Happiness Falls Summary, Characters and Themes
Happiness Falls is a novel by American author Angie Kim.
Centered around a Korean American family, the story unfolds against the backdrop of a missing person case. As the plot deepens, Kim delves into profound themes such as the challenges of raising a child with disabilities, the intricacies of communication, and the enduring impact of racism and immigration. The novel offers a nuanced portrayal of family dynamics, revealing hidden connections and unspoken tensions.
Inspired by personal experiences, Kim’s writing is both intimate and incisive. Through her characters, she challenges stereotypes and invites readers to question their own assumptions about family, identity, and the nature of happiness.
Summary
When Adam Parkson goes missing, the first sign of trouble is noticed by his son, Eugene, who is nonverbal and has autism coupled with Angelman Syndrome.
Eugene’s unusual behavior alarms his sister Mia, but it isn’t until her mother, Hannah, and twin brother, John, become involved that the seriousness of the situation hits home.
With Adam nowhere to be found, the family contacts the authorities, leading Detective Morgan Janus to start an investigation.
The next day, Mia sends a text to her father’s phone, only to receive a reply that leads her and John to discover that the phone is now in the hands of Detective Janus.
The detective has also found Adam’s notebook, which contains data from a project he was working on called the “Happiness Quotient.” This project involved analyzing happiness levels within their family, particularly focusing on Mia and John.
Further investigation by the police reveals that Adam had been moving large sums of money and communicating frequently with a woman named Anjeli Rapari. Initially, the family suspects an affair, but it turns out Anjeli is a therapist who has been assisting Eugene in learning to communicate via a letterboard.
This method stirs up bad memories for Mia, recalling a failed experience with a different form of assisted communication that had gone terribly wrong.
During a heated moment, Eugene lashes out, leading Detective Janus to restrain him. This incident results in Eugene being placed under house arrest. Meanwhile, the family shifts their focus to proving Eugene’s innocence rather than solely searching for Adam.
They meet with one of Eugene’s therapists, uncovering extensive records of Eugene’s progress with text-based communication. As they dig deeper, they find a video that shows Adam trying to calm Eugene near a cliff, which raises suspicions about what might have happened to him.
As the family grapples with their new reality, they learn from Anjeli that Eugene and Adam had been at odds over whether to reveal Eugene’s communication abilities to the rest of the family.
Despite the tension, Eugene confirms that they reconciled before Adam’s disappearance. Eugene recounts a harrowing story of how Adam fell from a cliff while trying to protect him from some boys who had stolen Adam’s wallet.
As the police question Eugene’s account, John finds crucial notes from Adam that seem to support Eugene’s story, leading to the dismissal of the case against him. However, Mia is left with lingering doubts when she discovers one of Adam’s notes that could be fake.
In the end, as the family gathers for a ceremony to honor Adam, Mia chooses to erase all the data on Adam’s phone, symbolically closing a chapter and letting go of the uncertainties surrounding her father’s fate.
Characters
Mia Parkson
Mia, the novel’s narrator, is a complex and introspective character. As the daughter of a Korean American family, Mia carries the weight of cultural expectations, personal insecurities, and the burden of her father’s mysterious disappearance.
Her narrative voice is sharp and insightful, often reflecting on broader social issues, such as the biases of oral fluency and how they relate to perceptions of intelligence. Throughout the novel, Mia’s journey is one of self-discovery as she grapples with her father’s disappearance, her complicated feelings toward her family, and her sense of identity.
Mia’s relationship with her twin brother John and her nonverbal brother Eugene is central to her character development. She often feels torn between being protective and critical, showing the deep complexity of sibling relationships, particularly in a family dealing with disability and trauma.
John Parkson
John, Mia’s twin brother, is portrayed as a stable and supportive figure within the family. He is deeply involved in the search for their father and in the care of their brother Eugene.
John is often seen as the more level-headed and responsible twin, balancing Mia’s more impulsive nature. His relationship with Eugene is portrayed as deeply caring, yet he is also pragmatic in his approach to Eugene’s needs and the situation at hand.
John’s character represents the more conventional, perhaps traditional, side of the family, always striving to maintain order and protect his loved ones. However, like Mia, he struggles with the uncertainty surrounding their father’s disappearance and the implications it has for their family’s future.
Eugene Parkson
Eugene is one of the most significant and complex characters in the novel. Diagnosed with autism and Angelman Syndrome, Eugene is nonverbal, but his internal world and experiences are central to the story.
The novel challenges the readers’ perceptions and biases toward nonverbal individuals by portraying Eugene as an intelligent and emotionally aware person. His rhythmic jumping and other behaviors are shown as forms of communication, expressing his distress and emotions in ways that are not immediately apparent to others.
The novel delves into the controversies surrounding communication therapies for nonverbal people, particularly through Eugene’s experiences with the letterboard therapy. Eugene’s relationship with his father, Adam, is particularly poignant, as Adam is revealed to have been deeply involved in trying to help Eugene communicate more effectively.
Eugene’s testimony about what happened to Adam is a pivotal moment in the story, challenging the characters—and the readers—to reconsider their assumptions about communication and cognition.
Adam Parkson
Adam, the missing father, is a central figure in the novel, even in his absence. His disappearance sets the plot in motion and deeply affects each member of the Parkson family.
Adam is portrayed as a devoted father who is particularly concerned with Eugene’s well-being and potential. His “Happiness Quotient” project, which involves case studies on his own children, reflects his deep interest in understanding and improving human happiness.
