Editorial note: I received a copy of Homeseeking in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen is a sweeping, historical fiction saga about home, loyalty and love. A five-star, must-read.
Thrilled to say I started off 2025 on the right note with selecting Homeseeking. This is an incredible read that will stay with me for a long time. The two main characters—Sushi and Haiwen—were so human, raw, and memorable. An epic romance, filled with heartbreak, regret, but yet also acceptance.
While the romance is certainly the heartbeat of the story, it’s also very much about the concept of home. We read their stories as outside forces take their home away, and they are forced to create new homes in new, unfamiliar places. It really forces the reader to examine within and consider how they would they move forward when their home, and many loved ones, are taken away.
Karissa Chen’s writing is exquisite with a vivid and descriptive tone. She took a rather unique storytelling approach with moving back and forth in time, and it worked quite well. All of this lead to a story where the characters feel real, and that we were on the journey with them.
What’s the Story About
The story covers many timelines, and different places. From 1930s-1940s Shanghai to Los Angeles in 2008. It also features time in Hong Kong and parts of Taiwan. It’s quite immense and there is a lot of ground covered. The 1940s and beyond were quite volatile with numerous wars and significant changes in government that devastated communities and broke apart families.
But all of this is unbeknown to seven-year-old Suchi who is drawn to the quiet Haiwan, a talented violist. Eventually, their childhood friendship turns into love. But everything changes when Haiwan secretly enlists in the Nationalist army in 1947 to save his brother from the draft. Life will never be the same for them, or their families.
And then, sixty years later, Haiwen sees Suchi again, at a grocery store in Los Angeles. While Haiwen hopes this is finally the chance for them, Suchi refuses to look back at the past. But is it possible a second chance could exist after everything they have been through?
Timelines
The story is told in the unique matter where we read Suchi’s (who goes by Sue in the states) narrative moving forward in time, while Haiwen’s (who goes by Howard in the states) tends to move backward in time, for the most part. This was an interesting way to tell this epic story, and I think it made sense for us to know up front, where the characters ended up.
And then through both narratives we are able to know their history, which informs the present and future. I liked the alternating point of view and timelines, I never found it confusing. In fact, it was intriguing where hints of a significant event were revealed, and then when the reader gets to those sections, it made it all the more engaging.
I felt we got to know both perspectives quite well, and the characters are very well drawn out. While, we as readers, may not also agree with choices, we also under the limitations of perspective in the moment, and I feel this book really captured that aspect of life. We can only use the information we have at the time, and sometimes that does mean we might make a wrong decision. Or perhaps that is the only decision we can make. This novel explores that concept.
The History
The romance between Haiwen and Suchi is so compelling. And it proves to be such a tragedy that outside forces and government choices break them apart from each other and their families. The historical context of where this story mainly takes place shows how the decision of one, can impact millions.
I’ve been to Shanghai, Hong Kong and several places in Taiwan. Going to those areas, I understand on some level, that each feature complicated history. I remember being struck by how new Shanghai felt. But of course, there is a reason such an older city feels new because much of it is new, after suffering much destruction during the wars.
But I didn’t know the depth, and or that China faced a civil war. It’s a reminder that there’s so much history to discover, and decisions made in the 1940s, are still impacting things this day. Reading about families torn apart by war in this novel was so heart wrenching. So many people broken, and misplaced. And they had to make new lives through no choice of their own. It’s haunting, tragic and thought-provoking.
Verdict
In the end, this book is about people and the concept of home. Both Haiwen and Suchi, never truly leave behind the idea of finding home again, even if Suchi truly buried it after everything she went through.
This is a tough read at times, especially with Suchi’s storyline, but it’s quite the important read too. It will make you think about so much, from the true historical events to feeling for these fictional characters.
An absolute ideal book club read with so much to discuss and analyze. I highly recommend you read Homeseeking.
For book clubs, check out my discussion questions here.
