Homeseeking: A GMA Book Club Pick
A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK • Named a BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR by Vogue, Good Housekeeping, Elle, and Electric Lit
“Exceptional.” —Los Angeles Times
“Unforgettable.”—The Washington Post
“Storytelling magic.”—Oprah Daily
From WWII to 2008, this searing story follows one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, 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.
“Exceptional.” —Los Angeles Times
“Unforgettable.”—The Washington Post
“Storytelling magic.”—Oprah Daily
From WWII to 2008, this searing story follows one couple across sixty years as world events pull them together and apart, 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.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
Loved it! Such a powerful book that tells a history we never learn about in school through two people that share so much loss and love in their lives.
thenextgoodbook.com
What’s it about?
Haiwan and Suchi are just children when they meet in Shanghai. Over time, they fall in love, but in 1947, they are separated by circumstances and spend the next sixty years apart. When they meet again, Haiwan is overjoyed, but Suchi refuses to look back and recapture their love.
What did it make me think about?
This novel taught me so much about the history of Taiwan and how it is tied to both Japan and China.
Should I read it?
If you enjoy a sprawling generational saga, then this will be just for you. Spanning from pre-World War II China to the present day, this story has much to reveal about China and Taiwan. It is another work of historical fiction that effortlessly teaches you some history. With so many wars in the news right now, with so many displaced people, this book reminds me of all the difficulties I have never had to face.
Quote-
“Nationalists, Communists- they were all the same. Asking ordinary people to sacrifice their lives, to kill their fellow countrymen, all so their leaders could come to power.”
What’s it about?
Haiwan and Suchi are just children when they meet in Shanghai. Over time, they fall in love, but in 1947, they are separated by circumstances and spend the next sixty years apart. When they meet again, Haiwan is overjoyed, but Suchi refuses to look back and recapture their love.
What did it make me think about?
This novel taught me so much about the history of Taiwan and how it is tied to both Japan and China.
Should I read it?
If you enjoy a sprawling generational saga, then this will be just for you. Spanning from pre-World War II China to the present day, this story has much to reveal about China and Taiwan. It is another work of historical fiction that effortlessly teaches you some history. With so many wars in the news right now, with so many displaced people, this book reminds me of all the difficulties I have never had to face.
Quote-
“Nationalists, Communists- they were all the same. Asking ordinary people to sacrifice their lives, to kill their fellow countrymen, all so their leaders could come to power.”
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen is one of those rare stories that quietly sneaks up on you. At first, it seems like a simple tale of finding a place to belong, but it gradually unfolds into a deeply moving exploration of survival, commitment and obligation, and the meaning of home—both as a physical place and as an internal, emotional state. Suchi and Haiwen’s lives are intricately intertwined, shaped by circumstances that demand difficult choices. Their decisions, often driven by survival and loyalty rather than desire, illuminate the delicate balance between personal longing and responsibility to others. Reading their story, I felt profound empathy and compassion, recognizing the ways our choices ripple outward, affecting not only ourselves but those we care for most. For me, the novel also struck a personal chord. Having lived across three countries and twelve U.S. states, I’ve come to understand that home is rarely just a place—it’s a sense of arrival within oneself, a recognition of safety, belonging, and identity. Chen’s storytelling captures this beautifully: home isn’t only where we are, it’s where we are fully known and where our hearts feel at rest. I honestly didn’t expect to be so moved, but Homeseeking completely surprised me. It’s a heartfelt, unforgettable story about survival, love, and the quiet power of connection—a reminder that sometimes, the most profound journeys are those that bring us inward, to the home we carry inside ourselves. I can’t recommend it enough.
“She thought about the memories he had cherished, the ones he spent so long holding onto, so long examining. She had never imagined as she tried to erase her past, there’d been someone out there who felt she was worth remembering.”
What a stunning portrait of Chinese history between Japan's invasion, the Chinese Civil War, and the formation of the People Republic of China and Taiwan's role as a refuge, as well as the British occupation of Hong Kong. Cultural identity and patriatism, in addition to these major historical events serve as a backdrop to the love story between Suchi and Heiwen and then we are carried through to the 2000s, as they become immigrants to the United States, raising children in the Western world and trying to hold onto their heritage.
My heart broke more times than I can count.
This is a story with many layers, about the choices and sacrifices that people make and the consequences they live with. It's about regret and reconciliation. It's about finding ones place in the world.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.