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All Fall Down
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.
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.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 30, 2017
4 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Cassandra Austin
3 books26 followersBorn in 1969, Cassandra Austin grew up in outback NSW but completed her formal education at Melbourne University with an MA in Criminology. She also has an MA in Creative Writing from RMIT. Austin has previously written one novella, Seeing George, published by Random House in 2004. Her latest release, All Fall Down will be released in 2017.
She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children, but returns to Australia regularly.
She currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband and children, but returns to Australia regularly.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
February 10, 2017
4.5★s
Set in the small fictional outback town of Mululuk in the far north of South Australia, an hour from Coober Pedy, the people of the town were suddenly split in two – north and south. The cause: the bridge joining the two parts of the town inexplicitly collapsed, crashing into the chasm below; with it went the car which was being driven over the bridge at the time.
Janice Harding woke from the month long coma - which was a miracle they said – but she was confused; her words wouldn’t form. But she remembered her baby Flora; would her husband Craig bring her to see her? And she remembered Shane…
Young Rachel had arrived from Melbourne to stay with her uncle, Father Nott, in Mululuk, her greyhound Moustache by her side. But immediately she was enshrouded in the mystery of why the bridge had fallen. Was it sabotage? Or was it something far more sinister? As events moved closer to the march Father Nott had organised, Shane Mannis took Rachel’s eye. But old Charlie, enigmatic and secretive, knew what was going to happen – his dark past led him to the beliefs he’d always followed – there was only one thing which would reunite the town…
All Fall Down by Aussie author Cassandra Austin is steeped in mystery and indigenous beliefs; the red dust has a life of its own and the storm is the catalyst. Intriguing and dark, All Fall Down is a thoroughly enjoyable read and one I highly recommend.
With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.
Set in the small fictional outback town of Mululuk in the far north of South Australia, an hour from Coober Pedy, the people of the town were suddenly split in two – north and south. The cause: the bridge joining the two parts of the town inexplicitly collapsed, crashing into the chasm below; with it went the car which was being driven over the bridge at the time.
Janice Harding woke from the month long coma - which was a miracle they said – but she was confused; her words wouldn’t form. But she remembered her baby Flora; would her husband Craig bring her to see her? And she remembered Shane…
Young Rachel had arrived from Melbourne to stay with her uncle, Father Nott, in Mululuk, her greyhound Moustache by her side. But immediately she was enshrouded in the mystery of why the bridge had fallen. Was it sabotage? Or was it something far more sinister? As events moved closer to the march Father Nott had organised, Shane Mannis took Rachel’s eye. But old Charlie, enigmatic and secretive, knew what was going to happen – his dark past led him to the beliefs he’d always followed – there was only one thing which would reunite the town…
All Fall Down by Aussie author Cassandra Austin is steeped in mystery and indigenous beliefs; the red dust has a life of its own and the storm is the catalyst. Intriguing and dark, All Fall Down is a thoroughly enjoyable read and one I highly recommend.
With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.
January 4, 2018
A bridge in the outback town of Mululuk falls down and Janice Harding who was travelling on it ends up in a coma. Her husband Craig comes to visit but not nearly as often as someone else does. Meanwhile young teenager Rachel along with her dog, has come to stay for at time with her uncle who is a priest in the Mululuk town. This town in the far north of South Australia is different to anything she has known. Everyone in town wants answers as to why the bridge fell. Some, like Charlie, have their own theories about what needs to happen to rectify matters and keep the new bridge that has been built standing. Rachel’s uncle, has other ideas and is organising his own reconciliation to the problem of this new bridge that is cordoned off and remains closed, annoying the inhabitants. Richard, who people believe to be an insurance investigator, is a shadowy character at the hospital while Janice is in a coma and integrates himself into the town’s activities. He tends to remain a showed character throughout.
The characters are interesting and varied as befits a small town. But the character that command attention is the red dust. You can almost smell, taste and feel that red dust pervading everything. The other character that overarches all is the bridge, which is both a real structure and, I would suggest, a metaphorical one as this book is about relationships and the way they break down. I found this an intriguing book with spare but evocative prose and a story that kept me interested. The tension is there throughout but definitely ramps up towards the end.
