Happiness Falls

　　父親失蹤，唯一目擊者卻是不會說話的兒子⋯
　　本書為2023 New American Voices Award決選
 
　　「我們並沒有立刻報警。」《Happiness Falls》以這句驚人之語開場，一個來自維吉尼亞州的雙種族家庭的平靜生活，在一家之主失蹤後被徹底打亂。
 
　　二十歲的長女米雅對凡事都有一番解釋，就在男友和她分手這天，父親和弟弟尤金外出散步卻遲遲未歸。心情低落的她只認為一定是兩人忘了手機，或是臨時去辦事情，就是沒想到會看到弟弟獨自跑進家門。由於尤金有自閉症和Angelman氏症候群，需要密切的照料，因此這件事十分不尋常。但是徹夜未眠的米雅早已習慣父親總是扮演照顧全家的角色，根本沒有留意到父親並沒有跟著弟弟回來。等到母親和米雅的雙胞胎哥哥發現事情不對勁，已經過了四個小時。
 
　　這下子爸爸失蹤了，唯一的目擊者是尤金，由於他從不開口說話，她們完全無法從他身上獲得任何線索。米雅注意到他的指甲縫和衣服上有些許血漬，但這也不見得和父親有關。隨著搜索展開，一家人的心情也跟著起伏，許多的質疑和自責也浮上檯面。少了照顧、保護全家的父親，兒女們是否能夠意識到自己的新責任呢？《罪火》作者金秀妍在《Happiness Falls》中對親情、語言和人際關係提出深刻探討，主角全家為了突破謎團核心，必須竭力了解身邊最親密卻也最陌生的家人。(文／博客來外文館)

　　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.
 
　　Longlisted for the New American Voices 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.