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'When a bridge in the small outback town of Mululuk mysteriously collapses, the town is cut off from the world, and its citizens from each other. As the locals try to work out why the bridge fell and what it will take to replace it, old rivalries, forgotten romances and primitive drives come to the fore.
'Teenaged Rachel has come from ‘the city’ to stay with her uncle after her home life has fallen apart, and she quickly becomes involved in the quest for the truth about the bridge. Father Nott, the local Franciscan priest, is trying to get the hysterical townsfolk to see sense, particularly his gossip-mongering friend Gussy. Shane, Janice and Craig find themselves at the heart of a devastating love triangle, with deadly ramifications that will reverberate far beyond the three of them. And the mysterious Charlie, a scruffy, charismatic alcoholic with a dark past, has a terrifying idea about what it takes to keep a bridge standing.
'In a town that keeps its secrets like it builds its houses – underground – Charlie’s is the most dangerous of all.
'Wry, rich and unsettling, All Fall Down is a starkly Australian gothic novel about a community divided, and a chilling, archaic belief about what must be done to reunite it.' (Publication summary)
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Other Formats
- Large print.
Works about this Work
-
Desert, Picket Fences Both Become a Kind of Prison
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18 March 2017; (p. 20) 'A strong sense of place is a vital characteristic of our national literary imagination. Whether it’s the outback, the bush, the beach or the city, place frames and shapes the stories we tell. It is something darker in two interesting Australian novels, Cassandra Austin’s All Fall Down and Rebekah Clarkson’s debut Barking Dogs. Here place is a stultifying prison, an antagonist to overcome.' (Introduction) -
'All Fall Down' by Cassandra Austin
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 391 2017; 'The collapse of a bridge is the catalyst in Cassandra Austin’s All Fall Down, isolating the small town of Mululuk in true Australian gothic fashion. Janice, crossing the bridge to flee her husband Craig and reunite with former lover Shane – or maybe not – manages to survive the fall, waking from a coma weeks later with a head injury people aren’t sure she isn’t faking. Charlie prays over her, not necessarily for her survival, while Father Nott and Gussy prepare to protest the government’s refusal to open the new bridge until Richard, who may or may not be an insurance assessor, is satisfied he knows what caused the first one to fail. Father Nott’s teenage niece Rachel is thrust into the middle of everything. Banished to Mululuk by her father, self-absorbed Rachel is oblivious to the shimmering tensions, lies, and half-truths that cloud Mululuk’s air as densely as the red dirt of the desert surrounding it.' (Introduction) -
Dust-Coloured Glasses
2017
single work
interview
— Appears in: Underline , March no. 2 2017; (p. 11-13) 'From the safety of her Los Angeles home, former NSW country kid Cassandra Austin has crafted a debut novel caked in the red dust of outback Australia. Wry, rich and unsettling, All Fall Down scratches at the crust of what haunts us about this 'glowering, cracking, twitching land'.
-
Dust-Coloured Glasses
2017
single work
interview
— Appears in: Underline , March no. 2 2017; (p. 11-13) 'From the safety of her Los Angeles home, former NSW country kid Cassandra Austin has crafted a debut novel caked in the red dust of outback Australia. Wry, rich and unsettling, All Fall Down scratches at the crust of what haunts us about this 'glowering, cracking, twitching land'. -
'All Fall Down' by Cassandra Austin
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , May no. 391 2017; 'The collapse of a bridge is the catalyst in Cassandra Austin’s All Fall Down, isolating the small town of Mululuk in true Australian gothic fashion. Janice, crossing the bridge to flee her husband Craig and reunite with former lover Shane – or maybe not – manages to survive the fall, waking from a coma weeks later with a head injury people aren’t sure she isn’t faking. Charlie prays over her, not necessarily for her survival, while Father Nott and Gussy prepare to protest the government’s refusal to open the new bridge until Richard, who may or may not be an insurance assessor, is satisfied he knows what caused the first one to fail. Father Nott’s teenage niece Rachel is thrust into the middle of everything. Banished to Mululuk by her father, self-absorbed Rachel is oblivious to the shimmering tensions, lies, and half-truths that cloud Mululuk’s air as densely as the red dirt of the desert surrounding it.' (Introduction) -
Desert, Picket Fences Both Become a Kind of Prison
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 18 March 2017; (p. 20) 'A strong sense of place is a vital characteristic of our national literary imagination. Whether it’s the outback, the bush, the beach or the city, place frames and shapes the stories we tell. It is something darker in two interesting Australian novels, Cassandra Austin’s All Fall Down and Rebekah Clarkson’s debut Barking Dogs. Here place is a stultifying prison, an antagonist to overcome.' (Introduction)
Awards
- 2018 longlisted Davitt Award — Best Debut
- 2018 longlisted Davitt Award — Best Adult Crime Novel