The characters are interesting and varied as befits a small town. But the character that command attention is the red dust. You can almost smell, taste and feel that red dust pervading everything. The other character that overarches all is the bridge, which is both a real structure and, I would suggest, a metaphorical one as this book is about relationships and the way they break down. I found this an intriguing book with spare but evocative prose and a story that kept me interested. The tension is there throughout but definitely ramps up towards the end.
August 26, 2017
Eerie and tense, All Fall Down is an account of how two unrelated events shape the remote mining town of Mululuk; the collapse of a bridge, and the arrival of a teenage girl from Melbourne. In passages Austin's writing is beautiful with vivid imagery and sensory evocation of the land, but overall the narrative feels a bit disjointed, swinging between perspectives suddenly. The suspense is well-built throughout, though, with a heart-racing climax that makes the most of the dramatic setting.
January 3, 2018
Lyrical, beautiful, loved it.
March 9, 2017
The bridge falls down. With it, the small, isolated speck in the red dust of the outback, known as Mululuk, may fall down too. Cut off from the outside world, north cut off from south, and no reason for the bridge to fall, tensions flare and secrets simmer beneath the surface. Even an outsider like Rachel, a young teenager sent to live with her uncle, is caught up in the mysteries, romances, lies and secrets that the bridge's fall marks. But it is the old man, Charlie, who may hold the terrifying knowledge of the bridge's fall – and how to stop the replacement bridge from falling down too.
Based on the blurb I read, I expected All Fall Down to be a somewhat grimmer, darker tale – to be about a town that is permanently cut off from the outside world, with its secrets and tensions left to fester the town's population become more and more isolated and savage.
Instead, All Fall Down is a bit lighter. Don't get me wrong: this is still a grim and dark story – but it doesn't verge on full-blown horror and gothic as I thought it might. The town of Mululuk is one where community and friendship outlast outbursts, secrets, wild theories and violence. Perhaps that is the curse/blessing of the small town – you only have each other, so you must stick with each other.
Cassandra Austin has created an engrossing read – it felt like I had barely started when I noticed I was nearly a hundred pages in – populated with interesting and sympathetic, but fallible, characters. While the pages did fly by, I feel the need to sit and think about the novel – about the themes and questions raised by Austin, about the complex stories she's created.
Based on the blurb I read, I expected All Fall Down to be a somewhat grimmer, darker tale – to be about a town that is permanently cut off from the outside world, with its secrets and tensions left to fester the town's population become more and more isolated and savage.
Instead, All Fall Down is a bit lighter. Don't get me wrong: this is still a grim and dark story – but it doesn't verge on full-blown horror and gothic as I thought it might. The town of Mululuk is one where community and friendship outlast outbursts, secrets, wild theories and violence. Perhaps that is the curse/blessing of the small town – you only have each other, so you must stick with each other.
Cassandra Austin has created an engrossing read – it felt like I had barely started when I noticed I was nearly a hundred pages in – populated with interesting and sympathetic, but fallible, characters. While the pages did fly by, I feel the need to sit and think about the novel – about the themes and questions raised by Austin, about the complex stories she's created.
September 24, 2018
I really liked this book, written by an Australian and set in a dry dusty Australian outback town. The characters were likable (well mostly), but the landscape is cruel and ruthless and has a hostile grip on the community. Descriptions of the ever-present red dust and strong winds unsettled me, and this drove the pace of the story, intensifying its outcome.
August 19, 2017
A wonderful atmospheric book, beautifully written.
September 29, 2018
Ms Austin grew up in outback NSW and now lives in LA. This novel is set in the fictional town of Mululuk SA, near Coober Pedy. A troubled teenage girl is sent to this town from the big city of Melbourne to stay a while with her Uncle, a local priest, while her parents work through some serious issues. The town is divided by a wide dry river bed that is crossed by a bridge that falls down shortly after her arrival. The story then follows her adventures and interactions with the woman caught in the collapse, her husband and lover, as well as the other various members of the community. The setting seems authentic and you can feel the dry and the dust that is central Australia. The community is divided over the building of a new bridge with strains in the community stretched to breaking point. This is a stark and gothic tale, well told. I would have like to have known more about some of the lesser characters, but otherwise, really enjoyed this quick read.
