Think Adrian Mole as a pensioner and you've pretty much got this book summed up in a nutshell.

Quirky, current, political in places and poignant in others, this is a tale of a pensioner who refuses to go the way of other OAPs in an Amsterdam care home and vows to live his life to the fullest until he is no longer able to.

Chronicling each day (or at least most of them) in his diary, Hendrik provides a feisty insight into the mind of an 83 1/4 year old; he's funny, astute, sometimes grumpy, but always entertaining. His adventures with his friends at the home provide a mixture of the mundane to the mildly outrageous as they organise a series of day trips as part of the 'Old But Not Yet Dead' club.

There are plenty of touching moments too, where the frailty of life becomes all too apparent and we see a much softer, more exposed side to Hendrik.

A brilliantly witty, yet thought-provoking novel!