On the Bright Side
Eighty-five-year-old Hendrik Groen is fed up to his false teeth with coffee mornings and bingo.
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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.
But when Hendrik learns of a plan to close the home down he realises life outside it could be much worse. He and the gang must stop the closure before it's too late. Or drop dead trying . . .
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'A joy to read. An entertaining and uplifting story of a man in the winter of his days' John Boyne, Irish Times
'Highly entertaining, utterly convincing. A delightful and touching saga of one man's way of coping with old age'Daily Express
'Terrific. This geriatric Adrian Mole made me laugh' Fanny Blake, Woman and Home
'A funny but also touching diary praised for its wit and realism' BBC Radio 4 Front Row
Hendrik Groen started his diaries on the literary website of Torpedo magazine. His first diary, The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83 ¼ Years Old, has been translated into over thirty languages and On The Bright Side went straight to Number One in its native Netherlands.
Hester Velmans is the author of two popular children's novels and an award-winning translator specializing in modern fiction. Her translation of Renate Dorrestein's A Heart of Stone won the Vondel Prize for Translation.