Set in contemporary South Korea, this book follows the lives of a group of young women all connected in some way. Plastic Surgery is the norm, and most young women participate in order to further their careers.

Ara is mute, she's a hairstylist, and a superfan of the boyband "Crown".
Kyuri works at a room salon as an escort of sorts. Kyuri has had extensive surgery done, but at what cost?
Wonna lives with her husband, who she married mainly because his mother had died, and therefore could not interfere with their marriage.
Miho is an artist who is dating a wealthy socialite. She lives with Sujin, who dreams of becoming a room girl just like Kyuri.

This was so different to anything I've read before, and I really enjoyed it. It was definitely much darker at times than I thought it would be, and I get the feeling that we barely scratched the surface of the murky world of surgeries and room girls.

began utterly loving this book. I was thrown into a world and a culture I know nothing about. The characters are vibrant and interesting, their backstories enthralling. I do so love something that is character driven, and the 4 characters driving this story are engrossing.

The story focuses a lot on the Korean beauty industry and the cultural norms placed on Korean women. The influence this outright societal sexism has on their respective lives cannot be understated. These women's lives are dominated both by tradition and by the wealth (or lack of it) of the men around them. Most of them are powerless to influence their own destiny. I was equally fascinated and horrified by this. In some ways these women seem shallow and calculating, but we begin to realise that they are just a product of the society around them. Their world demands certain things of them, and then frowns on them for aspiring to reach these things. They can't win.

"I would live your life so much better than you, if I had your face"

But...and this is a big but, I think this book spreads itself too thin. It felt like it was just getting going when I reached the last page. We never quite get any of their stories fully, and it feels like so much is left unresolved. We barely touch the surface of some of the issues that Cha raises; prostitution, class, sexism, oppression, image. It's like several times the author held open a door saying 'look at this, isn't it interesting' and then slammed it in our faces again, never to revisit it.

“It's basic human nature, this need to look down on someone to feel better about yourself.”

I'm still giving this book 4 stars - I love the style and the characters are fantastic. I just needed more, so much more. I would have really preferred it if the book had followed just one or two of the protagonists' stories, and done it in much more depth. But this is a book from an exceptionally talented writer and still a great read. Cha has a skill for summarising ideas in simple yet evocative language so despite my frustration at wanting more, I would still recommend it.

Not the worst book I've ever read, but I quickly lost interest the the various characters' threads, and some of the subjects that did spark interest were too briefly touched upon and then the story moved on. I just couldn't get through more than a third of the book and I didn't have the inclination to pick it back up. A shame as the book and the premise had potential, but it was very un-dymanic in execution.

I started off with this and several pages in I wasn't convinced I could stick with it but so glad I did as I ended up enjoying it far more than I thought.
I loved the 4 different characters, all very different and complex and each POV read like a mini story. I liked the insight into Korean culture of which I knew nothing about and I admit that at time I had to look definitions up ( don't let this put you off!). It was also a bit of a culture shock to me as well . This would make a great little TV series I think.
Many thanks Netgalley

This book had me split for quite some time. Initially, I felt that all the character's seemed a bit bland, however, the development of each of their stories really brings them to life and changed my mind about this book entirely.

I liked the multiple POV nature of this book and found the characters strikingly different once you got to know them. All 4 of the female protagonists have experienced highs and lows in their lives, which makes them incredibly endearing and you find yourself rooting for all of them in different aspects. As a character-driven story, you get to understand the intertwined nature of the 4 women (Kyuri, Ara, Wonna and Miho) and their wider friendship group which is intriguing, but their ever-growing relationships as a 4 are what drives the story and keeps you reading.

I did feel that it was one of those books where I just wanted a little more, I felt that the ending although nice was a bit 'meh'. I also felt that although this book explains a number of issues facing women in Korea, it could feel a little check list-y but I felt all of the issues were addressed really well.

I loved the fact that Frances Cha highlights some of the harsh culture norms and stereotypes that women are expected to adhere to in Korea, from misogyny, sexism, sex work and the requirement to panda to the need's and desire's of rich men to the darker class system, economic issues, the consumerist nature of the economy and the cosmetic surgery industry which thrives on imposing western beauty standards on these women, where your face can be your fortune ("I would live your life so much better than you if I had your face"). The way in which Frances Cha attacks theses subjects left me scribbling quotes down left, right and centre!

This book really made me think about a culture I know very little about and a life of cultural norms and stereotypes that are infuriating as a woman. I could go on about this book for quite some time, but I will leave you with my recommendation (particularly for women) and a final quote to make you think “They are no better than the managers and the pimps and the politicians and the policemen and the public who vilify only the girls. "This was your choice", they say. They are gutter trash, every last one of them”.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for this eARC of If I Had Your Face!

