Nature

Homeseeking

by Karissa Chen
 Literary Fiction: A coming-of-age story that's emotional, engaging, and written in a simple, straightforward style. It's also a beautiful love story that explores Chinese and Taiwanese history and culture, the Chinese Civil War, and many themes, including family, duty, and love.-Homeseeking By Karissa Chen  #historical-Fiction #reading #chinesecivilwar #chinese-history #taiwanese-history

Praise For This Book


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

"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

"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


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