If I Had Your Face

One sentence synopsis... Four women who live in the same apartment building in Seoul, Korea run up against the country's repressive beauty standards and deep seated misogyny.

Read it if you like... ‘Her Body and Other Parties', ‘Breasts and Eggs', or ‘Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982'.

Dream casting... really into Blackpink since watching the documentary on Netflix so just cast Jisoo in everything.

dnfed at 8%

the narration feels disjointed, and i don't feel interested in the characters at all

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

An interesting story about four women living in the same officetel (a style of housing in Korea with mixed purpose units available for rent). Each has their own different background and life story, but because of their living situation in the same building, all four know each other very well. We learn each woman's story through their different chapters, each one taking a different woman's point of view. Ara is a hair stylist who, because of a traumatic injury when she was in high school, cannot speak, and has a crush on the lead singer of a K-pop band. Kyuri is a “room salon girl”, like a high class prostitute, who works for a madam and wines and dines expensive clients. Miho is an artist who grew up poor, earned a scholarship to a prestigious art school in America, and returned to Korea with her boyfriend, an incredibly wealthy heir to a corporation. Finally, Wonna....exists. She's pregnant with a child after a series of miscarriages, is in an unhappy relationship with a man she doesn't love, and desperately wants to carry her current child to term despite not being able to afford to care for it.

This is definitely a character-driven story; we follow each girl's story arc to a conclusion, satisfying or not. Kyuri's story I think was the strongest here, and it's from her that I learned a lot about Korean culture in the cracks of society. Ara potentially had a great point of view, but it felt like the author couldn't decide in which direction to take her. She also (spoiler) snaps and beats up a co-worker after workplace toxicity gets the better of her in a pretty epic fight scene, but nothing ever comes of it. Miho's point of view is the most sympathetic to me; she feels inadequate and like she doesn't fit in because of her poor upbringing for a lot of the story. But I could never grasp if she loved her boyfriend or was annoyed by him. Wonna's story basically doesn't even need to exist for the rest of the book to happen. She also comes off as being weirdly crazy in the end scene with Ara, and I was sort of expecting a more tragic end, like a bathtub drowning or a murder/suicide or something.

So, kind of a mixed bag as most multiple POV, character-driven stories tend to be. I still really enjoyed the book though, as it gave me a look at Korean culture in a way I hadn't read about before.

I truly enjoyed this novel. The narrative takes us on an intimate journey into the lives of four women in contemporary Seoul. Set against the backdrop of the city's high-pressure beauty industry, Cha delves deep into the complex beauty standards and societal expectations that shape their lives. What makes this book truly special is the author's choice for highlighting the darker sides of Seoul's beauty-obsessed culture, all while showcasing the resilience and inner strength of her characters.

dnfed at 8%

the narration feels disjointed, and i don't feel interested in the characters at all

PHEW i ate this UP y'all highly recommend the audiobook form!!

this reminded me a lot of hello, my twenties! without the weird murder mystery element. the book explored a lot of darker themes with each girl going through their own struggles, and similarly to the TV show i found that there were certain parts that would have benefited from more exploration and reflection on one character's part (e.g. miho & ara). but overall, i really enjoyed this, and highly recommend it!

[3.5 stars]

“But I grew up not knowing the difference between a bearable life and an unbearable life, and by the time I discovered there was such a thing, it was too late.”

I know lots of girls like these girls. I know women like these women. The ones who call me at any point of the 24 hours of the day asking if we can go out to eat, they are starving. Some who mention diets and trends in a nonchalant way, but who I can tell still care. Who chide another womans choices, joking and not joking.

And, like the women in this book, you gravitate towards the ones that understand your gears. Perhaps some of them don't like the way you work or the things you do but they get it. You both obsess over the same thing, you grew up in the same place and both got out, or maybe you both stayed. Maybe you have the same taste in shoes, eat the same take out. There is something you cling to that they know how to hold with you.

Anyway about the writing. Its lovely. Usually if there is a character who has sections that drag on me it changes the way I view the entire book, leaves me sour. While I disliked Miho, I think this is just because my own way of viewing trauma and art clashes with her characters personal opinions. I found What drove me wild about her was the way she said victim, how Kyuri is so silly to her sometimes, the way she says “Kyuri thinks she is a victim and it holds her back” that's not exactly what she says but I returned the book already.

Miho's sections were best when talking about her friend Ruby. Her paintings of Ruby are also interesting to me. On one hand, I understand this elaborate shrine of grief dedicate to her friend. On the other hand Miho is blinded by her world of art. She was so irritating to me because I know so many like her, and want to shake her by her shoulders. But she is well written despite my dislike for her.

