Thank you Net Galley for providing me with an e arc for an honest review.

I think I have found a book to add to my favorites-of-the-year list. This was so compelling, and from the first chapter I wanted to know everything about these characters and their stories.

If I Had Your Face follows four women living in an office-tel in Seoul as they live their lives, work, and struggle. It is very slice-of-life which I really enjoyed. This reminded me in many ways of one of my favorite k-dramas Hello, My Twenties. Although they have different aesthetics and feels, I found myself being drawn to the characters and their stories in the exact same way.

I loved this book and will be thinking about this one for many, many days to come.

I really wanted to love this book. The writing is beautiful, but unfortunately, that just wasn't enough to keep me engaged. The only thing that kept me coming back to the book was the writing: Cha is very talented. I really can't stress that enough! If you like eloquent sentences, this is for you. That said, the storyline was difficult for me to follow, and I found it difficult to connect with or understand the characters. I was really excited to read a book that took place in a different culture and about one so totally foreign to me. I love books that take me to new places, teach me new things, challenge my worldview, and invite me to engage with a diverse cast of characters, but I was just unable to full immerse myself in this story.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read this eARC.

If I Had Your Face tells the stories of four Korean women all living in the same apartment building, facing sexism, impossible beauty standards, and, generally, life.

First off, thank you to Frances Chan for writing a book set in Korea! I was so glad to read a book set outside of the United States or Western Europe. This novel gives outsiders a glimpse of facets of Korean culture and the pressure women face. Pressures to be the perfect daughter, to be beautiful beyond possibility, and to make it by in a delicate and difficult social system.

I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, though I had a hard time keeping track of them. I believe the point being made in the novel was more powerful because we saw similar struggles and hopes in each of the four women we followed.

The glimpse into the everyday life of these four Korean women felt fresh and unique, but I wish I had another 100 pages or so with the characters. The abrupt ending left me somewhat unsatisfied and wondering where their stories would go, leading to my lower rating.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Moving, compelling, and impossible to put down. Not just a glimpse inside of a society or class structure but that of humanity and the bonds we forge.

i loved this book so much, as someone who has never read anything based in south korea. this was exactly what i was looking for. you really relate to each character and what they are going through despite each one being in a different circumstance.

i can't recommend this book enough.

If I Had Your Face, a novel about young women in Korea, fascinated me. I couldn't put it down and finished in one day. The book focuses on five young women who live in a small apartment building in Seoul, although it is told though only four of them. The story tells of the obsession with beauty and plastic surgery, super rich vs ordinary working people, the value of women in modern Korean society. Each of the main characters are so interesting, not all are likable and they are all flawed. This book will be a great book club read. There's so much to discuss.

Due to the structure of the S. Korean economy which is comprised predominantly of family-run mega-conglomerates (chaebols) and the huge importance placed on ancestry, as is apparent in the widespread use of only a handful of surnames, for many in S. Korea class equality and economic mobility have become a thing of fantasy. If I Had Your Face follows four young women living this reality with unflinching honesty.

Ara, Miho, Wonna and Kyuri live in the same office-tel complex in Seoul are different in as many ways as they are similar. They have chosen very different lives for themselves, a hairdresser, an artist, an office worker and a "room salon girl"—a woman who serves as a waitress/companion, and often an escort, in clubs all over S. Korea. What they do share is a troubled childhood due to varying circumstances that have stunted most any prospects for their futures.

It's painful and claustrophobic to watch these young women struggle with their pasts and to witness their attempts to make a better life for themselves, and for each other, in their own ways—hard work, plastic surgery, relationships with those of higher social standing. But I also loved to see their relationships develop and the support the were able to provide for one another. I really appreciate the author's raw and realistic (from an outsider's perspective) portrait of life as one of the majority of women living in S. Korea. The characters were beautifully realized and so genuine I couldn't help feeling and hoping for them. The story was also incredibly gripping, especially admirable given that it is largely character-driven, I could hardly put it down and read it in just two sittings.

I think what partially made this book work for me was having recently read Three Tigers, One Mountain by Michael Booth: a very enlightening nonfiction that was the perfect primer and macro view to compliment this more micro and personal story. I would definitely recommend reading them in conjunction if you are at all unfamiliar with the subject or want a deeper dive!

I'm really so impressed with If I Had Your Face and I will definitely be on the look out for future releases from Frances Cha!

A strong set of characters with beyond interesting circumstances. If I Had Your Face is a fascinating look at female friendship, expectations of women, and beauty standards in South Korea. I really enjoyed the read and can't wait to read more from Frances Cha!

