided to rebel – on his own terms. 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 wickedly anarchic 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 polishes his shoes, grooms what’s left of his hair, and determines to savor every ounce of joy in the time he has left, with hilarious and tender consequences.
A bestselling phenomenon that has captured imaginations around the world, The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen is inspiring, charming, and laugh-out-loud funny with a deep and poignant core: a page-turning delight for readers of any age.
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I liked it !
Reading it through for the third time. Comparable to A. Man Called Ove
This is such a charming diary of aging. Readers of any age would enjoy this. No one really believes that they will ever be old and senior citizens are often regarded as individuals without interesting pasts and without life still to live. This book sets that record straight in a humorous and heartwarming way.
I’m a home caregiver, it really explained the workings of an elderly person! I liked it!
Love this book and wished it didn’t have to end. Follows and adverturesom elder and his friends in assisted living facility. If you liked “A Man called Ove” then you’ll like this book.
A fascinating book that confirms: old age is not for whimps!
I enjoyed this book a great deal for its wry, funny, occasionally sad but true-to- life look at a retirement home home through the eyes of a curmudgeon who gradually gets a new lease on life by reengaging in the world. It struck many chords for me, as I just finished years of helping my elderly mother who lived in such a home (although a much better and nicer one) and I lived in Amsterdam for a while so I got all the references. It all rings very true, and you become fond of the characters in the book. If you liked “A Man called Ove” you might enjoy this as well.
Life in a care home for the aged, as written by one of the “inmates”, Henrik Groen calls himself. While dealing with the director whom Groen has little sympathy for, to the “mole” in the office who he supports wholeheartedly, from Evart, his “quirky” neighbor, to Erfje, a lovely woman that Mr. Groen falls in love with, the characters are varied. It’s a great book, and very funny!
Currently reading. I feels very much like a previously read story of elders living together in “old folks home”…previous story situated in Sweden, this one in the
NETHERLANDS. I should stop while im ahead!
Set in a nursing home, in The Netherlands, where the average age of the residents is 80; I loved this book. I laughed out loud, chuckled, cried and cheered for Hendrik and his friends.
Poignant.
Unfiltered look at what daily life is like for one elderly Dutch man in assisted living.