“Homeseeking” is the debut novel by Taiwan-American writer Karissa Chen, a romantic historical drama spanning several decades and thousands of miles as it traces the lives of two people in love. It’s bittersweet, part soap opera, part war-torn love story, and part lyrical poem about the beauty of China. These are successfully combined.
The two central characters of “Homeseeking” are Zhang Suchi and Wang Haiwen. Chen introduces them by showing readers the most momentous events at the bookends of their lives. The first is when Haiwen must leave Shanghai and his beloved Suchi to fight for the Nationalist Army, and the second is their unexpected reunion in a Los Angeles supermarket in 2008.
