Quick Synopsis

When a father goes missing, his family’s desperate search leads them to question everything they know about him and one another in this thrilling page-turner, a deeply moving portrait of a family in crisis from the award-winning author of Miracle Creek.

Publisher’s Synopsis

“We didn’t call the police right away.” Those are the electric first words of this extraordinary novel about a biracial Korean American family in Virginia whose lives are upended when their beloved father and husband goes missing.

Mia, the irreverent, hyperanalytical twenty-year-old daughter, has an explanation for everything—which is why she isn’t initially concerned when her father and younger brother Eugene don’t return from a walk in a nearby park. They must have lost their phone. Or stopped for an errand somewhere. But by the time Mia’s brother runs through the front door bloody and alone, it becomes clear that the father in this tight-knit family is missing and the only witness is Eugene, who has the rare genetic condition Angelman syndrome and cannot speak.

What follows is both a ticking-clock investigation into the whereabouts of a father and an emotionally rich portrait of a family whose most personal secrets just may be at the heart of his disappearance. Full of shocking twists and fascinating questions of love, language, and human connection, Happiness Falls is a mystery, a family drama, and a novel of profound philosophical inquiry. With all the powerful storytelling she brought to her award-winning debut, Miracle Creek, Angie Kim turns the missing-person story into something wholly original, creating an indelible tale of a family who must go to remarkable lengths to truly understand one another.

Book Review

Happiness Falls is Angie Kim’s sophomore novel about a Korean American family in Northern Virginia after the father mysteriously disappears. This seemingly simple story is a multifaceted narrative highlighting complex family dynamics woven with meditation on philosophy, communication, intelligence, and logical fallacies.

At its most basic, Happiness Falls is a story narrated by Mia Parkson about the day her father disappeared in Rock Creek Park while on a hike with her younger brother, who has Autism and Angelman’s Syndrome rendering him unable to speak, and the subsequent days. Angie Kim utilizes this seemingly localized event to dive into the intricacies of family and connection, trauma and healing, communication and intelligence, bias and inclusivity, and happiness. While a mystery of someone’s disappearance may be at the heart of this novel, Kim uses the tale to explore some of humankind’s greatest mysteries.

If you begin Happiness Falls anticipated a quick-paced mystery or thriller, you may be (pleasantly or not-so-pleasantly) surprised. Rather than thinking about the possible explanation for the disappearance, you will find yourself pondering the nature of happiness and its possible quantification, our brain’s innate biases, in addition to how people equate oral fluency with intelligence. Consequently, the novel is woven with science and philosophy and is best described as literary fiction.

The pacing of Happiness Falls is on the slower side and uneven at times. I think if you begin the book expecting less of a thriller and more of a meditation on life, you will not be disappointed. Kim’s writing is detailed and descriptive, allowing readers to become fully immersed in the story. My biggest gripe with the novel is that the ending is a bit too ambiguous for my taste. But, again, if you understand that Kim’s intention is not to tell the story a disappearance and more to examine family, life, and other subjects, the ambiguity is a bit beside the point.

I really enjoyed that the voice and writing style really felt reflective of the narrator, Mia. The narration is very stream of conscious from hyperactive mind and include bunny trails in footnotes. Because Mia’s thought patterns closely align with mine, I was delighted to find it so well done. In addition, Kim excels at portraying complex characters and their emotions in a compelling manner. It is clear that Kim also conducted meticulous research to accurately depict Eugene and these portions shine. I loved reading the author’s note to learn the inspiration for Happiness Falls and Kim went about writing the novel.

Overall, Happiness Falls is a rich, thought-provoking story that begs readers to reflect on their own actions and biases. I highly recommend it and look forward to discussing it with others!

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