Happiness Falls (Good Morning America Book Club)

A Novel

De: Angie Kim

Narrado por: Shannon Tyo, Sean Patrick Hopkins, Thomas Pruyn, Angie Kim

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • 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.

OPRAH DAILY’S #1 NOVEL OF THE YEAR • ONE OF PEOPLE’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A WASHINGTON POST, BOOKPAGE, KIRKUS REVIEWS, NEW YORK POST, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, BOOK RIOT, CHICAGO PUBLIC LIBRARY, REAL SIMPLE, CRIMEREADS, AND SHE READS BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

Belletrist Book Club Pick • Finalist for the New American Voices Award • Finalist for the Virginia Literary Award • “This is a story with so many twists and turns I was riveted through the last page.”—Jodi Picoult

“A brilliant, satisfying, compassionate mystery that is as much about language and storytelling as it is about a missing father. I loved this book.”—Gabrielle Zevin, author of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

“I fell in love with the fascinating, brilliant family at the center of this riveting book.”—Ann Napolitano, author of Hello Beautiful

“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.

Kept me engaged

This was a great story, had many layers that were interesting, and you want to keep going to find out everything. The only big negative was one of the voices. I’m not sure it was fair to the character. The rest was great.

Just Too Academic For Me!!!

I started off really enjoying the narration and the story itself, but several hours in, I honestly became pretty bored with the some of the writing… Parts read more like a textbook or a self help book and not like a novel. It simply did not keep me engaged, and so I finally gave up on it at around chapter 15.

Great read!

Having worked with many non verbal children this story hit home. This story was one of hope for all non speakers.

Happiness Review

The ending was a little slow. I did appreciate the perspective that non verbal is not ID

Enjoyable and educational

I enjoyed the story and voice performances. I also learned a lot about non speakers.

Good perspective

This story gave a lot of great perspectives from the world of people with disabilities. It was a little slow for me but overall a good read.

I loved the view of the daughter reading the book.

This book was a page turner and had all the emotions of a great read!

The brilliant way Adam's disappearance was used as a way to present Eugene's story.

Loved all of it: the disappearance, Eugene's frustration, and Eugene's successes. I was amazed by this book.

Family in crises

While I enjoyed the storyline I didn’t enjoy how Mia, who does the narration, went on and on about subject matter that could have been said in a few sentences. Sometimes she was a bit boring. Take that out and you have a story that is impactful and insightful about a family in crisis. The twists and turns of the psychological and sociological problems are intense and intimidating leaving the reader with endless questions to the very end.

well written, unexpected ending

I love how captivating the author was - keeping me hopeful and amazed throughout the book.