'Sometimes I just can't stop thinking about how ugly she is. I mean, why doesn't she just get surgery? Why? I really don't understand ugly people. Especially if they have money. Are they stupid?... Are they perverted?'

A dark and twisted insight into modern life in Seoul, where life is hard but women are sold the myth that beauty and status will fix any problem. 'If I had your face' focuses on four young women struggling to survive in a city where facial surgery is a worthy goal and everyone seems to be the competition in a desperate game to achieve what is seen as success.

Our cast of narrators share an apartment block in Seoul, and each has their own distinct and complex tale. They are: artist Miho, who is hiding from a dark past in New York and struggling with a relationship with one of Seoul’s most eligible bachelors; Ara, a mute hairstylist with an obsession with a K-pop star and a roommate recovering from a life-altering cosmetic surgery; Kyuri, who has achieved what so many strive for and now spends her evenings entertaining businessmen at a bar where only the prettiest 10% of girls can find work; and Wonna, a newlywed desperate for a daughter who can erase the pain of her past.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one, as I've never read anything based in Seoul, so it's a completely alien world to me. Obviously I've seen the stereotypes that everyone knows through the media, but I was so excited to read something that immersed me in a world I knew nothing about. Despite this, it did take me a little while to get into the swing of it - partly because I've just come from reading a lot of historical fiction, so the tone took a while to get into. It reminded me a bit of Crazy Rich Asians, in the sense that there is a slightly formality and distance in the writing style - it is something I enjoy, but it is different, so it can take a while to adjust.

In terms of our characters, I have to admin Ara and Kyuri were the real standouts to me. I felt for Miho, but just didn't become as emotionally involved in her story, and I struggled to connect with Wonna at all. I don't know why, as her story was just as shocking and heartbreaking as the others, but I just struggled to connect with her as much. That is not to say that any of these stories are weak though, as each of these women's narratives are completely unique, and all portray a different element of life for women in Seoul.

Now I have seen some people say that the ending is unsatisfying. For me, this isn't the case, as I felt the ending showed the reality of the girls' situation - there isn't some big happy ending waiting round the corner. They will continue to struggle, to try and find happiness or something approaching it in a world that is not designed to help them, but they will do it with each others support. To me, it was the happiest ending you could get in this sort of book.

Obviously I can't speak to the reality of this book, never having been to Seoul and not knowing anyone from their. It may be that this is the truth of life in Seoul, or it may be that it is slightly exaggerated for entertainment. Personally, either way I find it to be a truly stunning and unique read that I would recommend to anyone. It offers a stunning insight into a unique world, and has a cast of characters that are incredibly vivid and real from the very first page. A worthwhile read, and an incredible debut.

A hypnotic, sensual and original story of four women. In a city where appearance is everything, Kyuri the club hostess, mute hairdresser Ara, married office worker Wonna and artist Miho do what they can to survive. At times the girls experience a strange and brutal world but I put down the book feeling optimistic for them.

I ended up reading the entire novel in one sitting on a plane ride back from Seoul. It illuminated parts and people of the city which, as an outsider with very limited Korean skills, could really begin to comprehend.

Complex, dark and full of tragic characters, If I had Your Face is a raw candid snapshot of modern day Seoul and the young women living under its lights.

Far from the glossy streets of Gangnam, the four lives of Wonna, heavily pregnant and struggling to meet the demands of raising a newborn,; Kyuri, whose pursuit of beauty and status leads to her work in a 'room-salon', her flatmate Miho, an adoptee and art student entangled in the lives of the Korean-American elite and finally Ara, a mute hairstylist with an unhealthy obsession with her favourite idol.

While life in any city can be claustrophobic, each chapter which focuses on a different woman really hones in on the sense of gasping from air and struggling to stay afloat at different points of womanhood, all under the same roof.The financial insecurity of becoming a new mother in hand in a country with some of the longest working hours in the world*, Wonna's story focused heavily on the often unsaid troubles of womanhood alongside massaging male fragility.

prevalent plastic surgery and streets lined with clinics in Gangnam were probably one of the most difficult things to contend with while away, which made be gravitate towards Kyuri the most of the four girls. Her motivations, her seemingly self-assured nature, coupled with her insecurities which she confides in with Ara, unable to speak aloud following her own personal trauma, was framed wonderfully throughout and spoke volumes about the pressure of keeping up appearances while dealing with the doubt and uncertainty of early adulthood.

Overall, I can't wait to get my hands on a finished copy next year!

If I Had Your Face is a timely representation of the rising issue of body image in Korea, where women are pressured into conforming their facial features (particularly eyelids) into Eurocentric idealised views of beauty. This book is a necessary book: needed to understand societal views of beauty, and how Western views of beauty dominate the world. Thank you Frances Cha.

