Synopsis:
“Absolutely stunning . . . If I Had Your Face marks the entrance of a bright new voice in fiction.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Daisy Jones & The Six
A riveting debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossible standards of beauty, after-hours room salons catering to wealthy men, ruthless social hierarchies, and K-pop mania
Kyuri is an achingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a Seoul “room salon,” an exclusive underground bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake threatens her livelihood.
Kyrui’s roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the heir to one of the country’s biggest conglomerates.
Down the hall in their building lives Ara, a hairstylist whose two preoccupations sustain her: an obsession with a boy-band pop star, and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that she hopes will change her life.
And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to have a baby that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise in Korea’s brutal economy.
Together, their stories tell a gripping tale at once unfamiliar and unmistakably universal, in which their tentative friendships may turn out to be the thing that ultimately saves them.
Edition:
E-ARC
Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary e-ARC of If I Had Your Face from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
My Thoughts:
What originally drew me to If I Had Your Face was the gorgeous cover. It’s so simple, but really striking. Also, I have been going through a bit of a Face/Off resurgence lately. The title made me think of that movie. Don’t worry though, the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other.
I don’t usually dig on contemporary fiction all that much, but I will make exceptions. In this case, it was a combination of the very vague Face/Off connection, and the fact that it takes place in a culture outside of my own. I know remarkably little about Korea, other than that I love to eat at Korean restaurants here in America, and I am completely mad for Korean horror films. This book felt like it might be a good chance to easily learn a bit more about South Korea without a backdrop of monsters, ghosts, or serial murderers. Or any of the various aspects of psychological horror. You know, just a sort of slice-of-life look.
I was not disappointed. If I Had Your Face is Cha’s debut novel, and it is really something to behold. I had a little trouble getting into it at first (because again, this genre is not really my thing), but once I did, I was hooked. I found each of these four women utterly fascinating. Each has their own demons to wrestle with, but they are all very strong women.
One thing that does bother me about the book is that there are a couple of plot points that feel unfinished. For example, Ara commits an act of brutal violence at one point against a spiteful assistant at her salon which, after it takes place is just never brought up again. What happened there? Was the girl okay? Did she tell anyone? Were there any consequences?
The other one that really sticks out for me is Miho’s entire story. She had such a detailed backstory, but the book ends before she gets any sort of real payoff. Did she do the things she said she would with/to Hanbin? In the end, did he have to suffer any consequences for his actions? Did he ever even find out she knew?
About the Author:
From the author’s website, linked below.
Frances Cha is a writer based in Brooklyn, New York.
As an editor for CNN International in Seoul and Hong Kong, she assigned, edited and wrote articles for the Travel, News and Style departments and produced special travel features on regions ranging from New Zealand and Japan to New York and the Middle East. While at CNN, she covered the South Korea ferry disaster and contributed to the coverage of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. In addition to CNN, her work has also appeared in The Atlantic, V Magazine, WWD and The Believer among other publications. Most recently, her story “As Long As I Live” was published in the anthology NEW YORK STORY (Artizan Books, Korea).
Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, she spent her childhood in Texas and Hong Kong before moving to Korea at age 12. Frances graduated with a BA in English Literature from Dartmouth College and a MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University where she received the Dean’s Fellowship. She has taught Media Studies at Ewha Womens University, creative writing at Columbia University and Yonsei University and lectured at Seoul National University.
She lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters and spends summers in Seoul, Korea.
Follow her on Instagram @franceschawrites and Twitter @frances_h_cha
Rating:
All in all, this was a really enjoyable, well-written story. I just wish that a few loose threads had been tied up.
This comes out next week, so if contemporary or women’s fiction is your thing, I’d say give this one a shot. Despite my two minor complaints, I definitely enjoyed this story.
If I Had Your Face By Frances Cha Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine Contemporary Fiction ISBN: 9780593129463 Expected Publication: April 21, 2020 Hardcover, E-Book, Audiobook 288 Pages Author's Website
