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Homeseeking: A GMA Book Club Pick Hardcover – January 7, 2025

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 478 ratings

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A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK

Homeseeking is about the love of home and family, even against unimaginable circumstances…[A] sweeping epic.” —Good Housekeeping

“Fans of historical fiction will want to pick up this exceptional novel immediately.” —
Los Angeles Times

From WWII to 2008, this deeply moving story follows one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, illuminating the Chinese diaspora and exploring what it means to find home far from your homeland.


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.
"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more

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Editorial Reviews

Review

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. … One of the best debut novels of this century.”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“This book is starting 2025 with a buzz.”
Book Riot

“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

“[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

"[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

“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

"This generational, inter-continental love story is a testament to the enduring power of finding your home."
Harper’s Bazaar

"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

“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

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

Homeseeking is Chen’s debut, and it’s a powerful one at that….It’s a tale of chance connection and sacrifice, crossing the Chinese diaspora through war, famine and displacement.”
USA Today

"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

“This epic novel is both the sweeping story of one country’s fraught history and an intimate look at a couple’s enduring bond.” —
Real Simple

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.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ G.P. Putnam's Sons (January 7, 2025)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0593712994
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0593712993
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.48 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.23 x 1.62 x 9.28 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 478 ratings

About the author

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Karissa Chen
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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 the 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.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
478 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book an engaging read that provides perspective on Chinese history and culture. They describe it as well-written and relatable. The story touches on family relationships and true love in a tender and heartfelt way.

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9 customers mention "Perspective"9 positive0 negative

Customers find the book provides a perspective on Chinese history and culture. They appreciate the author's research and storytelling, which explores their struggles and challenges upon relocating to America. The book is described as captivating and thought-provoking.

"...The author conducted profound research, bringing six decades of stories with romance and tragedies to life in a compelling and relatable way...." Read more

"Karissa Chen has written a beautiful novel that brings culture, history and the true love and meaning of family to life in tender, heart wrenching..." Read more

"Well researched, absolutely beautiful. Looking forward to other books by the author!" Read more

"...It traces their struggles and their challenges upon finally relocating to America. All of what happened to them was unimaginable to me...." Read more

7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book engaging and well-written. They describe it as a moving, thought-provoking novel about events in China and Taiwan.

"...six decades of stories with romance and tragedies to life in a compelling and relatable way...." Read more

"This was a moving, thoughtful novel of the events in China and Taiwan, which spans decades of the lives of two Shanghai families and their star-..." Read more

"Loved the book." Read more

"Very well written. Good character development. A great Chinese history lesson through the 1940’s on." Read more

4 customers mention "Touch"4 positive0 negative

Customers find the book touching and relatable. They say it brings the true love and meaning of family to life in tender and heart-wrenching ways. The book has an authentic feel, though some parts may be difficult to understand.

"...of stories with romance and tragedies to life in a compelling and relatable way...." Read more

"...I appreciate the author’s use of Chinese words. Despite giving an authentic feel, it made some of the book difficult to read...." Read more

"...has written a beautiful novel that brings culture, history and the true love and meaning of family to life in tender, heart wrenching ways...." Read more

"A Touching, Elucidating Novel of Family..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2025
    It is an amazing, very touching, and well-written book! The author conducted profound research, bringing six decades of stories with romance and tragedies to life in a compelling and relatable way. Despite my busy schedule, I was completely engrossed and finished it in just two days. A heartfelt salute to the author!
    3 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2025
    I found myself stopping to research history of this era that I never learned in school. My heart ached for those who suffered during the Chinese civil war, famine and take over by the Communists. So many life lessons throughout the story.

    I appreciate the author’s use of Chinese words. Despite giving an authentic feel, it made some of the book difficult to read. With this caution, I would recommend this book.
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2025
    Karissa Chen has written a beautiful novel that brings culture, history and the true love and meaning of family to life in tender, heart wrenching ways. One cannot help but feel deeply about the characters and that which they experience. The complexity and depth of this novel makes it hard to believe it is this author's debut novel. Brava!!!
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2025
    Well researched, absolutely beautiful. Looking forward to other books by the author!
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2025
    I enjoyed this book. A coming of age, reflection, multi-POV, multi-timeline book had my emotions all over. The loss & heartache, the love lost and life lived is heart breaking but also heart warming. I did like that I had to research bits and pieces of the culture that I was not aware of or did not understand. I do feel like at times there was so much I didn’t understand and it was overwhelming thus took away from the storyline for me.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2025
    This was a moving, thoughtful novel of the events in China and Taiwan, which spans decades of the lives of two Shanghai families and their star-crossed lives. It traces their struggles and their challenges upon finally relocating to America. All of what happened to them was unimaginable to me. It’s worth reading!
  • Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2025
    Loved the book.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2025
    I listen to so many audio books that sometimes it is hard to find a new one that I will love. Well, I found it in this book!!! Historical fiction at it's best

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Naomi Davidson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent roman.
    Reviewed in France on February 1, 2025
    Beau roman qui mêle histoire réel et histoire d'amour. Je l'ai lu d'un trait.
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