This books covers a history about which I knew nothing - The Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil war. The separation anxieties that the families had to endure to survive is conveyed with much poignancy by the author. I engaged with both characters and became involved with their stories however I found the book difficult to follow with the constant jumping around with the timeline.
Thank you to Net\galley and Hodder Stoughton for the advance copy of this book.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this. Home seeking is an absolutely stunning It is a beautiful, heartfelt tale of love. loss, family, belonging and second chances.
At several points, I teared up at the lost time between the two loves, everything they went through was just so carefully and wonderfully done by Karissa Chen. This is more than five stars for me.

What a fascinating book. Throughout we get two stories throughout the 1940s up till 00s. Because the book has so many locations and languages, both narrators have several names. I think this will be familiar for some, to have to change your name to change your new location.
Growing up together in Shanghai, we are guided by bopping through time to the choices they make and where it leads. Zhang Suchi/Tan Suji/Cheung Soukei/Susu & Haiwen/Howard/Doudou/Haeven take us through times of uncertainty, displacement, wars, famines and other terrible things that unfortunately are based on real events.
Both are really well-rounded characters, and the author takes the reader into the difficult decisions they are faced to make.

Without spoiling who, a character is diagnosed in 1966 with Multiple Sclerosis. While disability representation is great, the odds of being diagnosed in that decade were slim to none. Not until the MRI was used in the 90s, have more people been adequately diagnosed. I wish the author went more into what it was like to live with the disease, and still having a full life around it more.

The book is so well written and researched, although it was quite a thick book, it was easy to get into and sucked in their story. I recommend this book for readers who like historical fiction. It is a very emotional book, so the reader might want a few breaks in between. But I'm so glad I got to read this book as an eARC thanks to NetGalley. I annotated so many beautiful quotes, and this one resonated with me (about war.)

“It’s a hard day,” Haiwen said. “It’s a hard day for all of us.” “Every day is hard,” Zenpo murmured. “It’s just that on some days you’re able to forget.”

Homeseeking follows Suchi and Haiwen, two friends who fall in love as teens in 1940s Shanghai. Their lives are torn apart by war and the pressures of family, leading them down separate paths across China and eventually to the U.S., where sixty years later, recently widowed Haiwen spots Suchi at a grocery store in Los Angeles
A poignant and thought-provoking book - one that stays with you.

Having lived in Hong Kong, I was thrilled to read a book based in Shanghai and Taiwan as well as Hong Kong and the US. It took a while to get into the story and the different spellings in English to denote the different dialects was a bit confusing, but the story was fascinating and became a page turner.
The story is of 2 main characters who meet when they are teens and then takes us through their relationship during historical times and over decades. I would have liked a more distinct finish to the story but really enjoyed the book.

**Homeseeking** by Karissa Chen is a deeply introspective and beautifully crafted exploration of identity, belonging, and the concept of home. Through poignant storytelling and lyrical prose, Chen delves into the complexities of migration, familial ties, and the emotional landscapes of her characters, who are caught between worlds. The novel examines themes of displacement, cultural heritage, and the search for meaning in a world where physical and emotional homes are often in flux. Chen's writing is evocative and empathetic, creating a narrative that resonates with anyone who has ever felt the tension of living between multiple identities. **Homeseeking** is a thought-provoking and tender read, offering rich reflections on the places we come from and the homes we seek to build.

Haiwen and Suchi become childhood friends and fall in love as teens in 1940s Shanghai, but their lives change dramatically as their country is torn apart by war and later the Communist revolution. Haiwen volunteers as a soldier to spare his brother and they are seperated for decades, each making terrible decisions and sacrificing their dreams in the struggle to survive. A chance meeting in the USA when they are both in their 70s brings old memories flooding back, and the chance of happiness at last- but the traumas of the past threaten to come between them. There is much to like in this book. The experiences of ordinary people in China during these tumultuous years are very intersting, and the author’s biggest strength is her portrayal of the Chinese immigrant experience, struggling against prejudice to make a life for themselves whilst enduring a longing for home that can never be satisfied and never really feeling that they fit in each new place. Chinese culture and customs in the twentieth century are vividly portrayed- the sense of duty and loyalty to family, philosophy and beliefs, place and food are integral to the story. Parts of the book are very poignant. However, I did find the structure challenging. The dual narrative was fine but the dipping backwards and forwards in the timeline was confusing and made it difficult to engage- I would just get immersed in one situation and then it would flip backwards or forwards by several decades, and I kept losing track of what happened when. The characters felt a bit under-developed and the action dragged in places and was sometimes repetitive. I think Chen is a very promising writer and this book is a big achievement, but I would have enjoyed it more if it had been shorter and more logically written.

