Book Club Questions for Homeseeking by Karissa Chen

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Book club questions for Homeseeking by Karissa Chen covers all the key themes and storylines in this epic and sweeping historical fiction tale. There will be spoilers, so for more context about the story check out my spoiler-free review first.

Homeseeking is such a well done and engaging novel. I found myself getting quite emotional as I read it, I really felt for both Suchi and Haiwen, and their impossible choices. The alternating viewpoint and timelines was interesting and somewhat refreshing. I did like knowing where they ended up, but of course, there were still plenty of story for them left to tell when they reunite in their late 70s.

I quite liked the ending, but I’m curious what others thought. If you wanted more, such as to read about Suchi’s return to Shanghai and everything that will unfold. Or are you ok with leaving it more to the imagination? Let me know in the comment section below.

The Synopsis

Haiwen is buying bananas at a 99 Ranch Market in Los Angeles when he looks up and sees Suchi, his Suchi, for the first time in sixty years. To recently widowed Haiwen it feels like a second chance, but Suchi has only survived by refusing to look back.

Suchi was seven when she first met Haiwen in their Shanghai neighborhood, drawn by the sound of his violin. Their childhood friendship blossomed into soul-deep love, but when Haiwen secretly enlisted in the Nationalist army in 1947 to save his brother from the draft, she was left with just his violin and a note: Forgive me.

Homeseeking follows the separated lovers through six decades of tumultuous Chinese history as war, famine, and opportunity take them separately to the song halls of Hong Kong, the military encampments of Taiwan, the bustling streets of New York, and sunny California, telling Haiwen’s story from the present to the past while tracing Suchi’s from her childhood to the present, meeting in the crucible of their lives. Throughout, Haiwen holds his memories close while Suchi forces herself to look only forward, neither losing sight of the home they hold in their hearts.

Book Club Questions for Homeseeking

1. What does the term ‘homeseeking’ mean in relation to the story?
2. What is your definition of home? Is it a place, family, neighborhood, or something else?
3. What was your opinion on the alternating view point, where one narrative moves backward in time wile the other moves forward?
4. Why are Suchi and Haiwen so drawn to each other? Do you believe they are soul mates? Why or why not?
5. When we meet Haiwen and Suchi in their late 70s in LA, Haiwen is stuck thinking about the past, and full of regrets, while Suchi has lived her life moving forward and not dwelling on the past. Let’s discuss these two different approach to processing their own traumas.
6. Haiwen’s decision to secretly enlist in the Nationalist Army in China in 1947 changed everything for him, his family, and Suchi as well. Let’s first discuss why Haiwen came to this decision.
7. How would have things turned out differently if Haiwen hadn’t enlisted?
8. There is quite a bit of historical context in the story from Japan’s occupation of Shanghai to the eventual civil war within China to complicated histories of Hong Kong and Taiwan. Did you learn anything new while reading this story? And on the same note, did it inspire you to research more about the real historical events?
9. Suchi’s father is quite progressive, and does not want to see his daughters become ‘just’ wives and mothers. How did this pressure impact Suchi and her sister, Sulan?
10. Why was Haiwen so drawn to music? Why do you think the war stripped him of his love for music? What was the key event that brought music back to him?
11. For Haiwen, while he’s lived with life of regrets, guilt and shame for enlisting and leaving Suchi and his family behind, in some ways, his life may have turned out better than if he would have stayed. He was able to marry, have children and work a stable job. Let’s discuss Haiwen’s persistent guilt about his decision, despite him experiencing some happier aspects during his life too.
12. Suchi is often left without a choice. Her parents seeing the chaos within mainland China, send Suchi and Sulan to Hong Kong. She is forced to work any kind of job, while Sulan experiences a health emergency. What were your thoughts on Suchi’s storyline and where her life lead?
13. After years apart, Suchi and Haiwen run into each other in Hong Kong. What did you make of their reunion? Did you understand why Haiwen couldn’t stay with Suchi in the end?
14. Why didn’t Haiwen contact Suchi when Sulan told him how unhappy she was in her marriage?
15. Haiwen eventually returns to Shanghai, but his siblings are quite fractured. What did this trip reveal to Haiwen?
16. Choices are a big theme of this novel. Let’s discuss some of the key choices in this novel and the impact of these choices.
17. Eventually, Suchi and Haiwen reunite. And despite the uncertainty, Suchi chooses to accept the past, and also continue to move forward. What were your thoughts about their reuniting after all these years?
18. What happens in Shanghai when Suchi sees her mother again?
19. What are your thoughts on the last chapter focusing on Haiwen and Suchi’s mothers?

Additional Recommendations

Hope you enjoyed book club questions for Homeseeking! Here are some more recommendations along with links to book club questions.

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In 2021, fifteen-year-old Nick Chen has never felt like he belonged on the isolated Washington island where he lives with his single mother, Lily. He can’t shake the sense she’s hiding something. When Nick sets out to find his biological father, the journey threatens to raise more questions than it provides answers.

In immersive, moving prose, Rachel Khong weaves a profound tale of class and striving, race and visibility, and family and inheritance—a story of trust, forgiveness, and finally coming home.

In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.

Can Byron and Benny reclaim their once-close relationship, piece together Eleanor’s true history, and fulfill her final request to “share the black cake when the time is right”? Will their mother’s revelations bring them back together or leave them feeling more lost than ever?

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel is a story of how the inheritance of betrayals, secrets, memories, and even names can shape relationships and history. Deeply evocative and beautifully written, Black Cake is an extraordinary journey through the life of a family changed forever by the choices of its matriarch.

Happy reading!