Fiction

If I Had Your Face

If I Had Your Face

  • Downloads：3529
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-07-24 09:51:01
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Frances Cha
  • ISBN：0241986354
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

If I Had Your Face plunges us into the mesmerizing world of contemporary Seoul - a place where extreme plastic surgery is as routine as getting a haircut， where women compete for spots in secret 'room salons' to entertain wealthy businessmen after hours， where K-Pop stars are the object of all-consuming obsession， and ruthless social hierarchies dictate your every move。

Navigating this hyper-competitive city are four young women balancing on the razor-edge of survival: Kyuri， an exquisitely beautiful woman whose hard-won status at an exclusive 'room salon' is threatened by an impulsive mistake with a client; her flatmate 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 elite; Wonna， their neighbour， pregnant with a child that she and her husband have no idea how they will afford to raise in a fiercely competitive economy; and Ara， a hair stylist living down the hall， whose infatuation with a fresh-faced K-Pop star drives her to violent extremes。

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Reviews

Madeleine ，

As some of y’all know， I have strong opinions on plastic surgery culture…and this book did such a great job of portraying the excesses of that super status-obsessed world （my grandmotherland， which I’ve always had trouble understanding and empathizing with。） Hilariously superficial at times， to the point of near-satire， and deep at others—nothing quite like a story of female friendship！

Weronika ，

3。5

Katie ，

BeautifulOne of the most painful and beautiful stories I’ve ever read。 Stunning depiction of female empowerment， injustice， and resiliency in uniting。

Kat Todd ，

Astonishing and provoking， this book takes you into the troubled and difficult lives of young women living in South Korea， I loved every minute and highly recommend！！ This book made me think a lot， and in my opinion that says a lot about a book。This book would have been a 5 for me if it were a bit longer， I needed more！Also， if you like this book I would also recommend the K-drama: Hello， My twenties。 This show has some similar parallels and revolves around 4 young women living together in South Astonishing and provoking， this book takes you into the troubled and difficult lives of young women living in South Korea， I loved every minute and highly recommend！！ This book made me think a lot， and in my opinion that says a lot about a book。This book would have been a 5 for me if it were a bit longer， I needed more！Also， if you like this book I would also recommend the K-drama: Hello， My twenties。 This show has some similar parallels and revolves around 4 young women living together in South Korea。 。。。more

Sara G ，

This is a slice-of-life novel that I just couldn't put down。 It's told from the points of view of 4 young women in Seoul who are dealing with various issues that modern women face in Korea。 All of them had difficult childhoods and their stories unfold together。 Ara is a hairdresser who cannot speak and is obsessed with a K-pop idol， Kyuri works at a "room salon" （basically an escort bar） and has had many plastic surgeries to try to make herself more attractive， Miho is a New York educated artist This is a slice-of-life novel that I just couldn't put down。 It's told from the points of view of 4 young women in Seoul who are dealing with various issues that modern women face in Korea。 All of them had difficult childhoods and their stories unfold together。 Ara is a hairdresser who cannot speak and is obsessed with a K-pop idol， Kyuri works at a "room salon" （basically an escort bar） and has had many plastic surgeries to try to make herself more attractive， Miho is a New York educated artist who grew up at a Korean orphanage， and Wonna is desperate for her husband to get her pregnant。 I loved reading about these women and I couldn't put the book down。 They really came to life for me， and I realized how much I actually don't know about Korea。 I hope this author writes more books because this was an impressive first novel。 。。。more

Julia ，

Best book I read this year。 It's so good。 Read it ！！ * If you like reading about normal people just ✨existing✨ and trying to figure out their lives。 Best book I read this year。 It's so good。 Read it ！！ * If you like reading about normal people just ✨existing✨ and trying to figure out their lives。 。。。more

