Four women in the same Seoul apartment building lead very different lives: entertaining businessmen at a salon, gaining attention in the art world, obsessing over K-pop bands, and trying to start a family. But as they struggle through a world of impossibly strict beauty standards and strict social hierarchies, they find their paths entangled.

Really, really well done. The characters are so richly drawn, and so different, even they're dealing with similar societal pressures. The pacing and weaving together of their stories worked well. I hung on every word, and I hope to read more from Frances Cha in the future!

IF I HAD YOUR FACE is a novel told from four different narratives who are all trying to survive in the big, trendy, glamorous, yet cutthroat city Seoul. These four women who are connected by living in the same apartment all bear the repercussions of living in such a cutthroat city with unattainable beauty standards. They survive to live.

I was really nervous to start this novel, worried that it would portray Korea in a negative way. Korea’s harsh beauty standards is something I have always found to be fascinating yet depressing too. The lengths that women will go to “fit into the mold,” is unbelievable yet understandable with how competitive and cutthroat Seoul is. The author does a phenomenal job stating things as it is, respectfully. Without bashing the crazy beauty standards, she gives readers a glimpse of what it’s like to live in a city that houses 10 million (out of the 50 million of South Koreans), in a country that developed so fast, the citizens have to do whatever they can to survive.

However, perhaps because it is a slim novel, everything felt a bit simple. The characters felt one-dimensional. They were all darker than expected and I wanted to know more about each character, the why’s and not just the outer layer. I also wanted to see the characters grapple with the we the unattainable beauty standards that are forced upon them, it wasn’t as explored as I would have liked. And while each character is different, they weren’t likable or memorable.

While some things did not work for me, I did appreciate the accuracy of the representation of Korea and its people. And loved that the author did that so subtlety without having to spell things out.
A very addicting novel of a very fast, trendy, cutthroat city and the lengths women will take to survive. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, give it a try! *3.5/5

I received this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book and the surgery obsessed culture it promised to explore. In that sense, it certainly lived up. I enjoyed the way the author revealed bits of culture and life in Seoul bit by bit, as off-handed remarks by the narrators. I should note that the book has multiple narrators and I had trouble keeping track of them in the beginning - thank goodness for the Kindle search function!

As far as the content of the book goes, I kept waiting for something more to happen. I was shocked when I got to 98% finished and realized it was wrapping up. The author leaves a lot of uncertainty and possibility for the characters, but it left me wanting more.

Wow - this was so fascinating and engrossing! I really enjoyed the intertwined story lines of the four young women in modern Seoul.

There were so many topics explored within Korean culture that also resonate in America: wealth inequality, sexism, mental health, toxic beauty standards, and domestic abuse. The stories are profoundly sad, but still hopeful. This was an unforgettable, emotionally poignant novel that will stay with me for a while.

I loved this book.

It’s not the sort of book I ordinarily love. I’m more a ‘things that go boom’ sort of person. The only thing that went boom here were my emotions – in spades!

Cha introduces us to four young women – each of whom is dealing with past traumas and a certain hopelessness about the future. The backdrop is modern day Korea and Cha takes us from the seedier side of things all the way to the richest of the rich – and all the despair that can hide behind manufactured beauty.

Above all, I loved our young women. Each of them is so different, but strong in her way. I wanted such good things to happen to them. I also loved the theme of friendship here.

I’ll be honest and tell you that there are things in the book that are unpleasant – women carving away at their bone structures for beauty, assault, abuse, etc. But the book is also beautifully written and leaves you feeling witness to something just a bit special.

*ARC Provided via Net Galley

I found this to be a very fascinating read.

I loved hearing how the four different girls experienced their life in Korea. What really made this so much more realistic is how well Cha educated the reader on Korea throughout the story. I enjoyed the comparison between Korea and the girls’ thoughts on America.

I was not expecting such a straight forward and blunt read. I like how Cha made each character so unique and different with their own issues, dreams, trauma, goals. It had a very somber tone for most of the story, but it only enhances the story that was being told. There was a sense of dread, depression, mystery, but also such realistic scenes that feed us truths about Korea and women all over the world.

this was a really good read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed getting to know the four women in the story.

An engrossing story about a group of young women in modern Seoul. There's something to connect to with each storyline.

Sometimes reviews mention that a book doesn't read like a debut novel. If I Had Your Face is complex, riveting and combines the stories of women's friendships with several dark mysteries. It's different from many of the books I've read lately and isn't easy to characterize as a mystery or a thriller even though the story has many unexpected twists.

Regardless of how it can be characterized, I loved it. I was drawn to the book by the beautiful cover and an affinity for Asian American writers but this is turned on its head. Though the writer is Asian American, the book is about South Korean women living in Seoul. The stories of these women and their experiences are shaped by where they live.

If I Had Your Face ties together the lives of a group of young women living in a centrally located condo-office building in Seoul.

