THE SECRET DIARY OF HENDRIK GROEN, 83 1/4 YEARS OLD


Generous Beth Fedyn sent me The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 1/4 Years Old knowing I enjoyed A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. Hendrik Groen lives in a nursing home in Amsterdam with 160 residents in varying degrees of health. Hendrik’s friend, Everet, suffers from diabetes and struggles to control it.

Then, there are details like this: “Mrs. Surmann decided to dry her wet slippers in the microwave. She set the timer for twenty minutes and then went to watch TV. The slippers melted and set off the fire alarm.” (p.187) Hendrik shows both the positives and negatives of nursing home life. Some of this book is funny and some is very sad. If you liked A Man Called Ove, you’ll enjoy the curmudgeonly wit of Hendrik. Thanks again, Beth! GRADE: B+

6 thoughts on “THE SECRET DIARY OF HENDRIK GROEN, 83 1/4 YEARS OLD

  1. Dan

    Sounds like this could be valuable social preparation for DAPA_EMers in case we ever interact with any old people.

    Reply
  2. Jeff Meyerson

    “This book is a work of fiction.”

    That wasn’t entirely clear from the review.

    And keep off my lawn!

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Jeff, I suspect many of the events actually happened to Hendrik Groen, but he just changed the names of the characters and the timeline. The story rings true to me.

      Reply
      1. george Post author

        Jeff, I like books written in a diary format, too. The champion in that category is Samuel Richardson’s 1,200 page CLARISSA (1748).

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