I enjoyed reading this novel and was drawn into the story of the young women of Seoul. I liked the insights into Korean culture and the way the women interacted with one another. I was really disappointed by the abrupt ending. I read an ebook version, so I was totally unprepared for the novel ending with lots of loose ends and felt that it didn't stop at a natural point of closure..

Survival in beauty-obsessed contemporary Seoul.

This riveting debut follows four young women as they forge a life in a frenetic society where plastic surgery is the answer to getting on.

Beautiful Kyuri works in a 10% (an exclusive room salon which employs only the prettiest girls in the industry) entertaining businessmen.

Orphan Miho is awarded a scholarship to study art in New York where she becomes entangled with the exclusive world of the chaebol (corporation) families.

Mute Ara, a hairdresser, is infatuated by Taein, the lead singer of a K-pop band.

Married Wonna is fearful of bringing a child into this world.

A fascinating insight into modern Korean life, full of strict social hierarchies, avid consumerism, low birth rate and an ever-widening generation gap. The light sprinkling of Korean terms add authentic flavour.

Cha writes assuredly, with intriguing characters and tremendous pace.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Books (UK) for the ARC.

This book felt extremely realistic
I felt the main characters were multi-dimensional and really cared about their fate. Very well written and insightful.

It took me a while to get into this book but once I got into it I enjoyed it. In terms of voice, I could draw similarities between Cha and Celeste Ng, Sara Taylor and a touch of Jessie Burton, all writers whose work I've enjoyed. I wasn't fully gripped by the story but that's a personal preference thing rather than a criticism of it per se. I may revisit this at some point to see if I just wasn't in the right head space for it, but I definitely learned a lot about Seoul which is not a place on my cultural radar.

The story of a group of women trying to survive life in Seoul. They have each found their own path but none of them seem happy. as you follow their lives, their history is revealed.

Written well and easy to follow the story drags you in until you cant put it down.

I enjoyed following the narrative but in the end I felt like I was left with a lot of questions unanswered. I am also unsure if this a true reflection on how society is in Seoul now or the authors vision of the way it is heading, This is definitely something I will look into and will end up teaching me more about the world so it gets a star for that (I love anything that educates me)

If I Had Your Face is an impressive debut; a compelling novel of friendship and female experience in a male-dominated world. In fact, I would never have guessed this was a debut novel without the blurb: Cha is an assured writer and an erudite guide to the Seoul her characters inhabit.

But while Cha paints a vivid tableau of Korean culture, this is very much a universal novel of female experience. The central characters are expertly drawn, and each narrator has their own distinctive tone and perspective pull. There may be hints of k-drama imagery and convention, but there are no clunky clichés or fairytale endings here. The characters simply muddle through life as best they can.

The premise may seem a little bleak, but I found If I Had Your Face a surprisingly hopeful novel, and an utterly engaging read.

Read it in a breeze!
It is a beautiful novel about contemporary Seoul and millennials living in South Korea, and the beauty culture and how it affects women there.
The novel follows the lives of 4 women, 3 of whom are friends, that live in the same apartment complex.
It is very fascinating to see how they live their lives, from a westerner's point of view, knowing very little about South Korean culture, but it is also a beautiful novel about ordinary women and how they deal with relationships with men, bosses/co-workers and their careers.
I would definitely highly recommend it, as I read it in a very short time and couldn't put it down!

I thought that this may be a book that would elude me, having never been exposed to Korean culture or the massively popular Kpop trend. But I think that the author has written a story that will resonate with all women, because it speaks to the female role in a society that remains dominated by men. If I Had Your Face shoots from the hip when examining how a woman's worth is measured by her perfection in the high beams of the male gaze- beauty that only copious amounts of surgery and touchups can achieve, not too outspoken, not too smart, and rich but not more rich than her male counterpart. The book is also brutally honest when breaking down the barbed nature of female relationships, being at once ruthlessly competitive but also fiercely loyal. Despite being a work of fiction, every character rings true right off the page. I'm so glad I took a chance on this one, and can't believe it is a debut. I look forward to more work from Frances Cha.

What an utterly compelling novel. I loved it from the beginning to the end. It is a page turner that you won’t want to put down
It is written very well with a perfect pace to the storyline
Excellent book

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha is a novel about four young women in contemporary Seoul and the friendship between them.

The gorgeous cover made me grab this, along with the chance to get an insider view of female lives in Seoul. Some of it is shocking, particularly the extreme plastic surgery that has women shaving their jaws to meet someone else's ideal of female beauty even if it means they can't eat... but at heart I found this sticks to a formula: the four female friends who support each other through everything.

All the women speak with the same voice and there's something a little muddy about the writing so that it lacks clarity and vitality, as if we're hearing everything through a muffled layer. Worth a read, though, for the insight into Korea and young Korean lives.