Happiness Falls

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. If you love fun little detours like Dad and me, you can read them. If you find footnotes annoying (like John) or want to know what happened ASAP (like Mom), you can skip them. If you re undecided, you can try a few, mix and match.)

So, anyway, I was talking about the police. The fact is, I knew something was wrong. We all did. We didn t want to call the police because we didn t want to say it out loud, much the same way I m going around and around now, fixating on this peripheral issue of calling the police instead of just saying what happened.

Here goes: My fifty-year-old father, Adam Parson, is missing. At 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, June 23, 2020, he and my fourteen-year-old brother Eugene hiked to the nearby River Falls Park, the same as they had done most mornings since I d been home from college for the quarantine. We know they made it to the park; witnesses have come forward, a dozen hikers and dog-walkers who saw them together at various points around the waterfall trail as late as 11:10 a.m. At 11:38 a.m. (we know the exact time from the dashcam recording), Eugene was out of the woods, running in the middle of a narrow country road in our neighborhood, forcing a driver who d run through a stop sign and turned too fast to swerve into a ditch to avoid hitting him. Just before the dashcam video jolts

single day. I can t remember a book with more layers this is a nuanced story about bias, language, ableism, racism, and family dynamics but above all else this is a story with so many twists and turns I was riveted through the last page. Jodi Picoult, #1 New York Times bestselling author

Happiness Falls is another superlative effort in what is fast shaping up to be a remarkable career. #1 New York Times bestselling author David Baldacci

Brilliant . . . amazing . . . the claim that a book will change your life often seems like exaggeration. Here the potential is real. Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A philosophical family drama that is as page-turning as it is thought-provoking. Book groups will find much to discuss here, especially those who like Celeste Ng. Booklist (starred review)

A sublime literary mystery that is a mesmerizing update to the missing person story, a layered and innovative exploration of family, love, happiness, and race. Jean Kwok, author of Searching for Sylvie Lee

[A] revelatory masterpiece . . . I stayed up half the night to finish this novel, and when I woke in the morning, I turned back to the first page to begin again. Anthony Marra, author of Mercury Pictures Presents

I began reading Happiness Falls expecting a murder mystery. What I got was the most moving and humbling portrait of humanity I ve read in quite some time. Mary Beth Keane, author of Ask Again, Yes

Brilliant, immersive, and deeply moving . . . a book that will change the way you think a book that will change your life. Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth

Happiness Falls . . . keeps you thinking and guessing and feeling all at the same time. Liz Moore, author of Long Bright River

[A] page-turner about a missing man and a precise (and luminous) exploration of what it s like to be the teens he has left behind. Chris Bohjalian, author of The Lioness

Kim is a tremendous writer . . . a compelling mystery as well as a guide to managing the uncertainties of life and the challenges of family. Steph Cha, author of Your House Will Pay

One of best mystery novels ever written. Gary Shteyngart, author of Our Country Friends

An exhilarating literary tour de force . . . [Happiness Falls] will introduce you to extraordinary characters whose lives will leave you forever changed. Danielle Trussoni, author of The Puzzle Master

Happiness Falls is on the one hand a profound meditation on the meaning of life and the nature of happiness, while on the other hand a riveting mystery replete with suspense. Chris Pavone, author of Two Nights in Lisbon

This book will stay with you long after you turn the final, satisfying page. Alafair Burke, author of Find Me

[A] rare book that can change your entire outlook on the world. Janelle Brown, author of Pretty Things