I absolutely enjoyed this title, told through the perspectives of young women in Seoul. This touches on relationships, motherhood, plastic surgery, idolisation of K-pop stars, city and country differences, inter-generational conflict, orphanhood and financial insecurity. Though the narrative does switch a brisk pace between each character's point of view, I found this made it easy to read over several sittings. Each woman is a complex character, rarely likeable, yet not abhorrent enough to put you off reading.
My one critique was that the plot did not really progress anywhere meaningful. I was expecting a crescendo of events, but there was no culmination of the narrative, nor resolution to many of the issues.
An impressive debut nonetheless.

Have you ever read a book where you are in two minds about how you feel? This one started off a little meh but for some reason I just couldn't stop reading. It could have been the characters, the setting or the sheer force of will to enjoy it but I’m glad I stuck with it.

So this one revolves around 4 women, all of which live in the same building complex in Seoul, South Korea. Each has their own story to tell, having experienced both highs and lows throughout their life time. While evry character is different, they all have their own endearing aspects for the audience. While initially all seeming a little bland, upon hitting the second round of each characters’ point of view chapter, the reader begins to gain a better understanding as to why each is the way they are.

Having very little understanding on the Korean way of life, I found myself a tad lost at times and googling many a definition or picture of a product or place in order to adequately understand what exactly was happening. This is in no way a criticism of the novel, instead it is a recognition of my inability to fully appreciate where this tale was actually going.

The relationships between each of the women are for the most part loving and sisterly, with the exception of Wonna, the pregnant downstairs neighbour. While each person has their own outlook and path in life, they all seem to support the other unconditionally and really only seem to be out to see the best in each other while endlessly lifting each other up in a society where women are generally seen as ‘less’.

Overall it was a tale that really made me think about stereotypes in society and just how much we as women seem to covet that which others have. It gave a rare insight into the struggles of a country of people who are generally seen by the rest of the world as ‘the beautiful people’. Definitely worth a read if you are into novels that explore female bonding, found family and the power of friendship.

This is an incredibly impressive debut, and I will recommend this to friends. The novel follows a collection of women who live in the same apartment block, all at slightly different stages in their lives but all battling their own demons in their own way. It's a great insight into Korean culture, and I was particularly fascinated with room salon culture and Korean cosmetic surgery: so interesting!

I did occasionally find it tricky to follow which character we were with, as there were a lot of POV characters we switch between. For me it would have been stronger with more time with each, perhaps with fewer characters. But by the end I was settled with each character and interested in each one's story.

South Korea has the highest rate of plastic surgery in the world. K-Pop and K-Drama stars set benchmarks of beauty that cannot be reached without significant cosmetic reconstruction. The characters in Frances Cha’s new book If I Had Your Face, know all of this, and yet some of them mortgage their lives to the industry anyway in the hopes of bettering themselves.
Ara lives with Sujin, both are across the hall from Kyuri and Miho. Kyuri is a “room salon girl”, she has had, and continues to have, numerous surgeries so that she is one of the “top 10%” in beauty. But the room salons are essentially high price brothels where rich men go to live out their fantasies with compliant women. Despite knowing this, Sujin is “hell bent” on joining Kyuri. She scrapes together the money to have surgery that leaves her bandaged and in pain for the majority of the book. Ara supports Sujin in her recovery and while Ara does not seek out the surgery herself, obsesses over a K-Pop star who himself is an avatar of Korean celebrity culture. Ara is mute due to an incident when she was younger and works in a hair salon. Meanwhile Miho, an artist returned from a scholarship in New York, has a wealthy well-connected boyfriend, a relationship that is itself like something out of a K-Drama but with less likelihood of a happy ending. And downstairs is Wonna, older than the young women above her, who finds herself pregnant and unsupported by her husband.
There is not much plot to If I Had Your Face, it is more a series of character studies and revelations about Korean society and culture. Cha does delve into the character’s backstories and there is a forward momentum to their present lives but it is more a description of day-to-day events. These characters are all at the bottom of the tree, they keep finding themselves butting up against the classism that is also holding them back. As Miho observes:
That’s Just the way it is in this country, and the reason why people ask a series of rapid-fire questions the minute they meet you. Which neighbourhood did you live in? Where did you go to school? Where do you work? Do you know so-and-so? They pinpoint where you are on the national scale of status, then spit you out in a heartbeat.
This is not all an indictment on Korean society. The characters may have it tough but they support each other through their struggle. But they are not paragons either, all are drawn as complicated and complex. And while there is no real resolution for any of them when the book ends, there is some light at the end of the tunnel for most.
With Parasite (which has very similar themes) winning a best picture Oscar highlighting the strength of the Korean film industry, K-Drama beaming across the world through streaming services, and K-Pop fans taking on Donald Trump, it feels like Korean culture is in the spotlight. If I Had Your Face is a rich and nuanced look into this culture through the eyes of a group of engaging if challenged women. While Cha does expose a culture riven by class and a dark underbelly of exploitation, the characters point of view shows that while life is tough, for them it is also mostly positive.

