The Sun Walks Down

Judges' comments

The narrative trope of a lost child in the unforgiving Australian bush has been masterfully upended in Fiona McFarlane’s The Sun Walks Down. Set in the Flinders Ranges in 1883, McFarlane’s vivid tapestry of small-town characters — divided by class, religion, race and ethnicity — are deftly explored as they each react to the disappearance of six-year-old Denny in a dust storm. Denny, with his too-tight boots laced by his deaf mother, vanishes while his clutch of sisters attends a local wedding. As the ripples of his disappearance wash over the isolated township of Fairly, the frustration, pettiness, and longings of townsfolk, such as the hapless vicar, the wealthy widow, and Denny’s extended family, are detailed wonderfully by McFarlane’s quiet confidence and assured eye.

This is a sublime, insightful novel in which the harshly beautiful landscape enhances yet never overwhelms McFarlane’s superbly nuanced reflection of the complexities of colonial Australia.