AustLit

'Continuing the story of Susan Duncan's bestselling and much-loved memoir, Salvation Creek, The House picks up after Bob and Susan marry and, two years later, move from her Tin Shed into his 'pale yellow house on the high, rough hill', Tarrangaua, built for the iconic Australian poet, Dorothea Mackellar.

'Set against the backdrop of the small, close-knit Pittwater community with its colourful characters and quirky history, The House is about what happens when you open the door to life, adventure, and love. But it's also about mothers and daughters, as Susan confronts her mother's new frailty and her own role in what has always been a difficult relationship.

'Where Salvation Creek was about mortality - living life in the face of death - The House is about stepping outside your comfort zone and embracing challenges, at any age. In turn funny and moving, Susan Duncan's beautifully written sequel reminds us to honour what matters in life, and to disregard what really doesn't.' (Publisher's blurb)

' A Life on Pittwater gives a glimpse of the way life goes on on the western foreshores, where there are no roads, streetlights or traffic and where the larrikin spirit of times long gone, lives on. There is Susan's lovely home with its gorgeous verandah; the lush surroundings, the bush and the bays; the wildlife and the ever-present dogs; the tinnies, the ferries; the boatsheds and the working boats; the bushfires; and, above all, the close community of arists, actors, writers, shipwrights, cooks and just about anything - a diverse population united by a love of life by the water.

Pittwater is a world where neighbours stop their tinnies to have a quick chat, where no-one ever dresses up and the kids catch the ferry to school. Goannas wander into kitchens to snaffle the Sunday roast and snakes lurk contentedly in barbecues. Everyone has time for a cup of tea and a slice of homemade fruitcake. It's a place like no-where else in Australia; and it's also quintessentially Australian. ' Source: www.susanduncan.com.au/ (Sighted 22/01/2010)