Chapter summaries Homeseeking Karissa Chen

Chapter 5 Summary: August–October 1938

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Set in Shanghai between August and October 1938, the chapter opens with seven-year-old Suji exploring the longtang, a maze of alleys she loves to wander alone. Nearly a year after the Japanese occupation, the neighborhood has settled into an uneasy normalcy, though the International Settlement remains under British governance. Suji remembers the terror of the fighting, the family huddling together, and the day Chiang Kai-shek withdrew from Shanghai. She recalls promising her sister Sulae that they would jump off the roof together rather than face Japanese soldiers. Now, with school about to start, she treasures her remaining freedom.

While exploring, Suji discovers a shikumen with no laundry hanging and hears strange, beautiful violin music. At dinner, she asks to learn the violin, but her mother suggests the guzheng. Her father, Apa, tells a long story about Zheng He and China's historical isolationism, explaining how the country's refusal to engage with the outside world led to weakness and exploitation by Western powers and Japan. He urges his daughters to be brave and curious but also proud of their heritage. Suji feels chastened and understands why her father is wary of foreign things.

Suji starts school in a makeshift classroom. She meets Wang Haiwen, a small boy teased by classmates for his size and for not having lunch. Suji shares her precious lion's-head meatball with him, and he later gives her a flaky pastry. They begin walking home together. Suji learns that Haiwen's family came from Hong Kong and that his brother studies in England. She brings Haiwen to her home, which upsets her mother, M'ma, who is suspicious of the Wangs' foreign connections and wealth. Later, Suji and Sulae visit Haiwen's house, where he plays violin, including a melancholy piece called "Meditation" by Massenet. Sulae becomes infatuated with Haiwen's beautiful, fashionable mother, Wang ayi.

Over the following weeks, the three children often walk home together and play at the Wangs' house. But Sulae soon befriends a classmate, Yizhen, and leaves Suji and Haiwen to walk alone. Suji feels shy and unsure of their friendship. One day, she invites Haiwen home again. M'ma discovers that the sisters have been visiting the Wangs without permission and lying about it. She punishes both girls, and they hide the punishment from their father. The chapter ends with the sisters sitting stiffly at dinner, determined not to reveal their pain.

Key Events

  • Suji explores the longtang and hears violin music from a neighboring shikumen.
  • At dinner, Suji asks to learn the violin; Apa tells the story of Zheng He and China's isolationism.
  • Suji starts school and meets Wang Haiwen, who is teased by classmates.
  • Suji shares her lunch with Haiwen; he reciprocates with a pastry.
  • Suji learns about Haiwen's family background: Hong Kong origins and a brother in England.
  • Suji brings Haiwen home, upsetting M'ma.
  • Suji and Sulae visit Haiwen's house; he plays violin, including "Meditation" by Massenet.
  • Sulae befriends Yizhen, leaving Suji and Haiwen to walk alone.
  • Suji invites Haiwen home again; M'ma punishes both sisters for lying about their visits.
  • Apa and M'ma argue about renting a room to Siau Zi and about the Wangs' influence.

Character Development

Suji emerges as a curious, brave, and compassionate child. She defies classmate teasing to share her food with Haiwen, and she is drawn to the mystery of the Wangs' world. Her sense of class difference grows as she compares her shabby home to the Wangs' refined sitting room. She also learns to navigate family tensions, choosing to hide her visits to avoid M'ma's temper.

Wang Haiwen is quiet, introspective, and musically gifted. He endures teasing without reaction, and his inner world is filled with music—he hears melodies in everyday sounds. His loneliness is palpable, and Suji's friendship offers him a rare connection. His backstory—a brother sent to England, a mother who fell in love with Western music—hints at a family shaped by displacement and privilege.

Sulae shifts from a protective older sister to a girl absorbed in her own friendships and admiration for Wang ayi. Her teasing of Suji about marriage and her later abandonment of the pair show her growing independence and social awareness.

M'ma is anxious about reputation and class, suspicious of the Wangs' foreign ways and wealth. Her jealousy and fear of gossip drive her to punish her daughters. Apa is more open-minded, valuing curiosity and pride in heritage, but he also keeps financial decisions from M'ma, creating marital tension.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Music as connection: The violin bridges Suji and Haiwen, and Haiwen's playing evokes deep emotion in Suji. Music also symbolizes the foreign influence that divides the parents.
  • East-West cultural tension: Apa's story about Zheng He and the opium wars frames Western influence as both dangerous and necessary to understand. The guzheng-versus-violin debate embodies this conflict.
  • Class and social disparity: Suji notices the differences between her home and the Wangs'—the ornate clock, the calligraphy, the stylish mother. M'ma's resentment of Wang ayi's elegance highlights class insecurity.
  • Childhood exploration and freedom: Suji's longtang adventures represent a fleeting innocence before school and war intrude.
  • Secrets and hidden lives: The sisters lie about visiting the Wangs, and M'ma hides her jealousy; the Wangs themselves have hidden histories (the brother in England, the mother's past).
  • National pride and displacement: The chapter explores what it means to be Chinese under foreign occupation, with characters clinging to heritage while navigating outside influences.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter establishes the central friendship between Suji and Haiwen, which will likely shape the novel's emotional core. It also introduces key themes of cultural identity, class, and the legacy of imperialism that resonate throughout the story. The parents' arguments over the Wangs and over renting a room to Siau Zi reveal economic strain and marital friction, setting up future conflicts. Suji's growing awareness of social difference and her secret visits to the Wangs plant seeds of rebellion and curiosity that will define her character. The chapter also deepens the historical context of occupied Shanghai, grounding personal drama in a specific, fraught moment.

Study Questions and Answers

1. Why does Apa tell the story of Zheng He, and what lesson does he want his daughters to learn?

Apa uses Zheng He's voyages and China's later isolationism to warn against complacency and arrogance. He argues that China's refusal to engage with the outside world allowed Western powers to grow strong and eventually exploit China. He wants his daughters to be brave, curious, and open to foreign ideas, but also to remain proud of their heritage and not forget who they are.

2. How does Suji's friendship with Wang Haiwen challenge her family's assumptions?

Suji's friendship crosses class and cultural lines that M'ma finds threatening. M'ma distrusts the Wangs because of their foreign education, wealth, and rumored mixed heritage. Suji's willingness to share food and walk home with Haiwen shows her natural empathy, but it also forces her to navigate her mother's prejudices and the family's secrecy.

3. What role does music play in the chapter, and how does it affect Suji?

Music is a bridge between Suji and Haiwen. Hearing the violin draws Suji to his house, and his playing of "Meditation" moves her deeply, even though she is told Chinese music is superior. Music also represents the foreign influence that divides her parents. For Suji, it becomes a source of wonder and a connection to a world beyond her own.

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