Stillways

Stillways

"I was born into a world of Men. Of Warriors. They strode back from the war, the hot yeast rising in their young veins. Victorious. -Look what we have done,' was their battle cry. -We have saved you!' The question was, who would save us from them? After their battalions were disbanded they found themselves discharged, unwanted, alone. All these damaged men."

Stillways is a classic Australian memoir about a happy-go-lucky larrikin boy growing up in a simpler and more innocent time. The young Steve was raised on a farm cut from virgin scrub at the end of a lake, a farm called -Stillways'. His daydreams were those of many Australian boys of the era – of cars, girls and escape; his hero, his older brother Rich, a Brylcreemed boy, who could hold his own in a schoolyard stoush.

He brings it all vividly to life: the scent of woodsmoke in the mornings; kids gaggling at the bus stop, their money knotted into their hankies; the thrill of sneaking in to watch the stripper and the boxers at the local show; falling in love, hurting, and learning about the ways of the world. But woven through the sunlit memories is a darker thread runs through Steve's story, of a father who would take out his frustrations by savagely belting his young children, a struggling mother who'd do anything to protect her kids, and a young boy irrevocably marked by his father's anger.

Endearing, charming, clear and unflinching, Stillways will become an Australian classic.

One of Australia's favourite actors, Steve Bisley broke into film alongside fellow NIDA graduate Mel Gibson in Mad Max, and soon found himself in regular demand, appearing in films as diverse as A Town like Alice, Squizzy Taylor, Silver City and The Big Steal. Bisley has also appeared in many theatre productions as well as starring roles in TV series The Flying Doctors, GP, Police Rescue, the classic Frontline, Water Rats, Stingers, Sea Patrol, East of Everything, and more.


Stillways
Harper Collins Australia
Author: Steve Bisley
ISBN: 9780732297848
RRP: $27.99