Homeseeking: A GMA Book Club Pick
Karissa Chen
(Author)
21,000+ Reviews
Bookshop.org has the highest-rated customer service of any bookstore in the world
Description
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK "Sweeping and epic...An impactful love story, told against the backdrop of historical events...One of the best debut novels of this century."--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"Like any tried-and-true epic (think "Pachinko" or "The Joy Luck Club")... Homeseeking is just a genuine pleasure to read."--San Francisco Chronicle A single choice can define an entire life. 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. At once epic and intimate, Homeseeking is a story of family, sacrifice, and loyalty, and of the power of love to endure beyond distance, beyond time.
Product Details
Price
$30.00
$27.90
Publisher
G.P. Putnam's Sons
Publish Date
January 07, 2025
Pages
512
Dimensions
6.37 X 9.06 X 1.67 inches | 1.48 pounds
Language
English
Type
Hardcover
EAN/UPC
9780593712993
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliate
About the Author
Karissa Chen is a Fulbright fellow, Kundiman Fiction fellow, and a VONA/Voices fellow whose fiction and essays have appeared in The Atlantic, Eater, The Cut, NBC News THINK!, Longreads, PEN America, Catapult, Gulf Coast, and Guernica, among others. She was awarded an artist fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as well as residences at Millay Arts, where she was a Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Creative Fellow; the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts; Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts; the Ragdale Foundation; and Willapa Bay AiR. She was formerly a senior fiction editor at The Rumpus and currently serves as the editor-in-chief at Hyphen magazine. She received an MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College and splits her time between New Jersey and Taipei, Taiwan.
Reviews
A GMA Book Club Pick
A December Book of the Month Pick
A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick
A Vogue Best Book of the Year
A People Most Anticipated Book of the Year
A BookBub Best Book of Winter
A Reader's Digest Most Anticipated Book of the Year
A Chicago Review of Books Must Read Book "Fans of historical fiction will want to pick up this exceptional novel immediately."
--Los Angeles Times "Those waiting to read one of the best books of 2025 don't have to wait long. Homeseeking, by Karissa Chen, has arrived on the scene early -- and it's a towering achievement in storytelling...When people use the terms "sweeping" and "epic," which absolutely describe this book, it is implied that there is a payoff after a long wait, but in Homeseeking, the payoff is in the small intimate moments between the two protagonists and their interconnected journeys...Chen masterfully packs in a considerable amount of history without overtaking the characters' lives and stories, and her willingness to have characters flip back and forth between various languages further drives home the biggest takeaway the novel has to offer: Identity is always shifting. Yet, these shifting identities are perhaps why Chen's characters never stop seeking their true home...One of the best debut novels of this century."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "This book is starting 2025 with a buzz."
--Book Riot "Wonderfully cinematic, gorgeously orchestrated... Like any tried-and-true epic ... the reason Homeseeking is ultimately so successful is because of Chen's talent for seamlessly blending her characters' deeply nuanced personal stories with far-reaching historical events to explore universal themes about the human condition: love and loss, sacrifice and regret, hope and renewal."
--San Francisco Chronicle
"[A] poignant debut... Through her characters' ranging sensibilities, Chen examines the psychological aftershocks of war...history and fate, displacement and separation. These are grand topics, but through Suchi and Haiwen's quests for belonging amid insurmountable conflict, Homeseeking captures the enduring and unexpected ways these larger forces impact individual lives."
--New York Times Book Review "Karissa Chen's debut novel weaves expertly between present and past, telling the story of childhood sweethearts who meet again late in life and are torn between looking back and moving on. A kaleidoscopic yet intimate view of the Chinese diaspora, HOMESEEKING explores how identities flex and and transform during war--and which fundamental parts of us remain the same no matter where we find ourselves."
- Celeste Ng, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere
"[A] sweeping epic...Heartbreaking and hopeful in turns, Homeseeking is about the love of home and family, even against unimaginable circumstances."
--Good Housekeeping "Epic, assured, and beautifully drawn, HOMESEEKING is a love story that reveals the effects of war and history on the lives of individuals. Karissa Chen has created a world that's deeply absorbing, following Suchi and Haiwen across decades, borders, and lifetimes."
--Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
"While Karissa Chen's sweeping epic, Homeseeking, centers on war, love and family, more than anything it's about the immigrant's phantom limb -- the longing for home and for the lives and loves left behind...It is impossible not to marvel at the many strands she has woven into this beating heart of a novel...But as I tearfully turned the last page of Homeseeking, I knew that it had earned a place on my top shelf. For Chen has finally put into words the lifelong grief I have carried as an immigrant -- grief for a childhood, a place, a home that no longer exists...[Home] can also live on inside a book. Just as I did, many readers are bound to find their home within the pages of Chen's unforgettable debut."
--Washington Post "The epic sweep of Karissa Chen's debut, Homeseeking, spans borders, oceans, decades, and wars to unfurl the tale of childhood sweethearts whose fates are bound together from their time as neighbors in Japan-occupied Shanghai. Vivid historical detail brings alive the settings, from 1960s Hong Kong to late-2000s Los Angeles--where the characters reconnect. Panoramic in scope, the novel illustrates how lives among the Chinese diaspora are buffeted by history and geopolitics."