Anielle ，

This book felt like a social commentary novel without the directness of books such as Kim Jiyoung， Born 1982 。 I thoroughly enjoyed following the stories of these girls living in Korea and seeing how all of their lives could be linked in some way。 Overall the themes of this novel are quite depressing but I guess that is the point。Despite the theme being the main takeaway for me from this novel， the plot has alot of drive behind it and I was interested as to what was going to happen next for each This book felt like a social commentary novel without the directness of books such as Kim Jiyoung， Born 1982 。 I thoroughly enjoyed following the stories of these girls living in Korea and seeing how all of their lives could be linked in some way。 Overall the themes of this novel are quite depressing but I guess that is the point。Despite the theme being the main takeaway for me from this novel， the plot has alot of drive behind it and I was interested as to what was going to happen next for each character。 I found myself flicking through pages to see when a characters perspective would be back again and I could continue on their storyline。The use of various voices and the cycling of each girls perspective per chapter made this novel feel more fast-paced than it was。 I was surprised to find out that this is the authors debut novel as it is so well thought out and seamlessly composed。Will definitely be on the lookout for more of Frances Cha's works in the future。Characters: 8/10Plot: 7/10Writing/Style: 7/10Enjoyment: 7/10Overall: 3。5/5 。。。more

ms_book___ ，

Cześć！Oby więcej takich książek！ Ta brutalna powieść o losach pięciu kobiet złapanych w sidła południowokoreańskiego konsumpcjonizmu zrobiła na mnie ogromne wrażenie。Wcześniej mało wiedziałam o tamtejszej kulturze i zasadach społecznych。 Dzięki lekturze poznałam brutalny， prawdziwy świat， który jest bezwzględny。Akcja dzieje się we współczesnym Seulu， który nie zna litości ani wyrozumiałości dla kobiet， żyjąc wizją idealnego piękna。Aby uzyskać przepustkę do lepszego świata， trzeba wpisać się w ut Cześć！Oby więcej takich książek！ Ta brutalna powieść o losach pięciu kobiet złapanych w sidła południowokoreańskiego konsumpcjonizmu zrobiła na mnie ogromne wrażenie。Wcześniej mało wiedziałam o tamtejszej kulturze i zasadach społecznych。 Dzięki lekturze poznałam brutalny， prawdziwy świat， który jest bezwzględny。Akcja dzieje się we współczesnym Seulu， który nie zna litości ani wyrozumiałości dla kobiet， żyjąc wizją idealnego piękna。Aby uzyskać przepustkę do lepszego świata， trzeba wpisać się w utarty społecznie konserwatywny kanon urody。 Piękno kosztuje， a operacje plastyczne to chleb powszedni。Główne bohaterki， to młode koreanki， które robią wszystko， aby sprostać ustalonym z góry rolom kobiecym i żyć godniej。 Mimo przeciwności losu próbują pozostać sobą w świecie， który wymaga od nich niewiarygodnie dużo。 Każda z nich wie， że bycie kobietą w społeczeństwie pełnym nierówności oznacza ciągła walkę。 Historie tych kobiet są niezwykle wciągające， a ich losy tworzą porywającą opowieść， w której przyjaźń może okazać się ratunkiem。Gyuri， to ekskluzywna kobieta do towarzystwa dla najbogatszych biznesmenów w kraju， Sujin gotowa jest poświęcić wszystko， aby iść w ślady Gyuri。 Miho， artystka z dyplomem amerykańskiej uczelni romansuje z apodyktycznym mężczyzna。 Ara， obsesyjnie zakochana w gwieździe k-popu。 I Wonna， która marzy o dziecku， ale nie ma środków na jego wychowanie。Autor w sposób niezwykle realistyczny i brutalny ukazuje kulturę we współczesnej Korei Południowej， gdzie awans społeczny jest niezwykle trudny。Jednak w książce najbardziej przygnębiające jest to， w jaki sposób ubogie kobiety postrzegają ten awans i do czego są zdolne， aby utrzymać się na powierzchni。Przeczytajcie koniecznie， a przekonacie się， czy dziewczyny znalazły w ramionach przyjaciółek bezpieczną przystań？ I czy w tym brutalnym i bezkompromisowym świecie można odnaleźć promyczek nadziei…？ 。。。more

