The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen

May 29, 2017
Delightful and moving, Groen’s novel shares a full year of the eponymous octogenarian’s journal entries, detailing his day-to-day observations, humorous inner monologues, and overall zest for life within a nursing home in Amsterdam. Bored with the daily monotony of life at the center, he decides to keep a journal for a complete year to expose the frustrations, gripes, and groans of his fellow “inmates” and the realities of growing old. Between hilarious quips about life, Hendrik regales readers with the joys of the motor scooter and his decision to relent and wear adult diapers. Hendrik’s good friend Evert—a crotchety old fellow who gets his kicks riling up the other residents—helps stave off the loneliness, but it’s when new resident Eefje arrives that Hendrik feels a spark he hasn’t experienced in a long time. Hendrik, Eefje, and Evert, along with a small group of wily seniors, decide to have a little fun while they still can by organizing the Old-But-Not-Dead Club to plan outings and excursions, including tai chi and cooking classes, and visits to the casino and museums. 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.

Starred review from June 1, 2017
For one year, 83-year-old Hendrik Groen keeps a diary of life as an inmate in an Amsterdam nursing home with both hilarious and deeply moving results. Hendrik (an alias for a famous writer, leading to much speculation) chafes at the countless, seemingly meaningless regulations and decides to form a group with five like-minded friends: the Old but Not Dead Club. Every three weeks or so, one member plans a club outinga trip to the bird park; a night at a cooking school; a 3-D movie excursion. Along the way, Groen touches on local and worldwide politics and addresses the sorry state of senior care in his home country. One of the group faces serious diabetes complications; one the onset of dementia; and Hendrik's closest female friend, Eefje, suffers a massive stroke. Groen details how the other members pitch in to help during these hard times, movingly portraying the strong bonds they've developed over this one year. Even difficult moments are interspersed with Groen's biting wit and comic take on aging and all it entails, from memory loss to adult diapers. A best-seller in Europe, Groen's diary is a page-turning delight for adult readers of any age and locale.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)