Kyuri is a beautiful young woman who works at a top ten "room salon" that boasts of having the top 10% of beauties to entertain wealthy Korean businessmen. As one of the top earners, Kyuri receives expensive gifts from her recurring clients.

Her neighbor Sujin dreams of looking like Kyuri and earning the large sums that top room girls bring home every night. Sujin believes that a face like Kyuri's will free her to a different life altogether. The prevalence of plastic surgery comes across clearly as author Frances Cha describes the procedures Sujin has already undergone and those that she has been saving for, coveting, hoping will differentiate her from the other girls in her situation. Sujin had grown up in the Loring Center - a place for orphans and disabled individuals.

Sujin's hometown and girlhood friend is Ara. Ara has a disability that occurred after her birth although we're not sure what happened or the extent of it. We do know that her disability is known to strangers and that they treat her differently. Ara feels singled out and her disability affects how she works at the hair saloon. Despite the disability, Ara is talented. Though Ara is not an orphan, she feels disconnected from her parents and avoids returning home for the holidays. She prefers to spend her time and emotions on friends like Sujin.

Miho is an orphan who had been with Sujin in the Loring Center. But Miho has given special treatment and attention at the Loring Center because of her talent in art and her unusual beauty. Through the Loring Center, Miho was able to win a scholarship to New York University and this opportunity led Miho to meet and befriend the rich and powerful children of chaebol owning families.

Miho works for Ruby's gallery and spends her time with Ruby and her longtime boyfriend Hanbin. When Miho returns to South Korea, she lives with Kyuri and in the same floor as Sujin. Miho has a special fellowship at a university and spends her time with Hanbin and on her art.

Miho, Sujin, Kyuri and Ara opt to live on the cheapest floor - the 4th floor of the building. Four is considered an unlucky number since it resembles the character for death in Chinese. Above these young girls lives Wonna, a married woman, who watches their comings and goings with some envy.

Frances Cha shows us both the lives that these women present and the lives that they keep hidden. The way that Cha reveals the secret desires and pain of each of the five women is so skillful and carefully done that I couldn't stop reading. If I Had Your Face takes us to another side of life in South Korea and we learn to appreciate the friendships and trials that these young women face. If I Had Your Face was so different from what I had expected from the cover and I am grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for making this available. I recommend it highly!

I found it hard to keep track of the characters until about half way through but by then i was very invested. It was about sad things but did not make me feel hopeless, which I think is important, to me at least. The plastic surgery aspect was very interesting and I havent seen that dealt with very much in books. I am interested in the next story the author has to tell.

A truly unforgettable glimpse into Korean culture. I loved following four loosely linked women living in Seoul as they pursue careers and relationships amidst impossibly high beauty standards and inequitable gender norms. Infuriating but absolutely accurate depiction of what women have to deal with in society, and the effects of internalizing these patriarchal standards as well. So glad I read this book and I will highly recommend it to anyone interested in South Korea!

If I Had Your Face is brutally honest and talks about the harsh realities a lot of women face. This is what I love most about this book. It tackles a lot of topics and explores many themes like toxic beauty standards, wealth inequality, sexism, prostitution, being obsessed with an idol, the way the rich look down on the poor and the “beautiful” look down on the “ugly” based on toxic beauty standards, growing up an orphan, domestic abuse, being disabled, mental health, marital life, parents treating their children as assets and how traumatic experience from childhood can affect a person even until adulthood. All these issues in the Korean society, but I know are also mostly present in my own country and many more.

This is certainly a heavy read. It talks about uncomfortable realities that are hard to accept but we are often forced to swallow. I think this could also be an eye-opener, especially to those who have a lot of privileges in life and unaware of these issues.

There is a lot of sadness, suffering, envy, dissatisfaction, desperateness, and trauma etched into these pages, but at the same time it’s also full of ambition, thoughtfulness, drive, and love. Amidst the darkness, there are glimpses of light to be found. And I really love that.

The writing wasn’t gripping from the start. I also didn’t like how after very few paragraphs – sometimes just two or three, there will already be a line break and then we’ll move on to a different scene or topic right away. The thoughts of the characters or the scenes haven’t completely been absorbed yet, but we’ll have to jump to another one right away, making me more detached. It took me more than half of the book to be used and a bit comfortable with the writing. And since there is no main plot that actually connects these five women’s stories together, I found it confusing at some point like I just couldn’t think of where the book was heading. At the beginning it almost read like an anthology for me.

What made me carry on was my interest about the topics and themes it explores and I found these characters interesting and somehow unique as well. And I am glad that I stick it out until the end.

Overall, If I Had Your Face is a brutally honest book about the harsh realities a lot of women face in the Korean society. I really like this as a whole but I also didn’t like some parts of it. I would still recommend this if you want a heavy read and are interested about the topics and themes mentioned, but won’t recommend it if you’re not into character-driven stories and books with multiple points of views. This is a debut novel. I think Cha has a lot to say and I would love to read her upcoming works in the future.

