Jane Mundy

‘In My Father’s House is the story of Beth, who moves back into the family home in Sydney’s inner western suburbs to care for her elderly father, Hector. After her father dies, in order to prepare for the sale of the house, she has to deal with the accumulation of a lifetime of clutter, both hers and her father’s. She has been aware of this clutter building up, filling “the cavity of her life”. The idea of divestment is very attractive to her but also overwhelming, hence she engages the services of the clutter buster, Martha.

The decluttering process takes just six weeks and in that time the clutterer and the declutterer share a journey which becomes a cathartic experience for them both. Beth and Martha are challenged and changed by the process and are ultimately freed to move on with their lives without being weighed down by their past.

The characters are portrayed with great insight into human nature; Hector, the remote, disengaged father, who sees himself as a writer but for whom writing is a relentless but failed quest for fulfilment; Joyce the strong, selfless mother; Beth, an intelligent, passionate woman who had somehow lost her purpose; Martha, the neat freak, contained, practical and cool; Jake, the brave pacifist who was willing to take a stand for what he believed in; Tom, Martha’s son, a confused young man searching for a way to live his life.

The book is an interesting look back at Australia in the 60’s and 70’s, the Vietnam War and the Moratorium campaign, a time when ordinary people realised they could and should stand up for what they believed and hence change the actions of their government and history itself.’

- Del Nolan

Carol Van Gelder
I loved this book. It took me down memory lane to the 60s.....Vietnam War protests, fashion, food, politics and the social condition of the time.
Told from the perspective of Beth, the story centres around the clearing out of the family home after her father's death (with whom she had a fractious relationship). Items found in the family house during the de-cluttering elicit stories of relationships, hidden secrets, deception, courage and the effects of war on family.

Cleverly constructed, the novel weaves intelligently through history from WWII to the present day.
The characters are very believable and well developed. Jane Mundy has written a fascinating book that stays true to history.

'In My Father's House' is also a great book club book. The author has included questions that make interesting discussions points.
I highly recommend this book.