Bwog attended Monday evening’s conversation with Barnard alum and author Karissa Chen about her debut novel Homeseeking.

On the evening of Monday, October 13, Barnard|Next hosted a book talk and meet & greet in the Event Oval with Barnard Alum Karissa Chen (BC ‘04), author of the new novel Homeseeking. The event was the first in-person installment of the Barnard Authors Shelf series, a program hosting conversations with authors from the Barnard community. 

Chen was joined by fellow author Eve J. Chung, a Taiwanese-American lawyer, women’s rights specialist, and author of the 2024 novel Daughters of Shangodong. The two authors discussed Chen’s background, inspiration for Homeseeking, and writing process, before engaging in an audience Q&A and book signing.

Although I was unfamiliar with Homeseeking (which will have its official release this December) before attending this conversation, I was immediately intrigued by the cover design on the free copy I received as an audience member. It features two birds flying above and below a bonsai and a palm tree, separated by a golden ring.

Chen explained the meaning behind the design during the audience Q&A portion of the evening. The two birds represent the novel’s two primary characters Haiwen and Suchi, childhood friends-turned-lovers from Shanghai, who are separated for decades before finding each other again in California. The red bonsai and green palm tree on either side of the golden ring (which, as Chen noted, is an important symbol in the book), represent China and California respectively. 

The novel’s story, which is told in reverse-chronological order from Haiwen’s point of view and chronologically from Suchi’s point of view, covers over six decades of history, from the Second World War to 2008. Hearing Chen read a brief excerpt from the first chapter, I got a sense of just how vivid a portrait the novel paints of the two character’s lives—from the description of Haiwen’s “blank haze of gray” mood, to Suchi’s “carmel and bright” eyes, “every bit as intense” as Haiwen remembered.

Beyond evoking location and time period, the small details in the novel serve as shared cultural references for Chinese diaspora readers. “As a diaspora reader, I feel like the book was written with me in mind,” said Chung, regarding a reference to 99 Ranch Market in the first chapter.

Chen’s relationship with fiction writing began long before her time at Barnard, but wasn’t fully realized until much later. Asked why she decided to become an author, Chen described having had an interest in books at just four years old and telling her parents she wanted to be a “bookmaker” when she grew up. Although her love of writing continued into college, the notion of a career as a writer presented a practical problem: “Writers don’t make money.”

While working in marketing and PR after graduation, Chen decided to take a writing class on the side, a course which became “the best day of [her] week.” 

“It felt like the sensation of when you’ve found ‘the one,’” Chen said, describing how her experience in the class helped her realize writing was the career for her. 

After several failed attempts to write a book during her MFA program at Sarah Lawrence, the idea for Homeseeking came to Chen. It was initially a 30-page short story. She wrote a large chunk of the novel in a “fever,” 30 pages turning into 80, and then 120: “It seized me, and I couldn’t let go.” 

Prompted to speak more on the source of Chen’s inspiration, the two authors turned to a discussion of the novel’s cultural and historical significance. As a child, and later as an adult in the digital age, family separation seemed “unfathomable” to Chen. An interest in her own family’s background, sparked by a photo of her grandfather at his mother’s grave, led Chen to research the political history of China and Taiwan. “The more I dug,” Chen said, describing how her research led her to pursue a Fulbright scholarship to visit Taiwan, “the more I realized there were so many layers to this.” 

In Homeseeking, those layers translate to themes of loss, separation, and home. Asked what “home” means to her, Chen detailed the experience of moving around the United States as a child, and eventually moving to Taiwan as an adult. “You always leave a bit of yourself behind […] Part of this book is me trying to wrestle with [the experiences of] people who’ve been forcibly moved.”

The novel’s unique structure is key to Chen’s exploration of the meaning of “home” for members of the Chinese diaspora. The alternating temporal POVs—Suchi’s from childhood to the present day, Haiwen’s from the present day to the past—highlight their opposite perspectives on memory: while Suchi can’t think about the past, Haiwen can’t let the past go. 

This structure was inspired in part by the soundtrack of Jason Robert Brown’s musical The Last Five Years, in which a couple narrates the story of their marriage from opposite ends of the timeline, eventually meeting in the middle. “I wonder[ed] if this structure would work for my book,” said Chen. “It really came alive for me at that point.”

The book, despite (or perhaps because of) its historical foundations, is more relevant than ever when it comes to modern day conceptualizations of home and belonging, according to Chen. Stories of migration and war, she said, are crucial for forwarding a sense of empathy towards immigrants and those displaced by conflict: “It takes so much bravery, audacity, gumption, to leave your home, survive in a place that wasn’t made for you.”

A lively audience Q&A followed Chen and Chung’s conversation. In addition to the cover design, Chen was asked about the books that inspired her, her Fulbright experience, and the challenge of writing for a specific audience. 

“As a writer, you’re picking up little pieces along the way,” she said of the inspiration she took away from the works of Kazuo Ishiguro, A.S. Byatt, and others. “[You’re] inspired by little things here and there.”

Alongside literary icons, Homeseeking was deeply influenced by Chen’s hands-on research in Taiwan. Asked about why she decided to pursue the Fulbright Program, Chen highlighted her interest in hearing directly from Taiwanese citizens about their personal histories. She also noted the “amazing” support provided by Barnard in applying for the program and the “life-changing” nature of the experience: Chen now lives and is married in Taiwan.

Another recurring theme throughout the night that Chen touched on during the Q&A was the task of writing Asian history for a North American audience. Did she feel she had to take steps to make the book accessible for readers unfamiliar with Chinese history and culture?

Ultimately, it was about finding a balance between explaining historical and cultural references and allowing the text to feel authentic. “Write the book a younger version of yourself would read,” said Chen. The minute details, as Chung pointed out at the beginning of the evening, are what allows the narrative to feel real and relatable to North American readers and diaspora readers alike. 

Chen and Chung closed out the evening by inviting the audience to come to the front of the Oval for a book signing, as well as to pick up a copy of Daughters of Shangodong. I left the event very excited to start reading both books (as soon as I’m done with my midterms)! 

Homeseeking will be released in December of this year from Penguin Random House. Also keep a lookout for Eve J. Chung’s next book, The Young Will Remember, which will be released in May of next year.

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All photos via author