This was a really interesting novel, following four young women in South Korea, a country and culture I know little about. The author plunged me into a world of unattainable beauty standards, definitely rivalling anything we see in the West. We go from secret beauty salons, through K-pop culture and into the rigid social hierarchies of Korean society. We follow Kyuri, a beautiful young woman, who has managed to attain a job in a top secret bar where she entertains businessmen as they drink. She tells us that she always knew she would have to change her face - a knowledge conformed by the fortune teller she visits, Miho, Kyuri’s flatmate, has returned to Korea from NYC where she has been studying art. From very humble beginnings, Miho has studied on scholarships and has now reached upper echelons of society as the girlfriend of the heir of a very wealthy business empire. However it may be that Minho’s position is more precarious than she thinks. Ara has an obsession with the young, pretty star of a boy band and a best friend who is saving up for extreme plastic surgery - which seems to be the norm. Wonna is the only married member of the quartet and is preoccupied trying to have a baby that’s expected of newlyweds, but totally unaffordable in a difficult economy,

I enjoyed reading about this very different culture and it’s strict rules versus modern preoccupations, it was like a culture shock in a book, However, I wondered whether the author had spread her story and the women’s issues slightly too thin. I read it as Kyuri’s story, with the other three as side characters to bring in further depth. I felt we maybe ended up with so many different aspects of the culture that the author couldn’t develop storylines to their required depth. Or at least the depth I wanted. I felt Kyuri had the most obvious and well plotted story arc so it may have worked to focus on her, and delve into deeper into her world which was borderline dangerous for the girls involved. The salon girls are not all fortunate enough to earn good money and stay safe - Cha touches on this by hinting at women who fall into prostitution and become vilified in a society where the men using the girls services are overlooked. She even hints at girls who are beaten or even worse, and like other reviewers I wanted to know about these girls and what backgrounds they’d come from. Similarly, Ara is not explored fully. Her profession as a stylist and hairdresser for celebrity clients is interesting, especially when she attacks a colleague at work - but it is a thread that isn’t picked up. However, I loved the informal and chatty style of the narration and the window Cha grants into a contemporary Asian society I know little about. I most definitely wanted to know more and would read the author again.

I feel like this book had a lot of potential but was trying to do too much in too short an amount of time.
This follows four Korean women who each have a fascinating history and lifestyle but are all interconnected through friendships, or roommate situations, or sleeping with someone else's boyfriend.
At the beginning, I couldn't put the book down because I was so swept up in the everyday lives of these vastly different women and wanted to know everything about them. Towards the halfway point of the book, however, the stories that needed more attention were thinned out and every time we would get a glimpse at something more, something more political, or more real, the narration would jump to someone else and would leave me dissatisfied. Not because I wasn't able to wait but because even though I made it through the book, we only scratched the surface of so many topics that could have really been expanded on in meaningful ways. Like I said, I guess there were just not enough pages to go deep enough for me to form connections to the characters.
Loved the easy writing style, though, because it made me fly through the pages!

An amazing and haunting novel that sucked me into a gaudy, glittering yet unforgiving world. The importance of physical beauty is something any female reader can relate to, but this novel reveals the practical, cut-throat necessity of looks in a contemporary South Korean society. My jaw was dropping at the gruesome detail of popular plastic surgery and the lengths people will go to for self-improvement. With tender skill, the author sharply comments on sexual politics and class divide.

A fascinating look at the obsession with beauty in Korea and a great companion piece to the recent Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982

🌺🌹 i recently finished ‘If I Had Your Face’ the debut release by Frances Cha 🌹🌺

it was a book i was really excited about reading after i fell in love with Memoirs of a Geisha, and from the synopsis I drew similarities in themes and characters. And in very many ways it is pretty similar to Memoirs of a Geisha, but this book also completely holds its own.

You’re completely immersed in the lives of 5 different women living in South Korea, navigating the struggles of living in a culture with high social expectations, beauty standards, and where drastically altering your face is absolutely no big deal. It was really interesting reading about this image obsessed culture and how it affected the lives of these women, and learning slowly how these women’s lives are connected.

