A romance that crosses time and distance as Haiwen and Suchi fall in love and then are pulled apart by war in 1940s Taiwan. When they run into each other in Los Angeles in 2008 we have to know what happened to their connection and if there’s still time for their love.
I think it’s a great thing to do in January to start reading some books that are a little outside of your norms–that stretch the limits a little. HOMESEEKING by Karissa Chen seemed like a bit of stretch to me. Yes, it’s a romance with star crossed lovers, but the book is sprawling and spans seven decades from Shanghai to Hong Kong to Taiwan to Los Angeles. Much of it takes place during the Chinese Civil War, which tears the lovers, Haiwen and Suchi, apart. I was skeptical that the history would drown out the romance and I would be lost, not knowing much about the history of China. I tried it anyway, and what a reward for pushing limits! HOMESEEKING is one of my favorite reads in a long time–deeply romantic and extremely engaging.
Rather than feeling lost, I learned a lot about this part of the world and this time in history. But like any great historical drama, it is the depth of the characters that carry this story. HOMESEEKING follows Haiwen and Suchi when they meet as kids in Shanghai. Their love grows as they become teenagers, but they are torn apart when Haiwen joins the military, making an impossible decision to help his family. From there, we meet our lovers in their 70s as they run into each other in Los Angeles at an H-Mart. What has become of them? And is there still time for them? We learn their histories through the rest of the book as we shift POV between Haiwen and Suchi with Suchi’s narrative moving linearly in time and Haiwen’s moving backward in time. Though they lose each other for decades at a time, there is an invisible string that connects them through time and space.
Straight. Up. SWOON. I found myself deeply engaged in their lives and connection throughout the story, constantly rooting for them to find their ways back to each other. The non-linear storytelling works so well here as it creates surprises and suspense. It’s so impressive an author was able to handle this and still keep the stories engaged, even more so in a debut novel.
I think romance lovers would absolutely love this book despite its being classified as historical fiction. It really is the romance and the yearning for each other that drives this book despite all other more dramatic subplots involving the characters lives. The fact that Suchi and Haiwen never really forget each other even when they lose hope of finding one another is just so delicious. And watching them continually try to make the right choices even when those are impossibly hard is fulfilling and complicated.
The writing here is, as you’d expect, gorgeous. It’s lyrical and so intelligent. There may be some moments, particularly on Haiwen’s side as he is a more introspective character, that drag a bit but in general the twists in the story keep this one moving. I loved it and can’t wait for everyone else to share the love of Suchi and Haiwen.
5 out of 5 stars
Synopsis (from Amazon)
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.
