Thursday, August 25, 2016

The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen aged 83 and a quarter years old by Hendrik Groen




This is a delightful book, and Hendrik Groen is a delightful if occasionally curmudgeonly diarist: a lovely book to dip into over a series of days, as his account of his year in his care home is told.  He gives his account with charm and humour, which he needs to survive the stultifying routine and company there.  However, you cannot keep a good man down for long, and Hendrik and his small band of friends find new ways to make life bearable.  There is plenty to make the reader smile, and food for thought in the issues it raises about the practice and politics of the care for the elderly, in any country, as well as the practice of making the most of what you've got whe you've got it .  The book is a tragicomic treat and I would love to hear more from the wonderful Hendrik Groen.

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