January 13, 2019
My favourite type of story- one in which the environment plays a leading role. Atmospheric, moody and isolated. The descriptions of Mululuk are beautiful. Second reading and I believe I enjoyed it even more this time.
August 11, 2017
Some really solid work. I had some some niggles with the language, which was reminiscent of Gail Jones at it's best, but was awkward and narrative breaking when the poetic attempts didn't succeed. Sometimes the signposting and foreshadowing was forced or felt like non-sequiturs and it was adapted from a short story which shows a little bit, but the conclusion was pure Australian Gothic. I am calling it a win.
August 12, 2019
A strange story about unusual people in a remote and isolated place.
Beautifully descriptive. Compelling reading.
Beautifully descriptive. Compelling reading.
February 6, 2018
Not quite 4 stars.
Interesting, very atmospheric and kinda heart-in-mouth at the end, but I was dissatisfied by the denouement, as I often am. Still, worth reading.
Interesting, very atmospheric and kinda heart-in-mouth at the end, but I was dissatisfied by the denouement, as I often am. Still, worth reading.
March 24, 2017
4.5 stars for this fabulous, evocative writing. Unputdownable!
February 24, 2017
A decent read. I have no idea what makes it "gothic" though.
April 2, 2017
3 ½ stars All Fall Down is a contemporary gothic horror novel set in the outback. It immediately hooks the reader as it launches with brief images of three of the main characters doing inexplicable things:
- Janice driving her car across the Mululuk bridge in the middle of the night when it breaks apart
- Rachel and her dog Moustache getting off train at Mululuk in the centre of a desert and falling asleep on the station in the dark and my favourite
-Charlie who is hearing voices and burying a bag of knives after walking for several hours in the desert.
Mululuk is a typical country town; given that people see everything that everybody does, they all gossip, they also keep secrets, they overlook the inevitable adulterous affairs, they form unusual relationships but they look out for each other - sort of.
After the collapse of the bridge, the town is severed in two and everyone has to drive an inconvenient distance to get around the deep chasm which the bridge had spanned. Furthermore, due to the inexplicable failure of the old bridge even when a new bridge is built it remains frustratingly closed.
The tension builds up from the beginning with eerie references and presence of dingoes, plus the isolation and the dry, barren expanse of the land predicts more hardships to endure. In addition the author’s use of one-liners, maintain the chilling forecasts
– “the desert eats dogs” Gussy when she picks up Rachel, and
- “Someone is going to die!” …..”The bridge fell because the land needs -…” Charlie
Meanwhile the gossiping and the running of public meetings and the characteristic townspeople who will take matters into their own hands are woven into the fabric of the typical country town life.
Regrettably, I found Richard’s presence throughout the novel rather perplexing; his presence in the hospital was questionable and I thought the reference by him to Damocles ambiguous and did not add to the tension building in the story. His attendance certainly added to the strange combination of guests at Gussy’s dinner party.
The descriptions of the desert, the underground homes or dugouts, the “moaning” mines, the red earth, red dust, the spinifex, and the insufferable dust storm are excellent and I would have liked more of them. Having lived in a mining town in Western Australia and stayed in an opal town with underground houses – White Cliffs in NSW, I especially appreciated the author’s knowledge and understanding of the ambiance of the Outback.
All Fall Down is a welcome addition to the genre Australian gothic novel.
I wish to thank Booklover Reviews and Penguin Random House Australia for giving me this copy.
May 6, 2017
I wanted to like this book more than I did.
I think Austin does a great job with the setting and developing a sense of 'place'. Her descriptions and the feelings / visions they evoke of Mululuk, are quite vivid and evocative.
However I didn't really connect with any of the characters or the plot itself. I felt really confused about the bridge and who wanted what (Charlie vs Frank / Father vs Gussy). I wasn't really convinced by the tale of the sacrifice which didn't seem particularly macabre or clear. Of course I later noted it's meant to have a gothic theme, so perhaps I missed that entirely as I am wont to be a bit obtuse and the bridge seemed to be a metaphor for... something else.
Austin's writing is lovely however and I easily read this in a fairly short sitting.
2.5 stars.