Kyuri, Miho, Ara and Wonna all live in the same building in Seoul. Though they all come from different backgrounds and live different lives now, all of them cling to each other as they battle daily against a patriarchal society determined to break them.

IF I HAD YOUR FACE is the story of four women encountering and dealing with the beauty and societal standards imposed on women today. The war is waged on them from all fronts, ranging from parents anxious that a disability will harm marriage prospects to feeling forced to undergo extensive facial surgeries to keep a job that's based on looks.

There isn't a whole lot in the way of plot - instead, it's an extended portrait of these women. Though I did enjoy getting to know each character, there was still some attempt at a narrative arc near the end of the book that fell a bit flat for me while also feeling rushed, like the author was trying to have it both ways. Still, it's quite a compelling look at the way misogyny burrows into women's lives, even women who consider themselves to be independent and liberated.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of If I Had Your Face.

I was intrigued by the premise and great title so I was excited when my request was approved.

Told by four different women and their individual perspectives, readers are offered insight into the high beauty standards set by Korean culture and society; the patriarchal hierarchal society and the bombardment of K-pop and social media and how it affects how women judge themselves against stardom.

I enjoyed the insight into Korean culture, though nothing I read was new to me. I'm pretty educated about Asian cultures and I was already well informed about the rise of plastic surgery in Korea, and many Asian countries.

High beauty standards, societal assumptions that women should marry and procreate and the boys' clubs men are expected to partake in, but women never should, can be found in all cultures.

It was hard to like any of the characters; there was decent character development but I couldn't identify with anyone.

There's not much drama and suspense, but there are internal issues the characters grapple with, how to adapt to a culture that demeans women, that only care about their wombs and their marriageability, how to survive in a world, whether by keeping your mouth shut and your head down or selling your body to pay off a debt that never decreases, or having a child because people and society expect you to.

By the end, it doesn't look like these womens' paths will change; their journeys are immutable, they will not progress further than they already have. At least, they have each other.

But, do they?

The relationships the women has woven between each other feel fraught with sorrow, frayed with suffering, weak, not strong, just like the women themselves.

I was hoping for a cohesive narrative about one or two characters about their personal struggles and what they learned from it, and how they became stronger as a result.

The writing was good, but the story wasn't what I expected.

A stirring look at contemporary Korea through the eyes of 4 women, IF I HAD YOUR FACE is a fresh debut from an amazing author. We follow the lives of these woman, who are connected by friendships and living in the same apartment building, as they contemplate beauty standards, motherhood, prostituting oneself, and violence. The book can be shocking at times, especially once you learn what a salon room is, but it seems extremely true to life and mirrors exactly what young Korean women are currently going through.

We learn a lot about their backgrounds and origin stories, and there is a sense of a plot, but it is mostly a peek into these day to day lives with a beautiful, if not completely satisfying ending. The heartbreak that each of the women face is different, but equally valid. I was a bit taken aback by the competition and beauty standards depicted in the author's telling of Korean women's lives. Plastic surgery is clearly rampant, and horrifying, and it made me sad to see much of their self-esteem wrapped around how much better it would be "if I had your face." It's a tough look at Korean culture, by a Korean author, and by no means is it flattering. I found it hard to put down, and learned a lot about Seoul and South Korea, and I'm so glad I picked it up.

I loved this book. It was completely engrossing, the characters seemed so real, and the writing flowed very well. I sat down and read it in two sittings. This book isn't plot driven and the characters are only tangentally related. As a lover of all things k- (beauty, pop, drama) I was primed to already enjoy the look into modern Korean culture and the expectations it places on women, but it exceeded my expectations considerably.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC. A story of 5 women who all live in the same building, have their own problems and find a way to be jealous of each other in their own way. This story is set in Korea and a lot of words don’t translate but I learned a lot about this country. If you are looking for an uplifting story though, this isn’t it.

I absolutely loved this book. It spoke to me on so many levels and I learned a lot about the hopes and dreams of women in South Korea along with its culture. The book centers on four female characters, three of whom are close friends and one an acquaintance.

Kyori is a beautiful woman who transformed herself after multiple plastic surgeries. She works in a 'room salon' where only the top 10% of beautiful women are hired. Her job is to entertain men and drink with them. She usually gets drunk but that is her job. The men are mostly business men who need time away from their wives. Sometimes, Kyori's work presses her to go further with the men and perform sexual favors. On her days off, she brings things to her mother who has no idea what kind of work she does. Kyori is deeply in debt for her surgeries and has no idea how to pay them off.

