This book was a surprise. Given the title—Happiness Falls—I expected much less. Or maybe, just different. A more typical mystery perhaps layered with family dynamics. Instead, this was a surprising meditation on what constitutes happiness, the possibilities of non-verbal speech, and acknowledging qualities that make us different be it because of race, language, or basic levels of communication.

This is the story of a Korean American family centered around their youngest child who has a type of neurodivergent anomaly called Angelman’s Syndrome. This disorder is characterized by seizures, severe speech and language limitations, developmental delays and motor control. Interestingly, it presents with a happy demeanor and frequent smiles. What’s behind the smiles is not understood. They could be a reaction to anxiety, discomfort or pain as well as for attention and a means of social connection. However, the illusion of happiness is ever-present.

This is the story of a family in crisis. The father Adam is white, married to a Korean born woman, Hannah. Adam is a stay-at-home Dad; Hannah,a linguist. It is suggested that Hannah chose this career because of her experience when she first arrived in America as a non-English speaker.

The older children, Mia and John, are twenty-year-old fraternal twins home from college because of the Pandemic, Mia, more Asian looking than her fraternal twin, John, is much more exacting than her easygoing twin and has experienced more prejudice. The younger brother, Eugene, age 14. has Angelman’s syndrome and I think it’s fair to say, his needs are central to how the family functions.

The novel hinges on a mystery seen through the eyes of Mia. When Adam, the father, goes missing, it is not only a ‘what happened’ story threaded with typical police involvement but it becomes a story of the family questioning everything they know about their father and each other. It raises questions about how we measure happiness and how many ways there are to communicate without spoken language.

Adam routinely takes Eugene to the park every morning. As the book opens, Eugene returns home alone with blood under his fingernails and on his shirt. It takes several hours for the family to realize the father may be in trouble.  What makes this an original story is that the only person who may know what happened is nonverbal.

Clues to the father’s disappearance begin to emerge. Mia, the computer whiz of the family uncovers research and experiments her father was working on. He was exploring how to measure happiness by devising a happiness quotient. Questions during her investigation, as well as the police’s missteps, take us down the familiar what if path. And who was he really? But there is so much more.

Mia is deeply flawed and bright and well-meaning and annoying making her an interesting narrator and wonderful fully developed character. 

The scenes with Eugene’s therapist and her methods to pursue communication through a letterboard were amazing. She provides a window to the possibilities of overcoming the obstacles felt by those who are non verbal.

The author, in developing these multiple themes never drops the mystery. Throughout, there are twists and turns as we keep and then lose hope that this will all turn out well. Bravo to her. She shows what you can do with a mystery to keep it from being a straight procedural.  I just wish it had a better title.

In an interview with author, Angie Kim she said:

 I think I’m drawn to autism, especially kids with autism who are nonverbal, because it reminds me of when I first moved from Korea to Baltimore at age 11 and I couldn’t understand or say anything, the frustration of feeling (and being treated as) inferior and unintelligent because of that inability to communicate. My situation, of course, was temporary, and I knew that I’d learn English eventually (and did), but given the intensity of my frustration and insecurity, it makes me feel so much empathy for those who are and will probably always be nonverbal, like those with autism.”

Something to think about. Those thoughts are threaded throughout this compelling read.