--Vogue
"[A] sweeping, ambitious novel about the meaning of home and the power of memory."
--People
"[An] ambitious debut...This is a novel historical fiction mavens will adore, as its storytelling magic and emotional depth flow over a foundation of enlightening, critically important facts."
--Oprah Daily
"Chen's ability to navigate effortlessly across cultures and eras reflects not only the depth of her research, but also her natural gifts as a storyteller...an auspicious debut."
--BookPage (starred) "From heart-wrenching regrets to breathtaking redemptions, Chen's debut novel seamlessly crosses geographical, cultural, and temporal barriers to deliver a love story that touches all extremes of the human condition.... A compelling page-turner, Homeseeking offers a strong sense of longing for characters who wish to return, to change, to ask, 'Do you ever wonder what our lives would have been like, if only?'"
--Booklist
"Homeseeking is intimate in its focus on a single couple but sweeping in its universal truths about how lives are forever changed by war."
--Reader's Digest "Homeseeking is a layered, beautifully written, and deeply moving novel. The novel captures the resilience of the human spirit and the bittersweet reality of the immigrant experience. It's more than just a love story; it's a profound reflection on the impact of history, migration, and identity - one that explores the tension between holding on to the past and embracing the future, revealing both the pain and grace of finding where we truly belong."
--Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author of Girl With the Louding Voice
"An absolute stunner of a debut. Chen nimbly tackles too often overlooked history in an exploration of surviving the trauma of war and loss of home. Homeseeking is a novel that asks if those who survive by moving forward and those who sustain by looking back can ever truly meet. At its heart, this is an impressive work of language, place, history, and all the tenuous ties that define who we are. Karissa Chen has created an elegant saga of soul and history, and proven herself a writer to watch."
--Erika Swyler, author of The Book of Speculation
"Sweeping, epic, yet deeply intimate, Homeseeking traces a pair of first loves and the gossamer thread that binds them across six decades and four nations as the world splits them apart, again and again. A spellbinding meditation on family, immigration, and the many faces of courage in times of hardship, this is a dazzling debut."
-- Kirstin Chen, New York Times bestselling author of Counterfeit
"In this sweeping and heart-rending debut, Chen brings to life more than 60 years of Chinese history through the tale of childhood sweethearts separated by war and reunited decades later in America....Chen scales the heights of her ambition."
--Publishers Weekly
"Chen illuminates the parallels and relationships among key moments in China's recent history. Intertwining the macro and micro, she makes readers care deeply about the impact of history on her characters' very private lives.... This is historical fiction at its most effective. Romantic lyricism and hard-edged realism merge in this compelling novel."
-Kirkus Reviews (starred) "Powerful, heartbreaking, and rich with historical detail, Homeseeking is at once a portrait of a country in turmoil and an intimate, poignant love song."
--Shelf Awareness "A love story in more ways than one, Homeseeking is a beautiful, nuanced look at Chinese history, family, young love, and the wisdom of age. As Suchi and Haiwen do their best to survive their lives, we follow them across the circumstances and choices that continually separate them-- and bring them back together-- even as their worlds keep changing. By the end I was in tears. Remarkable."
--Vanessa Chan, internationally bestselling author of The Storm We Made
A December Book of the Month Pick
A Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick
A Vogue Best Book of the Year
A People Most Anticipated Book of the Year
A BookBub Best Book of Winter
A Reader's Digest Most Anticipated Book of the Year
A Chicago Review of Books Must Read Book "Fans of historical fiction will want to pick up this exceptional novel immediately."
--Los Angeles Times "Those waiting to read one of the best books of 2025 don't have to wait long. Homeseeking, by Karissa Chen, has arrived on the scene early -- and it's a towering achievement in storytelling...When people use the terms "sweeping" and "epic," which absolutely describe this book, it is implied that there is a payoff after a long wait, but in Homeseeking, the payoff is in the small intimate moments between the two protagonists and their interconnected journeys...Chen masterfully packs in a considerable amount of history without overtaking the characters' lives and stories, and her willingness to have characters flip back and forth between various languages further drives home the biggest takeaway the novel has to offer: Identity is always shifting. Yet, these shifting identities are perhaps why Chen's characters never stop seeking their true home...One of the best debut novels of this century."
--Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "This book is starting 2025 with a buzz."
--Book Riot "Wonderfully cinematic, gorgeously orchestrated... Like any tried-and-true epic ... the reason Homeseeking is ultimately so successful is because of Chen's talent for seamlessly blending her characters' deeply nuanced personal stories with far-reaching historical events to explore universal themes about the human condition: love and loss, sacrifice and regret, hope and renewal."
--San Francisco Chronicle
"[A] poignant debut... Through her characters' ranging sensibilities, Chen examines the psychological aftershocks of war...history and fate, displacement and separation. These are grand topics, but through Suchi and Haiwen's quests for belonging amid insurmountable conflict, Homeseeking captures the enduring and unexpected ways these larger forces impact individual lives."
