"I was still learning the appropriate levels of reaction in this world. Things I should not express shock or delight at. Things I should be overjoyed about. I was not supposed to be amazed by the unusual beauty of the apartment, but thick-crust pizza called for riots."

Four young Korean women struggle to find their place in life in contemporary Seul and navigate the intricacies of its social hierarchies with heartbreaking understanding of its oppressiveness.

Kyuri, Wanna, Ara and Miho, each equally unique, determined and damaged, arm themselves with extreme plastic surgery, emotional numbness and art in order to extend their lives past just the surviving. We observe just a short passage of their rebellious journey with an occasional glimpse of their past but I found myself growing surprisingly close to each of them, and warmed by the comfort they found in their sisterly bond.

It is my favourite kind of a page turner of a book, where psychological insight intertwined with raw emotion and humour make you want to crawl inside the pages and never get out again. Which is ironic really, as I couldn't help but read it in under 24 hours.

I love anything South Korea orientated and this book gave me it all. Skin care, kpop, plastic surgery. The perspective of the 4 girls was done very well with a solid story interlinking them all. The writing is beautiful and vivid and I can’t wait to see what comes next!

I had trouble getting into this, but I think that's because I needed a prolonged period of reading to really get my teeth into it.

Following the lives of 5 women living in Seoul; a salon girl, a hairdresser, an artist, a girl with dreams of becoming a salon girl, and a young women trapped in an unhappy marriage, this is a character study of incredibly compelling women. Initially starting out as a tale of deep insecurities and envy it is a wonderful coming of age tale with a strong focus on female friendship.

Absolutely loved this. Engaging, dark and visceral. I just couldn't put it down. Can't wait to read more from Frances Cha!

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a free ebook copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review. I enjoyed this book it gave an interesting insight into the the lives of women in Korea.

I don't think saying I enjoyed this book would be the correct word but to me it was exactly a happy book. In fact it made me quite sad and depressed but also grateful.

I think the 4 characters in this were well written in a sense that they were all very different to each other enough to be able to tell them apart.

All of them facing different struggles, having different backgrounds but living in the same apartment block made for an interesting read.

There is so dark topics in here and like I said alot of it made me sad. Sad about society and the pressures put on women and then the korean standard is a whole other level on top of that!

I learned alot about Korea in this book though so that was a major plus and their culture and history. I would most definitely be keen to pick up another frances cha book!

Absolutely stunning; a totally absorbing book! I've recommended it to everyone I know. The writing is so gorgeous, I raced through it.

Frances Cha's debut novel, If I Had Your Face, is narrated in first person by four women in their late twenties and early thirties living precarious lives in contemporary Seoul (they actually live in the Gangnam district, which is a good education for those of us who have only heard of Gangnam from the K-pop single 'Gangnam Style'). Despite only having four narrators, it has five significant female characters, all of whom live in the same apartment building. Ara, a mute hair stylist obsessed with a K-pop icon, shares her flat with school friend Sujin, who is saving up for plastic surgery so she can be a top 'room salon' girl like Kyuri, who makes money by entertaining men every night. Kyuri's flatmate, Miho, seems to have broken away from her deprived upbringing in an orphanage when she wins a scholarship to an art school in New York, but is still at the mercy of the classist judgments of other Koreans when she returns; finally, Wonna, who lives with her husband in the downstairs flat, is desperate to become a mother even though she doesn't know how she'll be able to make ends meet. If I Had Your Face is significantly, if not wholly, concerned with how all of these women struggle to meet conventional standards of femininity and sexuality. In this, it has something in common with Cheryl Lu-Lien's Singapore-set Sarong Party Girls; however, the latter has a much more satirical tone, depicting women who party hard and are much more willing to break the rules in their search for the perfect husband, whereas the Korean characters in If I Had Your Face live more constrained lives.

There are flashes of memorable originality in this debut novel, but the bits that stuck with me most vividly - like Wonna accidentally blinding her cousin as a child or Ara beating up an assistant hair stylist who's sabotaging her at work - were the incidents that didn't really connect to the story as a whole. The novel feels a little meandering and confusing, and this is amplified by how difficult it is to tell its four narrators apart and how all four of them tend to skip backwards and forwards in time when telling their stories. I was perhaps more bothered than I ought to have been by the fact that Sujin doesn't get to narrate, whereas Wonna doesn't seem to fit into many of the key themes of the book and so felt like an unnecessary addition. I understand that Cha wanted to explore the fate of women who do achieve marriage to a respectable man as a counterpoint to the rest of her characters trying to survive on their own, but I felt like I'd read this story many times before. If I Had Your Face had so much potential, but it never quite pulled it together. 3.5 stars.

I will cross-post this review to Goodreads and my blog closer to publication date.

Here is another book from South Korea that I had been hearing a lot about, for its stunning writing and gripping narrative.

This novel plunges us into the mesmerizing world of contemporary Seoul – a place where plastic surgery is as routine as getting a haircut, where women compete for spots in secret 'room salons' to entertain wealthy businessmen after hours, and where ruthless social hierarchies dictate your every move.

Navigating this cut-throat city are four young women balanced on the razor-edge of survival:
Kyuri, a breathtakingly beautiful woman whose hard-won status at an exclusive room salon is threatened by an impulsive mistake with a client;
Miho, an orphan who wins a scholarship to a prestigious art school in New York, where her life becomes tragically enmeshed with the super-wealthy offspring of the Korean ‘chaebol’ elite;
Wonna, a newlywed whose childhood in the care of an abusive grandmother comes back to haunt her when she discovers she's pregnant;
and Ara, a mute hair stylist whose infatuation with a fresh-faced K-Pop star drives her to violent extremes.

This is an exploration of brutal competitiveness in a world dictated by standards of beauty. Each of the four womens’ stories are driven by their aspirations for a better life and how far they are willing to go for it. The author writes each character with an individuality that is uniquely their own. She expertly carries them forward as they struggle to get ahead, their lives inevitably entwined.

Dramatically honest, emotionally taunting, and shockingly cynical, If I Had Your Face is a compelling story of female friendships, their strength, resilience, and undying spirit.

This ARC courtesy of Netgalley and Viking Books UK - an imprint of Penguin UK.

We've all heard about the extreme culture of cosmetic surgery that has boomed over recent years, fueled in part by instagrammers and influencers. While it may feel quite far away from reality for many of us, imagine a world where everyone is doing it. Where you need to change your face to get a job, where you rack up debt following the latest trends.

That's the basis of Frances Cha's debut novel which focuses on the experiences of four interconnected women in South Korea. Through this extraordinary book, Cha explores the world of cosmetic surgery, K-Pop, 'room salons' and modern Seoul.

Cha presents us four very different, complex young women all with different perspectives, experiences of the world and different goals. We see how difficult it is for young women to make their way in a highly competitive city where their options are limited to low paid jobs in hair salons, or becoming entrapped in debt in a 'room salon' which values beauty above everything. Meanwhile, the competitive culture is not limited to jobs but also relationships, with pressure on these young women to marry, and marry well.

What is so striking is that throughout everything these women face, they stick together and support each other, picking each other up and are always there, not just for established friends, but are willing to embrace new one too. Female friendship is the crux that holds this book together, and makes it a beautiful, heartwarming read. You know that no matter what happens, good or bad, they'll be ok, because they have each other and that isn't something you often see represented in books. If her first novel is anything to go by Cha is going to be one to watch.

I liked this in places and thought it was interesting with how it dealt with the various viewpoints of the women. This was done well and i liked the general idea but i just don't think it was for me overall.

If I Had Your Face sounded like a very interesting book,and it was, but the ending just wasn't ' it ' for me.
It tells of 5 young women's lives in South Korea: Ara-a mute hairdresser, Kyuri-a room salon girl,Suyin,who really wants to be a room salon girl,Miho-an artist,and Wonna who is dealing with a pregnancy she doesn't have a lot of hope for.
We are introduced to the world of plastic beauty that means absolutely everything in Korea which is something I had no idea about. Everything revolves around one's looks ,how many plastic surgeries one had,the shape of their chin,eyes,nose,forehead-absolutely everything.If you're not born beautiful and don't have money for plastic surgeries,you're basically doomed.It was very interesting getting to know about this side of things, and very eye-opening.
I was loving this book in the beginning but as I was nearing the end,I felt like there was so much left unsaid. I would've liked to see if Kyuri got the job at the clinic,what happened to Suyin in her first room salon,what happened with Miho and her boyfriend,how Wonna was dealing with raising her child without a husband...It was like the book was cut short before we got to find out everything. I just wish there were at least 60 or 70 more pages so I'd be able to get some closure because now I feel like I've read 80% of the book and just left it on the shelf and never picked it up again.

5* Beauty is Deep Stars


This fascinating book is set in South Korea which is the plastic surgery capital of the world. The story revolves around five young woman who all live in the same apartment building and are desperately trying to make a living for themselves.

Four of the women are friends, Ara who is a mute hair stylist and has a K-Pop obsession, her roommate Sujin who dreams of working in a 10 percent room salon (supposed to be the top 10% of the prettiest girls in the industry) just like the beautiful Kyuri but will have to undergo some serious plastic surgery and Kyuri’s roommate, Miho who is an up and coming talented artist. All of them are damaged because of their pasts where they suffered, loss, cruelty and abandonment. The fifth woman is Wonna who is newly married and lives downstairs and is struggling to make ends meet, added to this she has had a few miscarriages and is desperately trying to fall pregnant again.

We get to see how they live their lives in a misogynistic world, how beauty reigns supreme and what lengths they go to for perfection. What is apparent is the strong friendship formed between them and how they depend and reply on each other for support and strength. I enjoyed the authors writing style, it felt real and was insightful.

I highly recommend this amazing and thought-provoking book.

I read the first chapter of this book and think it’s testament to the skill of the author’s writing that I had such an emotional response to the book. I was surprised by this intense emotional reaction but have had to put my own well-being first and I’ve set this book aside. I think it will be a wonderful read and I’m glad a book has been published that explores the realities of these women’s lives. If I feel able, I hope to return to the book at a later date and I would edit my review should that happen. I don’t want to hinder the book’s success and so have left a five star review.

Enjoyed!

I enjoyed "If I Had Your Face", a debut novel by American-Korean author Frances Cha, from the very first pages. It introduced me to several fascinating characters (all of them likeable despite their flaws) and issues of beauty standards and sexism in South Korea. Frances writes about serious topics lightly and she does not preach. A couple of times while I was reading this book I had goosebumps running up and down my spine. Other times the novel felt like an entertaining comedy for millenials. Frances touches upon (sometimes fleetingly and without going into detail) very serious topics a modern young woman in a huge metropolis faces every day. Every person is a universe. Sure, it is impossible to have any such universe packed into 288 pages of the book (any book), but I was enthralled with the opportunity to have a short glimpse into the world of Korean women.

This is not “Crazy Rich Asians” (thank God for that!). It is deeper, sadder, sharper. Like a scalpel of a surgeon cutting one's jawbone tissue for a beautiful chin. Things you do to be beautiful! After all, beauty is also money.

Many thanks to the publisher and @NetGalley for providing this book for free in exchange for a fair review.

3.5 stars.
I have to admit, I was initially drawn to this book because of the beautiful cover (I know you're not meant to judge a book by its cover but this one had my attention immediately).
I wasn't sure what to expect, especially considering the fact that I didn't know that plastic surgery was such a big thing in South Korea.
It was quite difficult to keep track of the different women and it lacked the kind of descriptive storytelling that I look for in a book. However, it was an interesting and intriguing subject matter.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I struggled to get into this book at first but then when the author outlined the different characters, I wanted to know more about their stories. Knowing nothing about Korea this is a fascinating insight into the world of 4 women who are doing their best to navigate a world of financial inequality and a particular sense of beauty. Two of the women have plastic surgery to make themselves more desirable so they can work in a 'room salon' which is exactly as it sounds, catering to rich men who have no respect for women and drink to excess. Its not an easy book to read at times with the inequality and focus on how painful plastic surgery is the only way to get ahead for these women. This is a debut novel and at times that showed in the clumsiness of how the various strands were brought together and some elements of some stories were left unfinished but I enjoyed the characterisation of the women very much.

With thanks to Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review

I read If I Had Your Face earlier this year and immediately gave it five stars. Set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, my immediate thought was ‘Why don’t we see more books as this published?’. Through the lives of five women — the gorgeous, debt-ridden Kyuri with multiple cosmetic procedures done on her face and running a bar or ‘salon room’, the timid artist Miho who grew up in an orphanage and dating a rich heir, the mute Ara who is a die-hard fan of a K-pop idol, the generous Sujin who is saving up to to gift her friend a plastic surgery procedure and pregnant Wonna who doesn’t want to lose her baby — If I Had your Face drives a knife into beauty standards, misogyny, fandom, class and women pandering to the needs of men. If I Had your Face is very character driven, so skip this if you are plot picky. But if you aren’t (and you shouldn’t be), it is insightful, heart warming and makes you feel like a silent friend to these women. Read it for a slice of life in Seoul

This is not a book for me - I found the subject matter really quite difficult. But I can see that for some this would be a great read.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Penguin Books UK in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book unlike any I have ever read before, but the premise sounded so promising that I couldn't resist giving it a go. I am so glad I did. If I Had Your Face is the story of four Korean women, living in a society where plastic surgery is the norm and everyone earns a lot but saves nothing. This is not a plot-heavy book truth be told, but it is driven forward by the characters and the writing, which is incredibly compelling. It follows the typical format of having several narrators and plotlines and rotating through them, although most of the characters are close friends.

There are some flaws to this book sadly holding it back. I was 40% through the book before I reached the fourth narrator and by that point, I was slightly alarmed by the amount of time we were going to get with each storyline. As I mentioned, this is not a plot-driven book and honestly, there isn't really a plot to speak of. This is not something I consider a flaw because the book itself is still very engaging and has a lot to say. However, I would personally have cut the parts about Wonna (the pregnant neighbour) as her plot didn't go anywhere and she didn't really interact much with anyone else, so I can't say she added a lot overall. I did also find keeping track of some of the characters confusing, but that could be due to my own unfamiliarity with Korean names. In particular, I struggled to keep up with what was going on with Miho's boyfriend.

Overall, this was a refreshing and unforgettable read for me. I wish more time had been dedicated to building up the character's plotlines into a satisfying climax but putting that aside, I'm so pleased I picked this up. Frances Cha feels like an author who will go very far and I can't wait to read her next book.

Overall Rating: 4/5 stars