Angie Kim

This story, 'narrated by Korean-American Mia is hard to categorise. A young adult, she lives with her parents, her twin brother John and her younger brother Eugene who is both autistic and a sufferer from a rare genetic disorder, Angelman syndrome which leaves him unable to communicate verbally, and with severe motor control difficulties. Mia is very bright, very intense, very prone to careful analysis and scattering her writing with footnotes. She recounts the family drama in which her father disappears while in the park with Eugene, who arrives home bloodied and distressed. Of course the police get involved. This is the account of the conflicting priorities of the police, the family, their bright and sympathetic lawyer Shannon, which Mia carefully details and analyses, while commenting on research uncovered by the Police search into her father's study of happiness. It's complex, high octane stuff. And while I probably wouldn't survive for ten minutes in Mia's company face to face, she's an engaging, thoughtful narrator with a passion for forensic detail and analysis. We learn a lot about Mia herself, and her relationships within her family. We learn about Eugene and about his condition. Provocative, heartfelt, compelling: it's also left me thinking about issues connected with neurodiversity in a way I've never previously been forced to.… (altro)