Review: Homeseeking (by Karissa Chen)

My Rating: 5 stars

Karissa Chen’s debut Homeseeking is a novel that resonated deeply with me, to the point that I’m honestly not sure where to begin in terms of writing this review.  There is so much to unpack with this story, which is very aptly described as both simultaneously “epic” and “intimate” as it follows two childhood sweethearts across six decades and two continents. 

The narrative begins with the inciting incident that essentially triggers the rest of the events that occur: in 1947 Shanghai, amidst the Chinese civil war, Wang Haiwen decides to secretly enlist in the Nationalist army in order to save his brother, leaving behind not only his family, but also his girlfriend and soulmate Zhang Suchi – a decision that ends up changing the trajectories of both lives in profound ways.  The story then jumps to Los Angeles in 2008, where Haiwen and Suchi (now going by their American names “Howard” and “Sue”) are unexpectedly reunited when they bump into each other at the local 99 Ranch Market.  As the two reminisce about the past, it becomes clear that they have both endured and survived circumstances that changed them – whereas Haiwen continues to hold his memories close to his heart, Suchi insists on only looking forward and letting the past stay in the past. From there, the narrative weaves back and forth in time, tracing the path of both characters’ lives within the context of Chinese history (i.e.: WWII and the Japanese occupation, the Chinese civil war, the Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution, etc.) to reveal the circumstances that led up to that reunion.  Notably, the narrative not only alternates between both main characters’ points of view -- with Haiwen’s story moving backward in time, from the present to the past, while Suchi’s story moves forward from the past to the present, with both story arcs ultimately re-converging again in the present – it also follows them across continents, from Asia (Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taiwan) to North America (California and New York).  Throughout their separate (and at times very disparate) journeys and despite the many changes that their lives undergo, one thing that remains constant in in terms of Haiwen’s and Suchi’s relationship is the determination to never lose sight of the meaning of home (including their parents and the sacrifices they made), which they continue to keep in their hearts no matter where they end up.

There was actually so much I loved about this book – the beautiful writing, the poignant, moving story arc, the authentic portrayal of history and culture, the complex structure that was executed near flawlessly, the wonderful character development (I honestly did not want to let go of these characters even after I finished reading the book), just to name a few.  But what made this the ultimate reading experience for me was the fact that I was able to connect with the story on all levels, from the overarching themes to the minute details about the settings, language, culture, history, etc.

While on the surface, Homeseeking may appear to be a love story that highlights the enduring power of love to transcend time and place, I would argue that the story actually goes way deeper than that.  Yes, there are indeed elements of a love story – specifically about two star-crossed lovers who are fated to find their way back to each other (given the epigraph, I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I found Haiwen and Suchi’s fated/fateful love relationship to be reminiscent of Shijun and Manzhen from Eileen Chang’s famous classic Half a Lifelong Romance) – but for someone like me who grew up as part of the Chinese diaspora in Los Angeles, I found special meaning in this story that went beyond the romance / love story elements. 

First, the setting – for the parts of the story that took place in Los Angeles, I loved seeing the mentions of so many places that I was familiar with – for example: Monterey Park and San Gabriel are usual haunts for most of us in the LA Chinese immigrant community (if you want the best authentic Chinese food in LA, those are the places to be) and of course, the 99 Ranch Market is as ubiquitous to us as H Mart is to the Korean community (I will admit that as I was reading, I did have one of those book nerd moments where I was tempted to research whether the 99 Ranch Market that Haiwen and Suchi meet at is the same one I frequent, LOL).  I also got a kick out of the scenes about encountering rush hour traffic on the freeways and the mentions of how long it takes to get from one place to another in LA (story of my life right there, haha).

In terms of setting though, Los Angeles wasn’t the only connection for me to the story.  I was born in Hong Kong, my mom is from Shanghai, and some of my relatives live in Taiwan, so those are all places that are more than familiar to me, whether from a history, culture, cuisine, language, geography, etc. aspect (it always elevates the reading experience when I’m able to recognize so many of the cultural, historical, etc. elements in a book). 

