luce (cry baby)'s Reviews > Happiness Falls

3 ¼ stars

I believe there’s a fine line (if any) between optimism and willful idiocy, so I try to avoid optimism altogether, lest I fall over the line mistakenly.

Happiness Falls is an ingeniously suspenseful novel that blends together various genres and plotlines. What begins as a missing person story evolves into a courtroom drama, all underpinned by a sensitive exploration of developmental disabilities. The novel addresses the prejudices and ableism that individuals with disabilities face, as well as the difficulties and frustrations experienced by both the affected individuals and their loved ones. Happiness Falls story plays with characters' (mis)perceptions of events, in a way that reminded me of Koreeda’s Monster. However, unlike that film, the book is weighed down by heavy-handed foreshadowing, characters that lack depth, and a mystery that ultimately feels both bloated and empty.

Nevertheless, I found myself gripped by the unfolding events and the thought-provoking themes raised by the narrative. It is certainly informative, providing much food for thought. Its social commentary, particularly on how insidious and widespread ableism is, to be deeply affecting. I also appreciated the honest depiction of the protagonist's more unflattering thoughts, especially when younger. The author's interrogation of happiness, a central aspect of the story, was also very compelling.

The deciding factor that turned this from a flawed yet engrossing read into a questionable and frustrating one is the way the book deals with one character in particular. His cryptic characterization,—which I acknowledge that given that this is achieved retroactively, it faces more constrains that the other characters—and the failure to address the true repercussions, let alone the ethics, of his actions were disappointing.

The novel opens with a rather long-winded prologue that establishes the story, its themes, and the narrative style. Set during COVID, the novel revolves around the aftermath of the narrator’s father's disappearance. Mia, a Korean-American 20-year old overthinker, has just broken up with her boyfriend but soon finds herself dealing with a much larger issue when her younger brother Eugene, who has been diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called Angelman syndrome, returns distressed and alone from his daily walk with their father. It takes a while for the realization and panic to hit Mia, her mother, and her other brother. The remainder of the novel provides a step-by-step chronicle of the investigation conducted by both the police and Mia's family.

It soon becomes apparent that the authorities blame Eugene and have little interest in pursuing other avenues. Desperate to protect him, Mia and her family try to learn more about that morning’s events. The scattered information they have only confuses things further. A video seems to suggest Eugene may have attacked their father, but more worrying still is that Mia’s father was hiding many things. The novel explores the idea of incomplete information and the assumptions we make. It also deals with how Eugene’s condition affects him, their family unit, and how society perceives him (from infantilization to discrimination).

I was engaged by the mystery and found myself caring about Mia and her family, although this had less to do with how well-developed the characters were and more with the injustices and adversities they face. Mia did not come across as a believable 20-something, reminding me of other novels where the protagonist's age seems more reflective of the author's. Despite the narrative’s attempts at quirkiness, Mia feels flat, and her supposed tendency to overanalyze is contradicted by her shallow consideration of significant issues, like her father’s actions. She reminded me a bit of the protagonist from Special Topics in Calamity Physics, in that they both penchant for footnotes, asides, and speculating. Mia had a vaguely nancy drew vibe going for her, and flashbacks do contribute in providing some context for some of her behaviours and so on, but, still, she felt very beside the point. Given that we are meant to see her as this clever and quirky person it seemed odd that then the narrative would want us to believe that she has 0 emotional intelligence or that she wouldn't question certain things further.
Mia’s mother is denied much agency, receiving only a few compelling sidenotes but not enough attention to come across as a well-rounded character. It's insulting that her feelings are glossed over during major discoveries, such as learning about her partner’s deceit and dubious research.
Mia’s other brother is likable but receives less attention than Eugene, which is understandable given the story's focus on Eugene and all that he goes through in this novel.
The most infuriating character is the missing father. Mia learns many troubling things about him, including his manipulative behavior and emotional betrayal. (view spoiler)[He treats his children like experiment subjects, lies to them, and hides his activities from his wife, whom he should have informed about engaging Eugene in new therapy. (hide spoiler)] The novel skirts around his emotional betrayal, idealizing him instead of delving into the true scummy depths of his actions. It seemed like such a Choice™ on the author's part to gloss over so many things, and it made her novel feel incomplete. I personally found the reveal about the therapist (or whatever her official title is) to be a cheap way to mitigate the severity of his actions. (view spoiler)[The story teases the possibility of him cheating on his wife with the therapist, only to reassure us that this can't be the case because her partner is a woman. (hide spoiler)]However, I would still feel deeply hurt if my partner were hiding something related to our child while sharing that experience with someone else. And yet everyone accepts this because surely the shitty dad was just trying to protect them and so on (way to infantalize your wife dude).

Despite its flaws, Happiness Falls raises important questions about family, ethics, the assumptions we make about one another, as well as the notion of happiness. Angie Kim elevates what could have been a straightforward missing person story into something more nuanced, even if the execution doesn't quite hit the mark.