On The Bright Side: The New Secret Diary Of Hendrik Groen, 85 Years Old

Description

Eighty-five-year-old Hendrik Groen is fed up to his false teeth with coffee mornings and bingo. He dreams of escaping the confines of his care home and practising hairpin turns on his mobility scooter. Inspired by his fellow members of the recently formed Old-But-Not-Dead Club, he vows to put down his custard cream and commit to a spot of octogenarian anarchy. But the care home's director will not stand for drunken bar crawls, illicit fireworks and geriatric romance on her watch. The Old-But-Not-Dead Club must stick together if they're not to go gently into that good night. Things turn more serious, however, when rumours surface that the home is set for demolition. It's up to Hendrik and the gang to stop it - or drop dead trying . . . He may be the wrong side of eighty-five, but Hendrik Groen has no intention of slowing up - or going down without a fight.

About the Author

Hendrik Groen, pseudonym of Peter de Smet, is a Dutch writer. He is the author of the bookPogingen iets van het leven te maken: Het geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 83¼ jaar(The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old) published in 2014. That book was awarded in 2016 with the Audience Award for the Dutch Book. The sequelZolang er leven is: het tweede geheime dagboek van Hendrik Groen, 85 jaar(On the Bright Side: The New Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen) appeared in 2016.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'.Attempts to make something of life in 2016 won the Audience Award for the Dutch Book. This prize was not personally collected by the author.In 2017, the books were filmed and broadcasted by Omroep MAX as the television seriesHendrik Groen's Secret Diary. Screenwriter Martin van Waardenberg once again confirmed that De Smet was the man behind the pseudonym. In 2017, a stage adaptation was also brought to the stage under the direction of Gijs de Lange. Beau Schneider played the role of Hendrik Groen.