With that said, one of the biggest things that made this book such a meaningful read for me was the way that the author, Karissa Chen, handled the language aspect. Not only does Chen not directly translate many of the Chinese words and phrases in the book (with the exception of the few instances where she added notes in the back of the book for context), she also incorporates the local language and/or dialect based on the region that those scenes are set in.  For example, in the scenes set in Shanghai, the names as well as Chinese words and phrases are in Shanghainese (with some Mandarin depending on the situation), the scenes in Hong Kong are in Cantonese, the ones in Taiwan are in both Taiwanese and Mandarin. Even “Chinglish” was incorporated into some of the scenes set in Los Angeles! In her “Note on Languages” at the beginning of the book (which is an absolute must read in order to understand the structure of the story), Chen explains her approach in structuring the language in this manner as a way to faithfully represent both the different languages in Chinese-speaking communities as well as the lived experiences of those who have to navigate multiple languages on a daily basis:

“One of the challenges in writing an English-language story about the Chinese and Taiwanese diaspora is figuring out how to faithfully represent the different Sinitic languages spoken in different regions (and sometimes even within the same region). Because the Chinese written language uses a representational (versus phonetic) system, the same written word has many different pronunciations, depending on what language the speaker is using. This includes names. Given that my characters move within various Chinese-speaking regions of the world, I wanted to make sure to denote their code-switching in a way that would feel accurate. Therefore, each character may be referred to in a multitude of ways and may even broaden or change the way they think of themselves given a situation or over time. For this reason, chapters have not been labeled by character names, as our characters’ names evolve over time… For many people in the world, learning more than one language is a necessity, either because of migration or simply because the place they live in is a global one and survival dictates it. It is a skill that requires an ability to adapt and challenge oneself, and for many immigrants, it’s one of the most difficult, humbling, and uneasy parts of coming to a new country. If you, the reader, find yourself confused, I hope instead of giving up, you might take a moment to imagine what it must be like for those who have to navigate this on a daily basis, and then forge onward.”

I love and appreciate the fact that Chen not only pays such meticulous attention to language usage, but also makes a genuine effort to reflect our code-switching as well.  In my case, it so happens that all the Chinese languages and dialects used in the book (Mandarin, Cantonese, Shanghainese, Taiwanese, and yes, “Chinglish,” which was actually the language of my childhood) are also ones that I’m familiar with due to being amongst a community of family, friends, and relatives who speak one or more of these languages on a constant basis.  As an avid reader of English-language books about the Chinese diaspora, I can’t emphasize how rare it is to encounter a book that strives to represent the various Chinese-speaking regions in such a thoughtful and sincere way (though it’s not just the language – the historical and cultural elements are authentically represented as well). For me, this attentiveness to authenticity alone makes this an absolutely worthwhile read!

As this review is already quite long, I won’t go into every aspect of the book that made it such a personal and rewarding reading experience for me, but I have to mention one more thing:  this book made me cry genuine tears – not just because of the moving story (though yes, that definitely played a role), but because the familiarity and personal connections I felt to so many aspects of the story made me feel seen and understood in a way that no reading experience has made me feel in a very long time; to encounter books like this one is one reason why I read! 

Definitely pick this one up if you get a chance, as it’s a 5+ star read that’s well worth the time (especially highly recommended if you’re a fan of Eileen Chang’s works like I am).

 

Review: More Than Words (by Jill Santopolo)

 My rating: 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 stars

I decided to read this book because I had read this author Jill Santopolo’s earlier novel The Light We Lost back in 2017 and liked the story well enough, even though with that book, the characters didn’t work for me and the emotional aspect was lacking – however, even with a few issues, there had been a twist to that story and the dialogue was meaningful enough that it almost made up for some of its flaws.  In other words, I was still able to enjoy that book to some extent, even though it wasn’t a genre that I’m particularly keen on (contemporary romance).  Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Santopolo’s second book More Than Words, which publishes next month (on February 5th).  While I would say that, just like her debut, this book was also well-written and definitely readable, one huge difference was that this time around, the story itself lacked depth – the impression I got after finishing this book was that the story was too superficial and clichéd, the plot so predictable and formulaic that about halfway through, I felt like I didn’t have to finish the book and I would still know exactly how the second half would play out (I finished the book anyway and yes, the rest of the story matched almost exactly with what I had predicted).  In addition, many of the same issues that I felt had plagued the first book (and therefore made it an average read for me) also existed in this one as well – namely, the lack of emotional depth, especially as it relates to the main characters.  In this case, the main character is Nina Gregory, the young heiress to a hotel chain who finds herself at a crossroads when her beloved father dies and she not only has to deal with her grief while preparing to take over the family business, she also has to struggle with the realization that the life she had been living was perhaps not the one she was meant to live.  Since this is a romance novel after all, Nina’s “struggle” also involves having to choose between two men she truly loves. 

I honestly was not able to connect with Nina at all for some reason – with all the “struggles” she goes through, I know I’m supposed to sympathize with her or whatnot but I actually didn’t feel anything, even during the supposed “emotional” scenes where I’m expected to feel for her.  Perhaps it’s the way the character was written, but she just felt very one-dimensional to me, almost like her character was merely “going through the motions” with everything instead of being a character that comes alive with heart and soul.