Lauren （Pip） ，

Lack of a satisfying conclusion for one character knocked off a star for me。

Twodaybookclub ，

This was such a great book and definitely one of our favourites。 If I had your face is set in South Korea， and told from the intertwined yet vastly different lives of 4 girls living in the same apartment building - Ara， Miho， Kyuri and Wonna。 The girls explore what it means to be a woman， from plastic surgery， kpop fanatics， societal expectations， classism， friendship， work to motherhood — the book provides us with an intimate look into the range of issues that women tend to face。 We absolutely This was such a great book and definitely one of our favourites。 If I had your face is set in South Korea， and told from the intertwined yet vastly different lives of 4 girls living in the same apartment building - Ara， Miho， Kyuri and Wonna。 The girls explore what it means to be a woman， from plastic surgery， kpop fanatics， societal expectations， classism， friendship， work to motherhood — the book provides us with an intimate look into the range of issues that women tend to face。 We absolutely loved getting to know the girls， and the story read like a diary entry， as we got to know each of their inner thoughts and backstory。 Our favourites were Ara and Miho as they both were such complex yet funny characters， and their thought processes were so raw and relatable。 The only qualm we had with the book was how Sujin’s narrative was not included and how abrupt the ending was 😭😭 the book was way shorter that we’d hoped and we are desperate for a sequel。 Other than that， this was such an amazing read and we definitely recommend it to all women in their 20s！！ 。。。more

fatima ，

in awe， this was a stunning character and culture-driven story！

Eden ，

“For a fleeting moment…I understand what it would be like to think only of tomorrow， instead of just today。”

Michelle Murphy ，

Really good stories of women's lives in South Korea。 Looks at different types of beauty standards and also just standards of women in Korean society but also extends to Western society in a sense too。 I would highly recommend it！ Really good stories of women's lives in South Korea。 Looks at different types of beauty standards and also just standards of women in Korean society but also extends to Western society in a sense too。 I would highly recommend it！ 。。。more

Alex。andthebooks ，

3。75 ⭐️To była zdecydowanie jedna z bardziej intrygujących pozycji， po jakie ostatnio sięgnęłam。 Niestety， nie wiem czy to kwestia oczekiwań （czy miałam jakieś？） czy po prostu brak chemii， sprawiły， że odbiór tej książki nie był do końca taki， jak bym się tego spodziewała。 Ta książka po prostu nie była „moja”。 To brudna i ciężka opowieść， wbrew pozorom。 Opowiada o 5 kobietach， które łączy zamieszkiwany przez nie apartamentowiec， lecz… nie tylko。 Bo łączy je beznadzieja。 Beznadzieja sytuacji， w k 3。75 ⭐️To była zdecydowanie jedna z bardziej intrygujących pozycji， po jakie ostatnio sięgnęłam。 Niestety， nie wiem czy to kwestia oczekiwań （czy miałam jakieś？） czy po prostu brak chemii， sprawiły， że odbiór tej książki nie był do końca taki， jak bym się tego spodziewała。 Ta książka po prostu nie była „moja”。 To brudna i ciężka opowieść， wbrew pozorom。 Opowiada o 5 kobietach， które łączy zamieszkiwany przez nie apartamentowiec， lecz… nie tylko。 Bo łączy je beznadzieja。 Beznadzieja sytuacji， w której znajdują się， mieszkając w Korei Południowej。 Stanowią źródło uciechy， piękną błyskotkę bądź ujście dla ambicji własnych rodziców。 Wiele w nich goryczy i smutku… a mimo to， nie potrafiłam poczuć tej historii tak intensywnie jak bym tego chciała。 Bardzo przykro mi z tego powodu… ale uważam， że to książka， z którą warto się zapoznać。 Myślę， że zdobędzie wielu wielbicieli。 。。。more

Stella ，

Tore through this book in three days。 It's scary， beautiful， enchanting， sad and hopeful。 One of the first books in a long time that effortlessly transported me to another world。 Tore through this book in three days。 It's scary， beautiful， enchanting， sad and hopeful。 One of the first books in a long time that effortlessly transported me to another world。 。。。more

