Homeseeking

★★★★★★★★½☆ 8.5/10

320 pages

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.

A passage I marked

"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."