The writing as it pertained to bringing the story together as a whole also left much to be desired.  With Santopolo’s previous novel, even though it had also lacked emotional depth, at least the story was written in a way that some of the dialogue gave me food for thought and made me ponder a few things (albeit not too deeply)….with this one on the other hand, I felt nothing at all.  Even right after finishing the book, I had difficulty recalling much about the story or the characters, which is not a good sign, as it usually means the book is forgettable.

In a way, I do feel that part of the problem is with me in that, as I mentioned earlier, contemporary romance is not a genre that I prefer and though I hate to say it, there is a certain amount of preconceived bias on my part that these types of books usually lack depth, so in a way, the author (through the book) has to work harder to convince me otherwise.  Unfortunately, this book didn’t succeed in swaying me.  With that said, there were many who liked this book quite a bit so I would suggest checking out those reviews.  One thing I do feel I should mention though, in case this matters to those deciding whether to give this book a try – there were a handful of mildly graphic sex scenes in the book that I personally felt were unnecessary in terms of the amount of detail used to depict the physical interactions between the characters…for me, it wasn’t too big of a deal but others may be bothered by it. 

Overall, this was an okay read for me – quick and easy to get through but if I had to choose, I would prefer this author’s previous novel slightly more.

Received ARC from G.P. Putnam’s Sons via Edelweiss

Review: The Immortalists (by Chloe Benjamin)

 My Rating:  3 stars

This was another one of those books where I expected it to be one thing but it turned out to be something quite different.  While I can’t say I disliked the book (I did give it 3 stars after all), I didn’t “like” it either and in fact, found much of the book a chore to get through, mostly because of the frustration I felt with the main characters and their actions.  I think it’s safe to say that this is one of those “it’s not the book, it’s me” type of situations where I realize after reading it that this book clearly wasn’t for me.

When I first read the summary for this book, I was really interested in reading it, as the premise sounded fascinating and unique.  The narrative revolves around the 4 Gold siblings who find out from a fortune teller the dates of their deaths.  This early prophesy impacts each of the siblings in different ways and over the course of the book, as each sibling’s story unfolds, we are taken down 4 different paths, yet each one links back to the other and ultimately back to their family.  Both the summary and the opening chapter hinted at fantasy / magical realism elements and at first, I felt that the author Chloe Benjamin did a really good job establishing the aura of mysticism with the children’s visit to “the woman on Hester Street.”  But then, as soon as the first sibling’s story starts – the narrative begins with Simon’s story, then moves on to Klara, Daniel, and finally Varya -- the “mysticism” that was present in the introductory chapter quickly fades and doesn’t return for the rest of the novel.  I feel like this was one of the biggest problems with this book – it started off strong and was able to establish an atmospheric mood that made me want to continue turning the pages to see what each sibling’s fate ends up being and whether the prophesies would be fulfilled, however that mood fizzled as soon as the author started going more in-depth into each of the sibling’s lives.  Some of the stories had a bit too much detail – some random scenes and references to things that I felt weren’t necessary in furthering the plot and so I ended up skimming some parts (especially with Simon’s story, which I’ll get back to later), pushing forward to the last few chapters of each character’s section so I could find out what ultimately happens to each one.

In terms of the writing, I would say that it was pretty good – not stellar but not bad either. I think the biggest issue with the writing was the lack of consistency -- there were some parts that were very well-written and actually provoked quite a bit of thought and self-reflection, but then there were other parts that left me scratching my head, wondering where the author was trying to go with the plot.  This brings me to the other major problem I had with the book:  I feel like the author tried to cover too much ground and ended up being all over the place.  There were many topics touched on in the book – family, relationships, love, religion, politics, education, health, environment, race, gender, discrimination, military, science, history, ethics…the list goes on and on – however I feel like there wasn’t much in-depth exploration of these issues and instead, many of them were thrown in randomly rather than incorporated seamlessly into the stories.  With all that said though, one of the things I did appreciate about the book was the amount of research the author put in to make sure her references to events and settings were as accurate as possible – this part was consistent throughout all 4 narratives and was one of the redeeming qualities of the book for me.

One thing I do want to mention, which I feel is important for those deciding whether to read this book or not, is that there were quite a few explicit sex scenes, mostly in Simon’s story, that were uncomfortable to read.  I’m not sure if I’m explaining this correctly but the problem for me wasn’t necessarily the graphic nature of the sex scenes per se, but rather that I wasn’t expecting those types of scenes in this book and also I didn’t feel they were necessary to include – the story could have been told perfectly well without those scenes.  Same goes with many of the other random sexual references interspersed throughout the book – while those weren’t necessarily explicit, it just didn’t make sense to me why they needed to be included.

As I said at the beginning of my review, this book clearly didn’t work for me, however I seem to be an outlier here since there are many 4 and 5 star reviews for this book, so I would say check those out before deciding.

Received ARC from G.P. Putnam’s Sons (Penguin Group) via Edelweiss.