Actual rating: 3.5

Not sure why but I thought this was a thriller going into it but it’s definitely more of just a contemporary fiction/drama. We follow 4 Korean women in alternating chapters, and the book ends up feeling like a collection of 4 short stories. I really enjoyed Ara and Kyuri’s chapters but I didn’t connect as much with the other 2 narrators.

Cha describes the cutthroat world of female beauty in South Korea in a way that is both brilliant and profoundly sad.
Four women who are extremely different from one another, find themselves dreaming of things they don't have: a family, beauty, love. Cha's characters are as imperfect as they are relatable, which is reason enough to feel complete empathy for them. The story links all the characters together by life-altering events, making us question what it really is to be beautiful and how friendship can sometimes save us.

Set in Seoul, Korea this story follws several women as they face the high standards and expectations of beauty, wealth and social class structure in their jobs and communities. The obsession of each with beauty and plastic surgery was eye-opening for this reader as the author definitely took me to a culture I have no knowledge and experience with. I have to be honest and say I found the story incredibly depressing and heartbreaking pretty much throughout. This is a very character driven story in which I wanted to see somehting good happen for these girls. However, this isn't meant to be a story that gives out happy endings at the end which I appreciate the author keeping the authenticity of the story in this way. A tough read but the writing was excellent and atmospheric.

Offering us a deep look into the culture of South Korea, the author introduces us to four women. Within their stories include topics as racism, classism, unrealistic standards of beauty and more. I knew plastic surgery was big business in Korea, but the detail of what women go through to achieve a standard of beauty is heartbreaking. Ara is a hairdresser, mute after an attack while she grew up in an orphanage South of Seoul. Sujin is her friend, looking to change her life by having painful plastic surgery. Minho is an artist, dating a man who she finds out goes to the room socials that are close to houses of prostitution, and Woona’s story revolves around her lonely marriage. There is so much introduced by this book, it’s hard to put down until you understand the fates of these women. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Noooooo I need more! The story kind of just ends and does not wrap up many of the loose threads, but I think that worked out quite well as it leads the reader/listener to come up with their own ending to the characters' stories. Overall I really enjoyed this book that shed a lot of unknown light on how Koreans view beauty and it really blew my mind.

I enjoyed the audio version with a cast of five women portraying the five characters, including the author.

CW: Body dysmorphia, sex work, medical/surgery, suicide, pregnancy/ pregnancy loss, off page violence, mute character

If I Had Your Face is an intimate portrait of the world of young Korean women. Their world is marked by beauty and what beauty can buy or sell. From a Western standpoint, this world seemed horrifying, grim, and lonesome. I also found it fascinating that despite the pressures of beauty, marriage does not seem like a pressure until past the age of 30. It's a stark contrast to the West, where if you are not married by the age of 27, you are considered old. If I had Your Face might be extremely eye opening for readers who have never read or experienced any Korean media/culture.

I listened to this on audio, which has different narrators, but I still found it difficult to track which character was speaking.

There is not much plot, beyond the girls going through their daily life. I enjoy slice of life novels, though. Cha's writing is beautiful.

If I Had Your Face is the story of four different women who live in an apartment building in Seoul. Ara – obsessed with a boy-band singer, mute for some unknown reason, very invested in helping her roommate save for the extensive plastic surgery that she’s been dreaming of. Kyuri – a beautiful young woman who has the sought after position of “room girl” in a 10% salon (basically an escort at the place that brags to have the prettiest 10% of girls in Korea) but whose body is taking a toll (and her heart too). Miho, my favorite, an artist in the big city on scholarship, dating a wealthy playboy-type, and lastly Wonna. Wonna lives on the floor below those three, the only one who is married, desperate to have a baby but pretty sure she and her husband won’t be able to afford a child in their current economical situation. I really felt so invested in these women, like I knew them all. I wished I’d gotten to read farther into their lives. 5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book. I have been trying to broaden my reading list and experience other cultures and experiences through literature. If I Had Your Face jumped out to me not only for the beautiful cover, but also as an own voices read. I loved how this book immersed me in Korean culture. More than that, it spoke to the human experience of friendships and relationships. Kyuri was a beautifully written and compelling character. I recommend this book for readers who loved Pachinko and Shanghai Girls .

--------------------

Kyuri is an achingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a Seoul “room salon,” an exclusive underground bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake threatens her livelihood.

Kyuri’s roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the heir to one of the country’s biggest conglomerates.

Down the hall in their building lives Ara, a hairstylist whose two preoccupations sustain her: an obsession with a boy-band pop star, and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that she hopes will change her life.

And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to have a baby that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise in Korea’s brutal economy.

Together, their stories tell a gripping tale at once unfamiliar and unmistakably universal, in which their tentative friendships may turn out to be the thing that ultimately saves them.