Miho is Kyori's roommate. She was brought up in an orphanage and won an art scholarship to study in New York. She is engaged to Hanbin who comes from one of the richest families in the country. She stole him away from her friend Ruby and feels guilt and shame about this. Miho is naturally beautiful and wears no makeup, a rarity in South Korea. Hanbin is jealous when Ruby speaks with other men but he also has a roving eye. It is obvious that his family does not approve of Miho.

Ara is a hairdresser who has been mute since she was a victim of a violent accident when she was a child. She is obsessed with a Korean pop star and it's usually all she can think about. She is saving her money so that her roommate can get plastic surgery on her face and become beautiful like Kyori.

Wonna is married and lives downstairs from the other three, Her childhood was horrific. Raised by her grandmother after her father left South Korea for a job, she was emotionally and physically abused throughout her childhood. Marrying was a way out for her. Currently she is pregnant and it looks like she will be carrying the child to term after three previous miscarriages. The problem, however, is that she doesn't believe she has enough money to raise a child.

This novel of interconnected short stories shows with clarity the impossible standards of beauty that Korean women strive for. It also shows the deceit and betrayal of men which is very common there. Women marry for status but love is often not the motivation. Survival is what keeps these main characters connected as none of them thrive. I give this book my highest recommendation.

Book Review
Rating System: 5:Loved It 4:Really Liked It 3:Liked It 2:Just OK 1:Did Not Like It 0:DNF

"If I Had Your Face" by Frances Cha
Publication Date: April 21, 2020
Genre: #fiction
Synopsis: see comment section
CW/TW: miscarriage, child abandonment, infidelity
Rating: 4.0/5.0
1-Word Review: en·gross·ing
/inˈɡrōsiNG,enˈɡrōsiNG/
adjective
•absorbing all one's attention or interest.


4.0/5.0
“If I Had Your Face” is a debut novel by Frances Cha, a former culture editor for CNN who has lived in the US, Hong Kong and South Korea. This novel is set in Seoul, South Korea and details the engrossing, engaging and ultimately intertwined lives of several young women living in the same apartment complex. I read this in one sitting and was completely hooked from page one. I was transported to South Korea and fascinated by the topics touched on in this novel (Korean beauty, K-Pop, room salons... to name a few). How Cha seamlessly jumps from each narrator, timelines and settings is indicative of her evident talent as an author. I really enjoyed this debut novel.
Disclaimer: I know very little about the Korean culture in general so I can in no way say whether or not this is an accurate representation of the topics covered. Thank you to netgalley and Ballantine Books for my ARC.

Why not a 5/5...
•The ending felt abrupt, leaving one or two of the character arcs feeling unfinished to me.

Recommendation: I would recommend this book to anyone. It was fascinating.

4 dazzling stars for this book!

Wow. This book was something. I was immediately hooked when I started the book because I have such little knowledge about women living in South Korea.

I think it's important to know going into this book that this is a book about people, there's no real climax, there's not one specific thing the story builds to. You're just reading about the daily lives and struggles of 5-6 women living in South Korea.

It's also worth nothing that this is not a happy book. I felt quite melancholy the entire time I was reading it. But that is also a testament to the author's writing, that I was able to feel the emotions of the characters despite how depressing it may have felt.

Like I said, I knew nothing about the extreme standards of beauty women face in Korea. As a feminist, and a woman that has never had a desire to get plastic surgery, the world of plastic surgery in South Korea was so intriguing to me. I literally had no idea of the standards that women are held to, and extremes they put their body through to attain a certain level of beauty.

Needless to say, after reading this, I went down the rabbit hole of plastic surgery before-and-afters. And let me tell you, jaw surgery sounds painful AF.

The writing in this story is top notch and the characters are so broken and beautiful. I both did and didn't want the story to end. I was ready to move on to something less depressing, but I fell in love with all the women in the story, and felt so hard for their struggles.

I would highly recommend that you add this book to your 'to read' shelf.

A big thank you to Random House Publishing Group/Ballantine/NetGalley, for the ARC and wanting my honest opinion!

What a solid debut! If I Had Your Face will break your heart, and then break it again, but it also leaves you with a lingering feeling of hope for those you meet in the story. It's a very character-driven novel with chapters alternating between four Korean women living in Seoul, each at a different part of her life and finding her place in the world. I could connect with each of them and was fascinated by the ways they interacted with each new POV shedding a little more light on the previous character.

Of them all though, I connected most with Kyuri, her determination and her attempt to separate herself from others despite it being impossible for her to care. I feel as though I got to experience a whole world through this story that I wouldn't be able to otherwise in my life and that makes its impact even greater. I think this is a great book for any woman to read. Connection, sisterhood, and appreciation of ourselves and those around us are all great takeaways from this lovely novel.


