Review of Homeseeking by Karissa Chen

*Homeseeking* by Karissa Chen (2025). Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons.

Throughout my time running a book and movie blog, I see how my tastes are carefully curated. Although I’m not reading for the sake of blogging and making some side money—it’s more for growing as a writer—I find that reflecting on my reading habits through a form like blogging makes me realize more about myself as a reader.

That said, I read a lot of Asian and Asian diaspora literature. When I say Asian, I mainly mean East Asian, although I do branch out into other kinds of writing. I want to read more SWANA authors and South Asian authors in the near future, and that is one of my goals for 2025.

Recently though I was sent a lot of advanced copies of books, which means I’ve been playing catch up with those. I get burned out from reading every so often, especially when I consume too many books, and so I’m learning how to pace myself in a way that doesn’t make me want to bang my head against the wall.

One of the digital advance copies I’ve received though is Homeseeking by Karissa Chen. I knew of the author through the literary world and had read some of her shorter fiction and prose before, so I was excited to receive this advance copy.

I flew through it. I’ve also been reading a lot of literature set in pre-Communist China, so this was right up my alley at this moment in time.

Let’s get into the review! I don’t want to ramble too much.

The story of one man and woman through their childhood in Shanghai and elder years in the US.

The chapters in this novel alternate between past and present. In the past, it takes place in 1940s Shanghai, in the midst of the war years and the right before the Communist takeover of China. The present day takes place in California, when the main characters relocate to the United States after everything that has happened.

We first meet the main female character, Suchi, and her sister living in Shanghai. Suchi and her sister live typical lives in the city at the time, but when she meets a fellow male student at her school, Haiwen, it’s going to change everything for her.

While they meet as children, as they grow older they fall in love with each other. They see themselves to be fated by the red strings, and nothing can seemingly tear them apart as the country begins to unravel.

But as much as they try to ignore the events happening around them, it’s going to be their undoing. Haiwen’s brother is going to be slated for the draft, so he decides by himself that he will join the army.

He tells no one of this decision until it is too late, and the damage is done. If you know your Chinese history, you can kind of guess where this is going, but it’s a sad and unfortunate story that’s going to take us until the present day. There’s only once chance encounter between the young lovers—or at least until we get to the modern moment.

As all of this happens, it’s interwoven with the present day. Haiwen is in his seventies and lives in Los Angeles. He works at a 99 Ranch to provide a small form of income, and has a small community where he lives in the city.

However, one day he’s bagging someone’s groceries when he looks up and meets eyes with Suchi. This is a chance to start over for them both, in a new country, but no matter how hard they may try to ignore the past, it always bleeds into the moment at the back of their minds.

We’re also going to learn more about Suchi’s story and what happened to her family and her, which is another tale in itself. Having read a lot of novels set during this time, it’s full of political turmoil.

A lot of this book reminded me of Daughters of Shandong, which I also had an advance copy of but never got around to reading it until the book had already come out. I wish I had more energy and hours in the day to read all the books I want to read, but alas we’re only human trapped in a finite cycle of time.

Overall Thoughts

I enjoyed this novel a lot. Having been familiar with Chen’s other work, I knew that the writing was going to be solid going into this, and I was not disappointed and felt like my expectations were met.

That said, I don’t know if this stands out to me having read so many other books set in a similar time period. It feels like it gets lost in the pile of books to me, although the story does feel very true and to the heart. I admire it for those qualities, but I simply don’t see it standing out in the genre.

This is just a perspective of someone who reads too much, so I can see how so many other people are going to love this novel. It’s got all the components of a good story, and would be hard to disappoint the average reader looking for a novel set during this time.

I do think you should pick it up at your local library or independent bookstore if you have the time to read it—you’ll probably find it very worth it in the end. Give it a chance if you’re thinking about it!

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