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The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old

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Along with fellow members of the Old-But-Not-Dead Club, he embarks on a wild spree of octogenarian anarchy. But the home's director will not stand for any more drunken bar crawls, illicit fireworks or geriatric romance. The good name of the care home will not be disgraced. Pored niza duhovitih primedbi, anegdota i zabavnih komentara, ovo je knjiga o svim užasima starenja i društvenoj nevidljivosti ljudi u gerontološkim centrima. Uvek mi je zanimljivo kad čitam u popularnim časopisima o 'tabuima u kulturi' i uvek nekako izostave da pomenu da smo postali kultura koja se baš užasava starih ljudi i juri da ih skloni što dalje. Holandija ima zakon o eutanaziji i njemu je dat ogroman prostor u Hrunovom dnevniku, i premda se pominje usputno i ovlaš, jasno je da je to centralna etička dilema mnogih stanovnika staračkog doma, a i njihovih porodica i lekara. We learn very little about Hendrik’s past. We never discover what he did for a living and are told only a few details regarding the death of his daughter and his wife’s subsequent slip into depression. Hendrik refuses to wallow in unhappiness, and the book is all the better for that. What a change this was from my usual genres, but I'm so glad I read it, it was a pleasure and an honour to share Hendrik's life, if only for a year! Of the five senses, my nose still works best. Which is not always a blessing in here. It smells of old people."

Hendrik Groen - Penguin Books UK Hendrik Groen - Penguin Books UK

Hendrik lives in a care home in Amsterdam, and his book gives a lively look at a year in his life from his own perspective. Although he's finding it increasingly hard to get get about these days, he's far from dead, and just to prove it, he and his friends set up the 'Old But Not Dead' club. The club members are each tasked in turn, with arranging an outing in which they can all participate. The results are both refreshing and ingenious. It gives them something to look forward to as well as relieving the monotony of their daily lives.

Highly entertaining, utterly convincing. A delightful and touching saga of one man's way of coping with old age' Daily Express

Hendrik Groen - Wikipedia Hendrik Groen - Wikipedia

What a touching read. Truly this is up there with the best ones I have read. It was recommended to me by my dad's primary health professional with the words that it is one of the funniest, most poignant and cutting reads about old age you will come across. And it is. I enjoyed the descriptions of Amsterdam, and I loved the tales of the excursions enjoyed by "The old but not dead" club. Hendrik Groen is 83 years old and living in a retirement home in Amsterdam. His secret diary is both funny and sad as he records the daily hassles of aging and of living with a host of other people in the same boat. His old club fell apart but every now and then there is a reunion where the former residents get to enjoy some beer and catch up. For years it was unknown who was hiding behind the pseudonym. This led to speculation about who it could be. Names from Sylvia Witteman to Arnon Grunberg were mentioned. Both De Volkskrant and NRC Handelsblad revealed almost simultaneously in 2016 that Peter de Smet was 62-year-old. De Smet responded with the words that 'he is not waiting for publicity' and 'has no sense in the fuss about fame'.

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So indeed, yesterday I attended ‘Feel Good Fitness’. It was my first time. And also my last. When it was over and the instructor - ‘Call me Tina’ - gushed that I should definitely come again next week, I told her right then and there that once was enough. ‘Oh, and why is that?’ she asked suspiciously. ‘Because with so much female pulchritude about, I can’t concentrate on the exercises properly. I stiffen up.’

Hendrik Groen - Book Series In Order Hendrik Groen - Book Series In Order

Despite their age, the members of the club are a determined bunch as they sample themed and very fine dining establishments and arrange day trips. Their care home is also not spared as they also have some very hilarious incidents there too. Let's clear one thing up: Hendrik Groen is not the author of this book. In fact, no one (outside of his Dutch editor) is aware of the author's identity. Speculation is rife that he or she might in fact be a famous writer working under a pseudonym. It hardly matters, for The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old is a joy to read, as much concerned with friendship and dignity as it is with the debilitating effects of aging. Because Hendrik finds walking more and more difficult, he invests in a mobility scooter. This gives him great pleasure and a sense of freedom he had forgotten. A joy to read. An entertaining and uplifting story of a man in the winter of his days' John Boyne, Irish Times In doing so, he developed a reputation of being an octogenarian in the mold of Elena Ferrante, even though no one still knows if he is a man, woman, or even an octogenarian.

This is a wonderful heartrending, uplifting and hilarious read. It is obviously a take on Adrian Mole but featuring an elderly curmudgeon, Hendrik Groen. It is set in a north Amsterdam nursing care home which is going to experience a whistleblowing day to day account of the lives of an eccentric bunch of residents and the rules they are subjected to, documented in the diary. Hendrik is grumpy, cynical, politically incorrect, full of life, funny and a rebel with a cause. He has two friends, Evert and the assistant to the Administrator, Anja. The book does a stellar job in challenging the stereotypes and the invisibility of the elderly.

Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old review: a nome de The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old review: a nome

Among them are the kind hearted and thoughtful, Eefje Brand, who recently moved into a room Mrs De Gans "vacated" and to whom he strikes up a sweet, close and heart warming friendship. His cheeky and mischievous friend Evert Duiker, who lives independently around the corner in sheltered accommodation with his dog Mo who farts a lot. Whenever Everts grout plays up Walter visits and takes his dog for a walk, helps him out with things or just enjoys an afternoon chat and "a glass of something or other" - usually wine, gin, brandy or whisky.I'll have to grant the author of this novel as having done a good job of taking a living situation of limited appeal and turning it into a fairly interesting story. With dry humor and an optimistic outlook the writing comes across as 365 consecutive short stories with little day to day continuity, but over the span of the year there are clear progressions of various themes including diminished health for some. As part of her plan of action to combat the dementia, Grietje has composed, with my help, two new notes she is to carry with her at all times: ‘What to do if I get lost’ and ‘What to do if I don’t remember exactly who someone is.’ Both notes start with: ‘Please forgive me, but I’m a bit forgetful.’ On parting, a kiss on both cheeks. I felt myself get all hot and bothered. Jesus, I’m eighty-three years old!” This was not helped by the fact that Meulenhoff his publisher never released any information regarding the identity of one of his most popular clients. For years, he hid under a pseudonym as he published several literary passages in “Torpedo Magazine.” Hendrik is a bit of a grouchy old fellow, but it’s not long before he realises that it’s not just his age and infirmity that have affected his mood, it’s the continuous complaints and “organ recitals” at the dinner table (a phrase I only ever heard used by my aunt, who was exasperated by hearing all the gory details about other people’s organs).

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