Lauren ，

I really enjoyed reading this。 It was very brutal and honest， but I don't know enough about Korea to know how true to life it is。 I hear it is like this， though。 I just don't know if I missed something or there was no real "ending"。3。75/5 I really enjoyed reading this。 It was very brutal and honest， but I don't know enough about Korea to know how true to life it is。 I hear it is like this， though。 I just don't know if I missed something or there was no real "ending"。3。75/5 。。。more

Audrey ，

I enjoyed reading this but think that there were too many perspectives for a book of this length。 The book should have been longer as the stories from the pov of each woman did not feel fleshed out enough - I was left wanting more。

Jami ，

I thoroughly enjoyed this book until the last page。 The story follows South Korean women who live in an apartment building in Seoul。 Their individual stores and the insight on South Korean culture were riveting。 I think the author did not know how to wrap up all the stories。

mina ，

A darker toned slice-of-life; some stories felt more developed/more interesting than others – I was particularly invested in Kyuri’s narrative。 I would’ve liked to see some more concrete resolutions than what the ending offered。

Lydia ，

Strong start - but far too many stories （that were all fascinating and so well written）。 It felt more like a collection of short stories （which always leave me feeling unfulfilled）。 I would love to read more about each of the women and understand them。 Also - the book is horrifying in it's subject matter。 The pervasive misogyny， culture of plastic enhancement and salon rooms is incredibly upsetting。 Strong start - but far too many stories （that were all fascinating and so well written）。 It felt more like a collection of short stories （which always leave me feeling unfulfilled）。 I would love to read more about each of the women and understand them。 Also - the book is horrifying in it's subject matter。 The pervasive misogyny， culture of plastic enhancement and salon rooms is incredibly upsetting。 。。。more

Luca ，

An exhilarating masterpiece

Safa ，

is life in Seoul really like that？ *mesmerized by the book; overwhelmed by the 'facts'* is life in Seoul really like that？ *mesmerized by the book; overwhelmed by the 'facts'* 。。。more

Alex ，

Little free library read。 A perfectly nice multi-perspective novel with some great characters and relationships， and some interesting things to say。 Unfortunately I feel like not all the characters got a completed arc - it sort of felt like several of them were left hanging and I wish they weren't。 Tbh only a couple weeks after reading a lot of the details have faded。 Little free library read。 A perfectly nice multi-perspective novel with some great characters and relationships， and some interesting things to say。 Unfortunately I feel like not all the characters got a completed arc - it sort of felt like several of them were left hanging and I wish they weren't。 Tbh only a couple weeks after reading a lot of the details have faded。 。。。more

Jesse ，

Kaleidoscopic view of the struggle of four young women in the the lower echelons of modern urban Korea。 Sometimes takes on too much thematically， and while the writing style is to-the-point and captivating， the storylines sprawl with many loose ends。 Perhaps this novel suffers most from it own over-ambitious approach to interweave a multitude of arcs of four different main characters with a fifth personage playing another strong connecting lead role。 This brings a mishmash of supporting characte Kaleidoscopic view of the struggle of four young women in the the lower echelons of modern urban Korea。 Sometimes takes on too much thematically， and while the writing style is to-the-point and captivating， the storylines sprawl with many loose ends。 Perhaps this novel suffers most from it own over-ambitious approach to interweave a multitude of arcs of four different main characters with a fifth personage playing another strong connecting lead role。 This brings a mishmash of supporting characters， encounters and histories。 Especially in the beginning of the book， this asks some effort from the reader。 The world it introduces readers to is both appalling and fascinating though and this book is well worth the read for that。 Also， at least one of my stars here is meant as encouragement for a promising debut。 If Frances Cha hones her talent further， great things lie ahead。 This might well be a work we look back at in 10-15 years as the still somewhat rough and unfocused start of a great oeuvre。 。。。more

