Happiness Falls by Angie Kim (Faber, £16.99)
Set in a Virginia suburb during the lockdown of summer 2020, Kim’s second novel is narrated by 20-year-old Mia, who is quarantining at home with her twin brother John, their Korean mother Hannah and American father Adam, who looks after their nonverbal brother Eugene. Eugene has autism and Angelman syndrome, a rare genetic condition affecting the nervous system. When he returns from a hike with Adam, alone and distressed, he is unable to explain what happened. The official investigation appears to go nowhere, and, as the family try to come to terms with the situation, Mia studies the notes her father left behind, documenting his research into the nature of happiness. Could his disappearance be an experiment, with his family members as the subjects; did he simply want a new life without the burdens of being a caregiver – or is there a more drastic and fatal explanation? Bittersweet, sensitive and moving, this is a compelling exploration of love, neurodiversity and heuristics, within the framework of a literary mystery.