I’d really recommend this book for anyone who enjoys character driven stories (there isn’t a huge plot to follow), is interested in South Korean culture or someone that just likes to read about female friendships 🥰

Big thank-you as always to @netgalley for my advanced preview of this novel 🌺🌹

If I Had Your Face plunges us into the mesmerizing world of contemporary Seoul – a place where extreme plastic surgery is as routine as getting a haircut, where women compete for spots in secret ‘room salons’ to entertain wealthy businessmen after hours, where K-Pop stars are the object of all-consuming obsession, and ruthless social hierarchies dictate your every move.

Navigating this cut-throat city are four young women balancing on the razor-edge of survival- Kyuri, an exquisitely beautiful woman whose hard-won status at an exclusive ‘room salon’ is threatened by an impulsive mistake with a client; her flatmate Miho, an orphan who wins a scholarship to a prestigious art school in New York, where her life becomes tragically enmeshed with the super-wealthy offspring of the Korean elite; Wonna, their neighbour, pregnant with a child that she and her husband have no idea how they will afford to raise in a fiercely competitive economy; and Ara, a hair stylist living down the hall, whose infatuation with a fresh-faced K-Pop star drives her to violent extremes.

Review:

This book was so extremely different to anything I’ve read before. It is definitely a book like no other. The writing is great and I became attached to the characters quite quickly, as the first chapter was very gripping. I loved how insightful the book is to Korean culture and how each girl has her own unique quirks and preferences about eating and plastic surgery.

I struggled initially in the beginning to connect the characters and their storylines, but this became easier the further I read into the book. It is also an adjustment to learn many new korean words and phrases but I put that down to not being familiar with Korean culture, so the book also made for an excellent learning tool.

As I was hooked from the first chapter, the subsequent chapters were a little less exciting for me until about half way through the book. I really like the short paragraphs and the writing structure of the story isn’t anything i’ve come across before which was refreshing and kept me wanting to read the book. Initially, there is a lot of information coming at you at once but because of the writing it is actually very easy to absorb.

There was also an element of mystery that kept me engaged in the story because in the beginning when we first meet a couple of the characters we aren’t sure of what their purpose is to the story, or their relation to Ara and her friends, but everything unfolds eventually!

I wanted so badly to love this book but something was desperately missing for me. The story contains no major climax or event and it just multiple character POV’s throughout, so perhaps this wasn’t enough for me to love it. But I really enjoyed the ending and thought it was super sweet!

Trigger warning: the words rape and rapist are mentioned fleetingly in a sentence at once stage, however (spoilers?) no act occurs, it is simply the inner dialogue of a character.

Many thanks to Penguin Books UK and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

3/5 stars.

Frances Cha’s debut novel casts a glaring eye over contemporary Seoul’s superficiality. Plastic surgery is so ubiquitous among the population that it’s considered as every day and necessary as a haircut, and women’s market value is correlated directly with their youth and physical attractiveness.

If I Had Your Face follows Ara, Miho, Kyuri, and Wonna, four women who live in the same building. Ara is a talented hair stylist who lost her ability to speak in her youth, and whose obsession with a K-Pop star prompts violent tendencies. Miho, an orphan who landed a scholarship to a New York art school before returning to Seoul, now hides her sculptures from her obscenely rich boyfriend. Kyuri is a room salon girl, whose incredible beauty is maintained by surgical procedures which are so minimal that you wouldn’t know about them unless you had the private knowledge that comes with her point of view. Wonna, the only main cast member who does not share a friendship with the others, is a mistreated employee and neglected wife whose pregnancy is more a source of terror than of joy.

Watching these four women, along with a few supporting cast members who show up along the way, navigate their daily lives is a rewarding experience. Each character becomes progressively more interesting as the narrative moves along, all taking on a vitality which makes them as alive as a stranger you pass in the street, one who makes you wonder how their lives unfold from their own perspectives. Characters I was immediately fascinated by, like Ara and Kyuri, continued to develop and surprise me, while Miho and Wonna, who failed to intrigue me at first, became characters I would look forward to hearing from. I would have been happy to sit down to dinner with all of these women, baggage and all.

It certainly helps that these characters are placed in a novel coloured with vibrant prose. Cha is witty and cutting, each sentence feeling as though it was crafted with a sly smile. The undercurrent of misogyny which travels through If I Had Your Face is so subtly represented that it feels almost silly to posit this as a feminist work. It’s not feminist in a interpretational sense. It is simply reality. I cannot think of many novelists who can represent the world so closely while maintaining a reader’s interest, much less debut novelists. This mimetic quality makes the reader feel like a fly on the wall, like a voyeuristic participant in some kind of demented reality show which places unknowing inhabitants of an apartment block under surveillance.