Jools ，

Wasn’t really sure what I was getting when this book was chosen by my book club， the premise sounded interesting。What became apparent fairly quickly into the book was this was about 2 girls wanting to look prettier and accepted in South Korea， the other did not really care。 There was not much else to the story other that what was acceptable in South Korea and what wasn’t。 I got bored very quickly。I understand there was a lot of issues to address in the story but I didn’t really care enough。

eM Poleca ，

Historie kobiet， które mieszkają w jednym apartamentowcu。Bardziej niż na kwestie urody， powiedziałabym， że nacisk jest nałożony na to， jak wygląda życie kobiet w Korei Południowej。 Co widzimy dzięki bohaterkom， których nie dość， że samo życie wygląda zupełnie różnie， to są także na różnym jego etapie。 Powieść może być przytłaczająca， ale jeśli przeczytał "Kim Jiyoung。 Urodzona w 1982" i chciałby przeczytać coś w podobnym temacie/klimacie - "Gdybym miała twoją twarz" będzie świetnym wyborem。 Historie kobiet， które mieszkają w jednym apartamentowcu。Bardziej niż na kwestie urody， powiedziałabym， że nacisk jest nałożony na to， jak wygląda życie kobiet w Korei Południowej。 Co widzimy dzięki bohaterkom， których nie dość， że samo życie wygląda zupełnie różnie， to są także na różnym jego etapie。 Powieść może być przytłaczająca， ale jeśli przeczytał "Kim Jiyoung。 Urodzona w 1982" i chciałby przeczytać coś w podobnym temacie/klimacie - "Gdybym miała twoją twarz" będzie świetnym wyborem。 。。。more

alexandria ，

Ech， spodziewałam się czegoś więcej od tej książki。 Fakt， porusza ważne tematy np。 uzależnienie od poprawy swojego wyglądu/operacji plastycznych。 Jednak odniosłam wrażenie， że wszystko napisane jest tak by pokazać， że faceci tylko wykorzystują kobiety lub wymigują się od obowiązków。 Na dodatek， fabuła jest dość chaotyczna， są liczne przeskoki w czasie， a mimo tego， wydarzenia nie prą cały czas do przodu。 Niby coś się dzieje， ale tak， że człowiek bardziej się nudzi i wyczekuje końca。

Nouhaila Laouina ，

I give this novel 5 starts I COULDN’t PUT IT DOWN SO ENGAGING！ 。 As expected from the title and the book description this novel gave me -as a reader- an insight about the beauty standards in South Korea， plastic surgery and SO MUCH MORE。 the struggle of young women， prostitution， the Korean society， how childhood can influence one’s life to the best or to the worst。 The storyline that touched me the most is that of Kyuri I kept studying things from different perspective and it made so much sense I give this novel 5 starts I COULDN’t PUT IT DOWN SO ENGAGING！ 。 As expected from the title and the book description this novel gave me -as a reader- an insight about the beauty standards in South Korea， plastic surgery and SO MUCH MORE。 the struggle of young women， prostitution， the Korean society， how childhood can influence one’s life to the best or to the worst。 The storyline that touched me the most is that of Kyuri I kept studying things from different perspective and it made so much sense to me。 Although I would have liked it more if the author extended the story I felt like there were some missing parts that I was curious to know。 。。。more

Diva Dina ，

3。5 starsIn Frances Cha’s If I had your face， the reader is taken into the Korean world of plastic surgery and life of an escort。 While the lives of four women intersect， we find out that life is difficult for them and everything matters when it comes to looks。 I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed hearing the author and others take on the voices of Kyuri， Ara， Wonna， & Miho。 We find that they all are just wanting a good life even if it is one that you have to pay for in order to have it。 As t 3。5 starsIn Frances Cha’s If I had your face， the reader is taken into the Korean world of plastic surgery and life of an escort。 While the lives of four women intersect， we find out that life is difficult for them and everything matters when it comes to looks。 I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed hearing the author and others take on the voices of Kyuri， Ara， Wonna， & Miho。 We find that they all are just wanting a good life even if it is one that you have to pay for in order to have it。 As the women find their lives crossing paths， they eventually fall into friendship that they all find that they need。 。。。more

Charlotte ，

Short and sweet。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=If I Had Your Face

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=If I Had Your Face&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,If I Had Your Face&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0