This is a fascinating look through time, art, science and beliefs - presumptions and prejudices- on what “a face” might convey and its “role in emotion, identity and communication.”

This is a scholarly work by an author who founded the Centre for the Technology and the Body, King’s College, London, leading a project called Interface, the first project “examining the technologies of the face.” What is even more intriguing is that the author has prosopagnosia, face blindness.

The author’s central tenet is the face marks who we are. It carries an extraordinary burden - maybe too much according to the author. In a practice called “face reading,” many look at a face and determine “health, intelligence and trustworthiness.” Looking at one’s face at times has been used to make decisions like hiring, education, or immigration. Before technology like the camera where a face can be imbedded on a driver’s license or passport, the face was not a source of identity. But with the advent of photography, the face now defines identity.

What about the mirror? While this existed before photography it was a more subjective tool for the person who looked in the mirror. While face painted in canvas is fixed in time, in a mirror it can change and be used to assure appearance and maybe the “facial expression.”

What perhaps is the final most interesting thing from this book is the assertion by the author on a comment by an art critic, John Berger, “men act, women appear.” While men look, women watch how they are looked at by men - contributing to misogyny (my opinion).

This is a really captivating book. It’s for readers who like offbeat topics but seek to appreciate the wisdom and knowledge these can bring.

I’d like to thank NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for giving me access to this ARC.