The only thing keeping this novel from a perfect score is the fact that it feels somewhat rushed and unfinished in places, especially at the end. The final chapter is abrupt, and doesn’t feel like a conclusion at all. Each character seems to end her story on a precipice, the the reader is watching a lost film where the only footage left to us is missing its third act.

If I Had Your Face is an electrifying and bold work, one I can definitely recommend in spite of its rough edges.

Ever since I finished the Crazy Rich Asian series I’ve been looking for something similar! If I Had Your Face was just what I needed, but showed a more bleak side to life rather than the lavish lives that are usually shown in popular East Asian literature. ⁣⁣
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I really enjoyed this debut novel by Frances Cha that follows the lives of four women living in Seoul, South Korea, where women conform to the strict standards of beauty influenced by the western world leading to a high rise in plastic surgery making it the norm.⁣⁣
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The book is centred around four young women living in the same apartment block. Kyuri is a beauty obsessed “Salon Girl” who parties all night with rich influential men, Ara is a mute hairdresser obsessed with K-Pop. Wonna is a newlywed and expecting a baby but has dark secrets from her childhood and Miho is an orphan artist. I loved each character and felt they were complex but relatable and well written. ⁣⁣
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This novel is heavily character driven, with an insight into a women’s perspective in modern day Seoul. With flashbacks throughout the book and a plot that doesnt exactly get tied up in a neat little bow at the end this isn’t your usual novel like you might be expecting. However it was such a compulsive read and was so insightful and powerful. ⁣⁣
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Thankyou to Netgalley and Penguin UK books for this arc in exchange for an honest review

My thanks to Penguin Books U.K. Viking for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘If I Had Your Face’ by Frances Cha in exchange for an honest review.

This debut work of literary fiction is set in Seoul, South Korea and explores the lives of four young women living in the same apartment house.

The title refers to the quest for perfection that drives some women to undergo extreme plastic surgery. As one character reflects when she encounters a sulky K-pop star that she had once admired: “I would live your life so much better than you if I had your face.”

Kyuri is an exquisitely beautiful woman who works at an exclusive 'room salon' where wealthy businessmen are entertained after hours. An impulsive mistake with a client threatens this coveted position. Her flatmate Miho is an artist who had won a scholarship to a prestigious art school in New York. Her life there became enmeshed with the super-wealthy offspring of the Korean elite and aspects of those relationships have followed her home. Unlike ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ this is more tragedy than romcom.

Wonna lives downstairs and is pregnant. She and her husband are stressed as they have no idea how they will afford to raise a child in this fiercely competitive economy. Finally, Ara, lives down the hall from Miho and Kyuri and works as a hair stylist. She was rendered mute after a horrific attack when a teenager. She is infatuated with a fresh-faced K-Pop star to the point of obsession.

Added to this group is Sujin, who has been Ara’s friend since school and is now her roommate. Sujin is in the process of having a number of surgical procedures hoping that once she has healed to emulate Kyuri and join a room salon.

Each chapter is narrated by one of the four main characters. I will admit that I was feeling a bit confused at the start though it was much easier after I made a few notes about each of the women, plus significant others in their lives like Sujin and Miho’s wealthy boyfriend, Hanbin.

Frances Cha writes in an accessible style, which makes it very easy to relate to her characters. She has Miho, who was my favourite among the women, sum up the high pressures of Korean society: “For all its millions of people, Korea is the size of a fishbowl and someone is always looking down on someone else. That’s just the way it is in this country, and the reason why people ask a series of rapid-fire questions the minute they meet you. Which neighborhood do you live in? Where did you go to school? Where do you work? Do you know so-and-so? They pinpoint where you are on the national scale of status, then spit you out in a heartbeat.”

While the quest for perfect looks or high status seems shortsighted it’s not something confined to one culture as any number of reality shows demonstrate.

This is quite an open-ended novel and I could imagine Cha returning to see how her characters are faring a few years down the line. An assured debut, which provided a fascinating glimpse of contemporary life in South Korea.

The review of Frances Cha book was published in the Culture section on The Curiosity Gap on July 22, 2020https://thecuriositygap.co.uk/galina-reviews-frances-cha-if-i-had-your-face/

As someone with an interest in Korean culture, I was curious about how it would be portrayed in a book. It's a contemporary slice of life, and dark in parts. I've never read Korean literature before so I was really excited to see how this would turn out for me. And IIHYF did not disappoint. The prose is refreshing, and the believable characters are depicted wonderfully. Being contemporary, this is mainly character portrait focused and I love the development and seeing how these women navigate through life.