Happiness Falls

Alan Parson's goes out for a run in the woods with his son Eugene. Only Eugene returns. Diagnosed with autism and mosaic Angelman Syndrome, Eugene is completely non-verbal. It's left for the family to determine what exactly happened.

Mia Parson is the 20-year old daughter of Alan, who provides the frenetic narration of the story, often indulging in tangents and copious footnotes as her mind careens about pulling at various possible threads. Is her father dead or has he simply left the family behind? Which is worse? Was it suicide or perhaps something more ominous, and how does the research he left behind about a “Happiness Quotient” fit into the picture? How much can we even know about our own family and the secrets they keep? How far would we go to protect them?

It's another literary thriller with a special-needs child at its heart from Angie Kim who clearly owns this genre. She doles out bits and pieces of information that point to various motives while indifferent outside forces conspire to assign certain blame. Truly a rollercoaster ride, the book nonetheless manages to provide a satisfying ending without completely showing its hand.