Family Secrets and Footnotes in “Happiness Falls” https://ift.tt/8hV1CYo
Angie Kim’s second novel, Happiness Falls, is much like her first (Miracle Creek) — the simplicity of a mystery/thriller genre label does not evoke fully what this book is about. Of course, for those who love the mystery, you’ve got it. You want more complex family dynamics? That’s here, too. What about themes of class, race, and cognitive disabilities or neurodiversity? It’s all right there in Happiness Falls — in addition to the scientific, philosophic, and musical ponderings of the protagonist, Mia Parkson.
Narrated from Mia’s perspective in first-person point of view, Happiness Falls follows the Parkson family (an amalgamation of her Korean mother’s surname, Park, and her white father’s surname, Parson), as they all hunker down at home in Northern Virginia during the pandemic. Mia and her twin brother, John, have been home from college for several months, living with their parents, Hannah and Adam, and fourteen-year-old brother, Eugene — who is autistic and has a rare genetic disorder called mosaic Angelman Syndrome — when one morning changes their lives forever. When Eugene returns home without his dad from their morning outing to an outdoor hiking area near the Potomac River, not far from their house, the mystery begins; Eugene is nonverbal, so the family has no way to communicate with him to find out what happened to their father.
The story unfolds through Mia’s perspective in a unique format in which she uses footnotes to supplement her story, though it’s not entirely scientific data used, it’s additional relevant information told in a stream-of-consciousness style. Mia explains from the outset, “It’s one of my biggest faults and something I’m trying to work on. (To be honest, I don’t like shutting it down entirely because sometimes, those tangents can end up being important and/or fun. For example, my honors thesis, Philosophy of Music and Algorithmic Programming: Locke, Bach, and K-pop vs. Prokofiev, Sartre, and Jazz Rap, grew from a footnote in my original proposal. Also, I can’t help it; it’s the way my mind works. So here’s a compromise: I’ll put my side points in footnotes…).” It’s through these footnotes, tangents, and the inner workings of her scientifically-driven brain that Mia starts to unravel what happened the morning of her father’s disappearance. It’s how she makes sense of the fact that their father not only disappeared but had been keeping secrets from all of them. To what degree? That’s all part of the mystery. What is certain, though, is that the reader begins to understand that there is often an entirely different story below the surface.
While the mystery/thriller of it all is all at once engaging, riveting, and dynamic, what gathers the readers in and keeps them engrossed is Kim’s unyielding ability to highlight various aspects of the human condition, enabling her stories to intrigue, and perhaps even inspire, a diverse range of readers. Whether it’s the philosophical topic of Adam Parson’s “Happiness Quotient” and the mathematical variations that come into play when determining a person’s baseline HQ contrasted with factors that raise their personal bar; the accessible ways in which Kim delivers information regarding neurodiversity; the struggles within a Korean American family; or the minutiae of any family dynamic — including, but not limited to, the inherently unique tie between twins (and also a next-level connection they call mind melding), Kim wields a level of expertise on any subject she portrays and draws the audience in with her skilled and comprehensive writing.
Taking on a multi-faceted novel like Happiness Falls leaves the door wide open for inconsistencies, incomplete plotlines, and for the momentum to drop, but Kim’s knowledge of the matter at hand and her precise ability to capture emotions on a page makes Happiness Falls not only an effective but also compelling story to read. Whether it’s her undergrad background in philosophy or her Harvard law degree, we see these areas of expertise — and so much more — on every page. What’s more, Kim has been vocal about her experiences with her neurodiverse son in interviews about both Happiness Falls and Miracle Creek. Her emotional understanding and connection are evident in the realism of her characters. Now more than ever, it’s imperative to give voice to diverse topics and underrepresented communities, and Angie Kim does just that. Happiness Falls is a provocative and heartfelt page-turner that should not be missed!
Happiness Falls
By Angie Kim
Hogarth
Published August 29, 2023
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