On the Bright Side

On The Bright Side is the second instalment of The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, written by Dutch Care Facility resident, Hendrik Groen, alias Dutch librarian, Peter de Smet. Hendrik is now eighty-five and, after a year's hiatus due to grief over the passing of his good friend, Eefje Brand, he has once again decided to note down the year's events, starting in January 2015.

The Old But Not Dead Club gets back into swing, with two new members replacing one deceased, and one now in the dementia ward. In addition to their usual outings, they resolve to enjoy ethnic dinners on a regular basis, and make another International foray. Despite Director Stelwagen's efforts to minimise all pleasure while maximising her control over all residents, Henk and his cronies manage to stage an almost-complete coup of the Residents' Committee.

As well as events of note in his daily life, Groen also remarks on current affairs, including the antics of politicians, the salaries of executives, elections, corruption, the King, the Middle East, and news in the sphere of care facilities. Sometimes the anecdotes are probably funnier if the reader is familiar with Dutch personages, but often the commentary is applicable universally: just change the names.

Of course, one hazard of living to a ripe old age like 85 (apart from the organ recital, in which those around you detail their ailing organs) is that friends and acquaintances begin to drop off the perch. Not unexpectedly a member of the Old But Not Dead club gets an adverse diagnosis. But perhaps most worrying for the club and the Residents Committee are the empty rooms, usually filled post-haste, but now unoccupied. Do these spell the closure and demolition of their abode?

Amongst the spate of books about the elderly in care facilities that are meant to amuse or divert, (Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg's The Little Old Lady Who… , Jonas Jonasson's Hundred-Year-Old Man Who…) this one requires the least suspension of disbelief. It is realistic and funny without being far-fetched, making it the best of that bunch. Flawlessly translated from the original Dutch by Hester Velmans, this moving sequel again has humour, heartache and plenty to think about.