I think Austin does a great job with the setting and developing a sense of 'place'. Her descriptions and the feelings / visions they evoke of Mululuk, are quite vivid and evocative.
However I didn't really connect with any of the characters or the plot itself. I felt really confused about the bridge and who wanted what (Charlie vs Frank / Father vs Gussy). I wasn't really convinced by the tale of the sacrifice which didn't seem particularly macabre or clear. Of course I later noted it's meant to have a gothic theme, so perhaps I missed that entirely as I am wont to be a bit obtuse and the bridge seemed to be a metaphor for... something else.
Austin's writing is lovely however and I easily read this in a fairly short sitting.
2.5 stars.
April 1, 2017
Wow this was a fascinating story - had me intrigued, gripped, and occasionally confused. Great characters- Gussy, Father, Janine and Shane, Moustache, and even minor characters- the dingoes, Flora, the librarian. Incredible use of the Australian landscape. Would love to see what a film maker would do with this story visually.
May 9, 2023
Overall, a pretty interesting book revolving around an isolated Australian outback town, full of a diverse range of characters. Austin avoids the trap of stereotyping the cast too much, and it is quite a good story, although some passages were confusingly written, and I ended the book with the feeling I had missed some major plot point. Still, a pretty good book.
April 9, 2024
A weird and disjointed account of events in a back of beyond township, Australia. Starts with a vehicle driving off a bridge but the rest is a rambling account which is hard to follow.
March 6, 2017
All Fall Down is a gothic novel set in the small Australian town of Mululuk. Barren, dusty and out in the middle of nowhere the bridge connecting both sides of town mysteriously collapses, injuring resident Janice in the process. Drifter Charlie returns to town with his own theory of what happened and a macabre idea of how to fix the problem once and for all. This novel has everything you encounter in a small, country town: wilful teenagers, love triangles, do-gooder priests and nosey neighbours. All these interactions build to a dramatic climax.
Unfortunately this novel wasn't quite right for me. I was unable to connect with the characters leading to an emotional disconnect from the story. Upon finishing the novel I read that this was initially going to be a short story and then developed into a novel. I think the characters would have worked perfectly for a short story - they are all unique and fascinating characters with so much range and for a short story would have kept me guessing wanting to know more. For a novel, however, I feel that perhaps these characters needed a little more meat on their bones and I would have loved to understand more of their backgrounds. The way they were written I found it difficult to understand their motivations and their connections to each other which kept me from truly immersing myself within the story.
That being said, I think the concept of the book was great. I feel it did have so much range and the gothic feel of this novel in the setting of a small country town in the middle of the desert was perfect. It captured the essence of what can be a bleak, predictable and often tedious life in a place that never changes. I'm sure this book is perfect for some people and my critique is coming from someone who will pick a character heavy book over plot every single time. I don't think it was ever for me but don't let it stop you if it sounds like your kind of thing. As I received All Fall Down as part of Books on the Rail's subscription I plan to send this one out on public transport to find someone who will appreciate it as it deserves. I give All Falls Down two dingoes, living in the dusty town.
Unfortunately this novel wasn't quite right for me. I was unable to connect with the characters leading to an emotional disconnect from the story. Upon finishing the novel I read that this was initially going to be a short story and then developed into a novel. I think the characters would have worked perfectly for a short story - they are all unique and fascinating characters with so much range and for a short story would have kept me guessing wanting to know more. For a novel, however, I feel that perhaps these characters needed a little more meat on their bones and I would have loved to understand more of their backgrounds. The way they were written I found it difficult to understand their motivations and their connections to each other which kept me from truly immersing myself within the story.
That being said, I think the concept of the book was great. I feel it did have so much range and the gothic feel of this novel in the setting of a small country town in the middle of the desert was perfect. It captured the essence of what can be a bleak, predictable and often tedious life in a place that never changes. I'm sure this book is perfect for some people and my critique is coming from someone who will pick a character heavy book over plot every single time. I don't think it was ever for me but don't let it stop you if it sounds like your kind of thing. As I received All Fall Down as part of Books on the Rail's subscription I plan to send this one out on public transport to find someone who will appreciate it as it deserves. I give All Falls Down two dingoes, living in the dusty town.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews