Frances Cha

This book is a sad, scary commentary on life in a patriarchal society. For women, plastic surgery to meet standards of beauty is as routine as dental check-ups. The book has been described as a feminist novel, showing the power of female friendships. It is not. Women in this society are competitive and, except for the relationship between Ara and Suijin, show no deep or lasting bonds. This is tribalism -- Lord of the Flies came to mind more than once.

What I am left wondering is whether this show more is a realistic portrayal of modern Korean society. If so, the book would have some merit. If not, it is an insult to everything modern feminism has tried to instill.

The writing is good, although it "stops" more than "ends". show less

''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 show more 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/ show less

This novel follows the stories of five women living in a cheap apartment building in Seoul. Each young woman struggles to find success and contentment in a society where appearance, family and wealth matter, and each has issues from their past that define them. One has put herself into debt getting the plastic surgery that allows her to work at an exclusive "room-salon" entertaining wealthy men. Another is determined to get the plastic surgery in order to improve her job prospects, but it show more doesn't go the way she had anticipated. An aspiring artist has a dream boyfriend, but is he as good as he seems? A hairstylist deals with the challenges of her disability while putting all her emotions into a member of a Kpop group. And Wonna, newly married, just wants a baby.

Cha has written a fascinating story about beauty standards that make plastic surgery as routine as moisturizer, where if you are not part of a wealthy family, your life choices are restricted and where women must bend themselves to fit into a patriarchal society. Cha here is writing about Korean culture and society specifically for western readers, explaining elements of Korean culture that western readers might be unfamiliar with in a way that feels unobtrusive. I very much enjoyed each woman's story, but because there were so many main characters, each story felt a little skimpier than I would have liked. Still, this was a well-written and structured debut novel and I'll be very interested to see what Cha writes next. show less

A thoroughly engrossing and superbly written novel! I devoured this in a couple sittings-there was never an uninteresting moment. "If I Had Your Face" follows the lives of 5 young women (4 have POVs) living in modern South Korea in the same apartment building. Each are dealing with the stresses of being a woman and the, more often than not, unfair expectations placed upon them. They are expected to dress, act, look, talk, walk, work, and marry all in very specific ways, and not doing so show more throws them further into the cutthroat society where they are picked apart or discarded entirely.

I recently had read Robin Ha's autobiographical graphic memoir, "Almost American Girl", and wanted to learn more about life in South Korea, and I thought this was an astoundingly intimate and insightful look into what it's like. Although I knew a little bit about things such as emphasis on plastic surgery and idol obsession, there was so much more I didn't know about or even consider, like how maternity leave is viewed in comparison to the USA, about the room salons like where Kyrui works, and how the adult-child relationships vary. All of this info, in addition to Cha's writing style, made the book super immersive.

(minor spoiler warnings for this paragraph)
My favorite aspect of the book was the friendship that grows between the women. Although at times it is tenuous, it is written with such heart and ferocity! Cha really does a wonderful job at showing the ups and downs of friendship, and that beautiful bond of girls looking out for each other. Each of these women to some extent have experienced that dread of feeling like they have an "expiration date", a time when society will deem them too far gone or too old or too saggy to be worth anything, but ultimately they find comfort, solidity, and happiness in each other, and I LOVE that. I love that the toxic men in each of their lives were shed by the end of the novel and they instead were brought closer to one another.

I would have loved another 100 or so pages in the book, especially because a couple of the arcs felt a TEENY bit unfinished. Overall a little more meat on this books bones would have paid off, but the story is still SO well done. Plus, Cha also made it pretty obvious how things were going to work out so I'm satisfied with that ending! (although I would have loved to see Miho finish her revenge)
"If I Had Your Face" is an absolute recommend from me, and I can't wait to see what Cha does next. I'll definitely be reading it. show less