Stella’s Stripes

This book was written with the assistance in 1995 of a Fellowship provided by the Literature Board of the Australia Council.

The number wasn’t 9 like the lives of a cat. Jean had been counting and reckoned Stella would see 40. Or rather, she wouldn’t see 40.

But whatever the final count, on one thing everyone agreed — Stella did it so well, so gracefully. After every lash she never made a murmur, just got back up and went onto the next thing.

From the sidelines her friends all watched with envy. They too longed for a personal history of struggle and interest, for their lives to be red in drama. How they longed for different lives — the danger, the plunging excitement, the roughriding rodeo, the notoriety. The sudden onslaught of the inexplicable.

Because it was only Stella who was constantly cracking open volcanoes and spilling hot blood. What did it all mean?

Surely all those bruises had to mean something.

That’s what everyone thought. Is it a sign?

‘Stella’s Stripes’ takes place over 20 years in various locations around Tasmania, starting in the late 1970s.

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