However, Adam’s actions—such as delaying the revelation of Eugene’s communication abilities to the rest of the family—also reveal his flaws and complexities. He is depicted as a man who is both caring and controlling, deeply invested in his theories, sometimes at the expense of his family’s immediate needs.
Adam’s character serves as a lens through which the novel explores themes of happiness, communication, and the lengths to which people will go to protect those they love.
Hannah Parkson
Hannah, the matriarch of the Parkson family, is a strong and resilient character who holds the family together in the wake of Adam’s disappearance. As a Korean immigrant, Hannah’s experiences of cultural displacement and the struggles of raising a child with disabilities in a foreign land are significant aspects of her character.
She is portrayed as a loving but pragmatic mother, fiercely protective of her children, especially Eugene. Hannah’s character reflects the challenges faced by immigrant mothers, particularly in balancing the expectations of their native culture with those of their adopted country.
Her reaction to Eugene’s therapies and her interactions with the police and therapists showcase her deep maternal instincts, as well as her frustration with systems that she feels do not fully understand or respect her son’s needs.
Detective Morgan Janus
Detective Janus is the investigator assigned to Adam’s case, and her character serves as a foil to the Parkson family’s attempts to handle the situation on their own terms. Janus is depicted as diligent and determined, but also as someone who may not fully grasp the nuances of the family’s dynamics or the complexities of Eugene’s condition.
Her skepticism towards Eugene’s testimony and her actions during the investigation highlight the challenges that families of disabled individuals often face when dealing with law enforcement and other institutions. Janus’s character represents the outside world’s often limited understanding of nonverbal communication and the biases that can arise from it.
Anjeli Rapari
Anjeli Rapari is a therapist who plays a crucial role in the story, particularly in helping Eugene communicate through the letterboard. Initially suspected of having an affair with Adam, it is later revealed that her relationship with the Parkson family is professional and deeply significant to Eugene’s development.
Anjeli’s character represents the controversial world of communication therapies for nonverbal individuals, particularly the debate over their validity and effectiveness. Her involvement in the story brings to light the ethical dilemmas and the emotional complexities involved in such therapies.
Anjeli’s interactions with the family, especially with Eugene, highlight the possibilities and limitations of alternative communication methods, as well as the profound impact they can have on individuals with disabilities.
Shannon Haug
Shannon Haug is the lawyer who becomes involved in the case to defend Eugene after the incident with Detective Janus. Her character is practical and focused on the legal aspects of the situation, emphasizing the need to protect Eugene legally rather than becoming too entangled in the search for Adam.
Shannon’s approach is pragmatic, reflecting the often harsh realities of navigating the legal system, particularly for families with disabled members. She serves as a voice of reason, guiding the Parksons through the legal challenges they face, while also highlighting the limitations of the law in addressing the full scope of their situation.
Themes
Communication and Miscommunication
One of the central themes of Happiness Falls is the exploration of communication, particularly how it can be both a bridge and a barrier between people. Eugene’s inability to speak, coupled with his autism and Angelman Syndrome, places him at the core of this theme.
His family struggles to understand him and often misinterprets his behaviors, reflecting the broader societal tendency to equate verbal fluency with cognitive ability. Angie Kim challenges this bias by showing that Eugene is highly perceptive and intelligent, despite his nonverbal status.
The letterboard therapy, which allows Eugene to communicate his thoughts, serves as a powerful narrative device to reveal the complexity of human communication. However, this mode of communication is controversial, leading to further miscommunication, especially in legal contexts, where Eugene’s testimony is questioned.
The theme underscores the idea that communication goes beyond words and highlights the importance of empathy and patience in truly understanding others.
Family Dynamics and Secrets
The novel intricately explores the dynamics within the Parkson family, revealing how secrets and unspoken tensions can strain relationships. Adam’s disappearance acts as a catalyst, forcing the family to confront issues they have long avoided.
The novel delves into the relationships between Mia, her twin brother John, their mother Hannah, and Eugene, showing how each family member grapples with Adam’s absence in their own way. The discovery of Adam’s Happiness Quotient notebook, which contains data on his children’s happiness levels, adds another layer of complexity to their relationships.
It reveals Adam’s deep concern for his family’s well-being but also his detachment, as he approaches their lives with a clinical, almost experimental mindset. The family’s reaction to Eugene’s communication abilities, particularly Adam’s decision to withhold this information until he could prove its validity, illustrates the underlying tension between protecting loved ones and the desire for control.
The theme of family dynamics is further complicated by cultural expectations, as the Parksons navigate their Korean American identity, which influences their interactions and decisions.
The Subjectivity of Happiness
The concept of happiness and how it is measured or understood is another key theme in Happiness Falls. Adam’s Happiness Quotient project serves as the focal point for this theme, raising questions about the nature of happiness and whether it can be quantified.
Through Adam’s meticulous data collection and case studies, the novel explores how expectations, baselines, and external circumstances influence one’s sense of happiness. However, the novel also suggests that happiness is deeply subjective and resistant to simple formulas or metrics.
The family’s experiences throughout the novel—dealing with Adam’s disappearance, navigating Eugene’s communication challenges, and facing societal prejudices—illustrate that happiness is often found in the messy, unpredictable moments of life rather than in carefully controlled conditions.
Mia’s decision to let go of her father’s phone data, which could potentially clarify his final moments, symbolizes the acceptance of life’s uncertainties and the choice to prioritize emotional well-being over the pursuit of definitive answers. This theme encourages readers to reflect on their own understanding of happiness and the ways in which they seek it in their lives.