Note: I received a free Kindle edition of this book via NetGalley in exchange for the honest review above. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publisher Ballantine Books and the author Frances Cha for the opportunity to do so.

“I would live your life so much better than you if I had your face.”

Whatever I was hoping to get out of this novel, I received just that and even more. I’ve been especially interested in how women in other parts of the world live and interact with one another, so when I saw in the description that this was “...set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way...”, I really couldn’t pass it up.

Though the four main characters live in close proximity, in the same building, their lives feel separate from one another. When I first started reading I was wondering if this was going to be more of a Sex and the City vibe, where four friends are navigating the dating world and trying to self-actualize. Or maybe there would be petty feuds and backstabbing. It was decidedly not that, and all the better for it.

Frances Cha identifies astounding depth in what’s considered to be the more superficial parts of Korean society. She doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable parts of typically glamorized industries, like K-Pop and Korean Beauty. Sometimes when we read about other places and people, there’s an instinct to react with relief, like, ‘Oh thank God it’s not like that here!’ It was funny to see some of those reactions directed at American society by the Korean characters, and really made me question my own responses. In If I Had Your Face, Cha challenges our perceptions of what’s acceptable and has been normalized in our respective parts of the world. Both our commonalities and differences are striking.

I absolutely fell in love with all of the female characters. They’re so distinct from one another, but there’s a familiar undercurrent that runs through them all, connecting them when there doesn’t appear to be much common ground. Ara is quiet, but has a ruthless streak. Kyuri appears shallow, but is endlessly ambitious. Miho’s earnestness can come off as naive, but she’s not to be underestimated. And Wonna feels disconnected and alone, though she’s struggling to rekindle her own will. Even the women who don’t have any first-person chapters are layered and complex; it’s difficult not to root for them all.

There isn’t the unattainable levels of achievement and wealth we may come to expect, like what we get from following around Rachel and Astrid in Crazy, Rich Asians. There’s a grittiness to the glamour of the women in this story. They’re connected by the fact that they’re all yearning for something the world seems reluctant to provide them. I deeply enjoyed watching them rise up snatch it for themselves anyways.

This book is strictly character driven. If you are looking for a plot or a big ending then this isn't for you.

The four characters each tell their story in rotating chapters. Kyuri is very beautiful. She works in a room salon and even though she makes good money there she has a lot of debt from all of her plastic surgeries. Her roommate is Miho, an artist whose boyfriend is wealthy. She doesn't want to take expensive gifts from him because she doesn't want him to think she is using him and she wants to maintain her independence. Across the hall are Sujin who works in a nail salon and Ara who is mute and works in a hair salon. Then there is Wonna who was raised by an abusive grandmother. She is married and basically keeps to herself. Her one goal in life seems to be having a child.

I found the story somewhat sad. Kyuri and Sujin are obsessed with their looks. Sujin has a major plastic surgery to become beautiful and hopes to get a job in a room salon like Kyuri. I found the dynamics of the friendship interesting, especially how protective Sujin was of Ara.

My only issue was the book was a lot of the Korean terms that weren't explained and I had to look them up.

This is a good read if you like cultural books. I found it enjoyable and I learned a LOT about Korean women and what they go through, what jobs are available to them (not many), what their parents and in-laws expect of them and much more. The food seems pretty gross. And I was surprised at the amount of money they spend on plastic surgeries. They don't think very much of their looks, so that we Americans have in common with them, we are hardly ever happy with our looks, am I right?

The story follows 5 girls lives who live in the same apartment building and their lives. There is Ara:, who is a mute hairdresser, Wonna:, married very unhappy and pregnant for the 4th time (the other 3 were miscarriages awww), Kyuiri: beautiful and mostly plastic, Miho: an artist who paints A series of grotesque paintings of her muse at the moment, who happens to be her rich boyfriends ex Ruby, and Ara's roommate oh no I forget her name shame on me!!!who is constantly getting plastic surgery that never seems to heal.

The story revolves around love, betrayal, friendship, and making money the only way some know how....through salons or brothels, where the Madam is mean and they constantly are in debt because they constantly owe their madams over ridiculous things, such as breaking a glass, or not fawning properly over a client. I really felt bad for the way they live to satisfy their parents, get married off, and think they need so much plastic surgery.

I love to learn about different cultures. The book was not A thriller or didn't have twists but well written and informative. I know this is one of my more boring reviews but the world is in crisis mode with this Corona virus, so I apologize if you follow me. I would recommend this book as a good book for discussion primarily for females but also my boyfriend enjoyed my little exclamations of delight and horror at Korean culture and differences and lifestyles.

A special thanks to Random House Books, Ballantine Publishing and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. I will definitely read more of France's Ha. Thank you.