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A powerful novel about a missing father, a possible murder and the nature of happiness has already been the subject of a five-way auction in the US and will surely be a title to watch at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair.
Happiness Falls is the second novel by the Korean-American writer Angie Kim. It has sold to Hogarth Press in the US, part of Penguin Random House, and has just sold to Faber in the UK where Publishing director Angus Cargill acquired UK and Commonwealth rights excluding Canada from Peggy Boulos Smith (on behalf of Susan Golomb) at Writers House.
The US publisher says: ‘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.
The publisher adds: ‘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 each other.
Kim studied philosophy at Stanford University and attended Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. Her debut novel, Miracle Creek won the Edgar Award, the ITW Thriller Award, the Strand Critics’ Award and the Pinckley Prize. In the US, Happiness Falls has been named a Barnes & Noble Book Club’s September pick, the Amazon Editors’ Best Books of the Month Spotlight pick and the September pick for the Good Morning America Book Club.
Kim said: “I am in awe of Faber’s incomparable list of amazing authors and books I love, and I am overjoyed and deeply honoured to be working with Angus Cargill, who has edited some of my all-time favourite novels and provided keen insights that helped shape Happiness Falls into what it is today. I can’t wait to work with the rest of the Faber team to bring this book to readers in the UK and beyond.”
Cargill added: “Happiness Falls, which has garnered the most incredible advance praise and support, is a novel which sees her more than deliver on the promise of her debut, Miracle Creek. It is an exquisite mystery and a profound and moving exploration of an unforgettable family.”
The title is out now in the US and will be published in the UK in February.