--New York Times Book Review "Karissa Chen's debut novel weaves expertly between present and past, telling the story of childhood sweethearts who meet again late in life and are torn between looking back and moving on. A kaleidoscopic yet intimate view of the Chinese diaspora, HOMESEEKING explores how identities flex and and transform during war--and which fundamental parts of us remain the same no matter where we find ourselves."
- Celeste Ng, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere
"[A] sweeping epic...Heartbreaking and hopeful in turns, Homeseeking is about the love of home and family, even against unimaginable circumstances."
--Good Housekeeping "Epic, assured, and beautifully drawn, HOMESEEKING is a love story that reveals the effects of war and history on the lives of individuals. Karissa Chen has created a world that's deeply absorbing, following Suchi and Haiwen across decades, borders, and lifetimes."
--Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers
"While Karissa Chen's sweeping epic, Homeseeking, centers on war, love and family, more than anything it's about the immigrant's phantom limb -- the longing for home and for the lives and loves left behind...It is impossible not to marvel at the many strands she has woven into this beating heart of a novel...But as I tearfully turned the last page of Homeseeking, I knew that it had earned a place on my top shelf. For Chen has finally put into words the lifelong grief I have carried as an immigrant -- grief for a childhood, a place, a home that no longer exists...[Home] can also live on inside a book. Just as I did, many readers are bound to find their home within the pages of Chen's unforgettable debut."
--Washington Post "The epic sweep of Karissa Chen's debut, Homeseeking, spans borders, oceans, decades, and wars to unfurl the tale of childhood sweethearts whose fates are bound together from their time as neighbors in Japan-occupied Shanghai. Vivid historical detail brings alive the settings, from 1960s Hong Kong to late-2000s Los Angeles--where the characters reconnect. Panoramic in scope, the novel illustrates how lives among the Chinese diaspora are buffeted by history and geopolitics."
--Vogue
"[A] sweeping, ambitious novel about the meaning of home and the power of memory."
--People
"[An] ambitious debut...This is a novel historical fiction mavens will adore, as its storytelling magic and emotional depth flow over a foundation of enlightening, critically important facts."
--Oprah Daily
"Chen's ability to navigate effortlessly across cultures and eras reflects not only the depth of her research, but also her natural gifts as a storyteller...an auspicious debut."
--BookPage (starred) "From heart-wrenching regrets to breathtaking redemptions, Chen's debut novel seamlessly crosses geographical, cultural, and temporal barriers to deliver a love story that touches all extremes of the human condition.... A compelling page-turner, Homeseeking offers a strong sense of longing for characters who wish to return, to change, to ask, 'Do you ever wonder what our lives would have been like, if only?'"
--Booklist
"Homeseeking is intimate in its focus on a single couple but sweeping in its universal truths about how lives are forever changed by war."
--Reader's Digest "Homeseeking is a layered, beautifully written, and deeply moving novel. The novel captures the resilience of the human spirit and the bittersweet reality of the immigrant experience. It's more than just a love story; it's a profound reflection on the impact of history, migration, and identity - one that explores the tension between holding on to the past and embracing the future, revealing both the pain and grace of finding where we truly belong."
--Abi Daré, New York Times bestselling author of Girl With the Louding Voice
"An absolute stunner of a debut. Chen nimbly tackles too often overlooked history in an exploration of surviving the trauma of war and loss of home. Homeseeking is a novel that asks if those who survive by moving forward and those who sustain by looking back can ever truly meet. At its heart, this is an impressive work of language, place, history, and all the tenuous ties that define who we are. Karissa Chen has created an elegant saga of soul and history, and proven herself a writer to watch."
--Erika Swyler, author of The Book of Speculation
"Sweeping, epic, yet deeply intimate, Homeseeking traces a pair of first loves and the gossamer thread that binds them across six decades and four nations as the world splits them apart, again and again. A spellbinding meditation on family, immigration, and the many faces of courage in times of hardship, this is a dazzling debut."
-- Kirstin Chen, New York Times bestselling author of Counterfeit
"In this sweeping and heart-rending debut, Chen brings to life more than 60 years of Chinese history through the tale of childhood sweethearts separated by war and reunited decades later in America....Chen scales the heights of her ambition."
--Publishers Weekly
"Chen illuminates the parallels and relationships among key moments in China's recent history. Intertwining the macro and micro, she makes readers care deeply about the impact of history on her characters' very private lives.... This is historical fiction at its most effective. Romantic lyricism and hard-edged realism merge in this compelling novel."
-Kirkus Reviews (starred) "Powerful, heartbreaking, and rich with historical detail, Homeseeking is at once a portrait of a country in turmoil and an intimate, poignant love song."
--Shelf Awareness "A love story in more ways than one, Homeseeking is a beautiful, nuanced look at Chinese history, family, young love, and the wisdom of age. As Suchi and Haiwen do their best to survive their lives, we follow them across the circumstances and choices that continually separate them-- and bring them back together-- even as their worlds keep changing. By the end I was in tears. Remarkable."
--Vanessa Chan, internationally bestselling author of The Storm We Made