There is a line where Kyuri is talking about how absurd it is for Miho to try to talk to people on the train, and be hurt when they are rude and suspicious in return. I found myself agreeing with Kyuri. I feel inclined to mention it just because how much this appalled me, Miho really just pushes all my buttons :p

I feel like I'm rambling but these are just my book thoughts as usual :p

CW: abuse, suicide, miscarriage, cheating, use of the r-slur.

This felt like I was watching an episode of the k-drama, Hello my Twenties. This novel follows 5 women as they deal with the life expectations and beauty standards in Korean culture. It was interesting to see the characters in their day-to-day lives. It felt as if I was in a conversation with each of the characters. Not knowing everything but knowing enough to love and care for them all. I ended up connecting with and invested in the lives of each of the women we follow. I would recommend it for fans of Kim Ji-young born 1982 and contemporary k-dramas.

CW: abuse, suicide, miscarriage, cheating, use of the r-slur.

This felt like I was watching an episode of the k-drama, Hello my Twenties. This novel follows 5 women as they deal with the life expectations and beauty standards in Korean culture. It was interesting to see the characters in their day-to-day lives. It felt as if I was in a conversation with each of the characters. Not knowing everything but knowing enough to love and care for them all. I ended up connecting with and invested in the lives of each of the women we follow. I would recommend it for fans of Kim Ji-young born 1982 and contemporary k-dramas.

Fantastic.

Enlightening glance at the different lives of young women in South Korea.

This book is an in depth look into the darkest parts of Korean society from 5 different female perspectives. The societal pressures to look perfect and be successful with the added stigmas around seeking mental help, it's no wonder suicide is a topic found in every Korean drama, book, and even some songs. It's refreshing to read it from a realistic point of view. The tv dramas coat everything in a pretty filter. It has an overall theme of female solidarity and the connection between the characters is the absence of a healthy upbringing with their parents. As someone who has studied Korean culture, this book left me raw and contemplative.

This book is one story about four separate women in Korea. I enjoyed hearing about how life could be for these women. I would recommend .

''In the original story, the little mermaid endures unspeakable pain to gain her human legs. The Sea Witch warns her that her new feet will feel as if she is walking on whetter blades, but she will be able to dance like no human has ever danced before. And so she drinks the witch's potion, which slices through her body like a sword.''

Seoul, South Korea. Four women try to make ends meet in a society that has raised them with unattainable expectations, corrupted aspirations and images they have to fulfill. Ara has fallen in love with a K-Pop singer, her obsession adding up to her personal ordeal. Miho tries to balance her upbringing and her New York experiences while dealing with her intense feelings for a handsome womanizer. Wonna struggles to fulfill the expectation of being a mother. Kyuri falls prey to her lust for beauty and money and sacrifices her body and, more importantly, her sanity and dignity. But what else is there to do in a reality that worships plastic surgery, financial superiority and ridiculous, fake pop icons?

Frances Cha writes with clarity and honesty and allows hints of satire, albeit acute and a little morbid. She comments on a set of rules that has to be obeyed, in a system that comes young female souls away, convincing them that they MUST act as everyone -and especially men- expect them to. Beauty and money are brutally connected to each other, it has always been a reality for most women in all cultures throughout the ages. In this novel, we see this bond in its most extreme version. You have to make money, to put it simply and clearly. You have to make men fall in love with you. Therefore, you need the perfect face according to the pop-star standards. And plastic surgery is the means to an end.

With money comes exploitation and the feeling you can manipulate others as others manipulate you. Sex becomes a weapon of persuasion and a means for the elite to achieve its goals. And when you fall in love, society has already fed you with despair so you become obsessed. More and more, faster and faster. Nothing remains untouched, even motherhood is contaminated. If you don't want children, you are an abomination. If you can't raise them, you become a walking guilt. Cha depicts an immense, impossible indifference and absolute cruelty behind the shiny facade.

However, the camaraderie between women is an escape, a haven where minds can be unburdened and hearts can be made lighter through shared feelings, even for a while. The voices of the four main characters are distinctive, their thoughts seamlessly communicated to the reader, as we try to understand them and their motives and choices. My favourite character was Miho. She was the restless spirit, the one whose horizons were broadened through Art but her soft heart was there to threaten her.

Ι've said it again and again. South Korean Literature is a mystery, a treasure, an enigma to be decoyed with each book. If I Had Your Face is no exception. It is real and through-provoking, an unsettling call to consider our views on social status, ‘‘idols'' and a worldwide industry that wants us beautiful, willing and silent. It is one of the best novels of the year.

''The raindrops keep falling, more thickly now. So we all stand up to make our way upstairs together, as the sky starts crackling, taking aim at each of us and the drunk men stumbling by.''

Many thanks to Penguin Books UK and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/