An epic tale of two people who meet in school and fall in love but fate pulls them apart. They are , however, destined to meet up again as life moves them forwards. The tale is simply told with lots of detail of life in China in 1940s as they grew up and onwards through history, lots of insight into the cultural life of displaced Chinese affected by events.

Beautiful historical novel about two people, drawn together across time, history and circumstances. This goes deep on character and has wonderful descriptions of place.

Homeseeking is a poignant exploration of love and the impact of choices, set in 20th-century China. The story follows teenage sweethearts Haiwen and Suchi, whose close friendship in 1940s Shanghai is shattered when Haiwen enlists in the army to protect his brother from the draft, leading to their painful separation. Their lives diverge dramatically, culminating in a fateful encounter on a Hong Kong ferry in 1966.

Fast forward sixty years, and Haiwen, now in his late seventies, spots Suchi while working at a 99 Ranch in Los Angeles, sparking the possibility of rekindling their friendship. However, the weight of their shared history raises the question of whether they can forge a new connection amidst the shadows of the past.

Told through alternating narratives, the book spans seven decades, intricately weaving together the lives of these separated lovers as they migrate from Shanghai to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and America. The author’s meticulous research highlights the impact of modern Chinese history on the lives of its people. While the backdrop is steeped in war, the heart of the story lies in themes of family and connection.

The vivid descriptions of Shanghai's longing community create an immersive reading experience, showcasing the challenges faced by women like Suchi in building a life without support. The narrative structure, with Suchi’s story, told linearly and Haiwen’s in reverse unfolds seamlessly.

While I found the historical segments compelling, I wished for more insight into the characters' families during the war. Overall, Homeseeking is a beautifully written and thought-provoking book that captures the resilience of the human spirit in the face of life's challenges.

Read more at The Secret Bookreview.

What really struck me about this novel is that the author has left certain terms and words in the Chinese language or pinyin. It;s to symbolise the confusion and headaches you get when being in a new country and not being able to express yourself. The author states at the start to remember how you feel about this as it will make you think of how the newcomers all those years ago would have felt when displaced from one country to another. I think this is what really made the book for me.

In some ways, this lifetime-spanning novel reminded me of Free Food for Millionaires but centered more around a romantic coupling than an individual human or family. I’m not sure this worked for me as a reader. I was rooting for Suchi and Haiwen on their own journeys but because their relationship was prioritized over their individual stories or their families’ stories, I found some of the focus, particularly of their childhood, disappointing. I was hoping for more identity/diaspora commentary and while we got some when the seniors in the States were reflecting on their experience at the beginning, it wasn’t as much of a theme across the book.

I appreciated where Chen left untranslated words as this left a level of authenticity and nuance that I feel gets diluted in many translated novels I’ve read where everything is translated. I also really love learning new words and terms! I deeply appreciated the foreword at the beginning where Chen explains the difference in names and honourifics across contexts and invites readers to consider how difficult it is for those needing to navigate a new country, language and culture.

Overall, I found the pace of the book slow and the sense of time was opaque, particularly at the beginning, which was compounded by non-linear time skips. Suchi read a lot younger than she must have been in the early flashbacks so the romance focus felt a bit strange. I’d have loved to have seen more balance on other aspects her childhood than the hyper-focus we got on her relationship with Haiwen in the first quarter of the book. This does improve when Suchi and Haiwen are living their adult lives; however, I’m not sure the jump from their first meeting to their dotage really worked as the remainder is basically a fill-in-the-blanks since we know they meet again as seniors. For me, the best part of the book was when they were apart and exploring their family dynamics (I loved Suchi/Sulan’s story and found Haiwen’s sibling relationship thread heartbreaking). I loved the ending though and I’m glad Chen concluded our time with these characters the way she did:.

I was privileged to have my request to read this book accepted through NetGalley. Thank you, Hodder & Stoughton.