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If I Had Your Face: A Novel
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
"Powerful and provocative . . . a novel about female strength, spirit, resilience--and the solace that friendship can sometimes provide."--The Washington Post ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, NPR, Esquire, Bustle, BBC, New York Post, InStyle
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. Kyuri'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.
"Powerful and provocative . . . a novel about female strength, spirit, resilience--and the solace that friendship can sometimes provide."--The Washington Post ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, NPR, Esquire, Bustle, BBC, New York Post, InStyle
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. Kyuri'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.
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Community Reviews
A book written by a Korean-American woman that takes place in contemporary South Korea.
Five young women who all live in the same low-income building each struggle to live their hectic lives in Seoul. Each of the five women represents major social issues for Korean women, and women in general, such as sex working, plastic surgery and impossible beauty standards, domestic abuse, discrimination in the workforce, infertility, and poverty.
Although the book deals with extremely heavy issues, it doesn’t delve too deeply into the negative aspects, and instead focuses more on the bonds between the women and how they support each other. I really liked that about this book, and I think without it the book could’ve been quite difficult to read.
Five young women who all live in the same low-income building each struggle to live their hectic lives in Seoul. Each of the five women represents major social issues for Korean women, and women in general, such as sex working, plastic surgery and impossible beauty standards, domestic abuse, discrimination in the workforce, infertility, and poverty.
Although the book deals with extremely heavy issues, it doesn’t delve too deeply into the negative aspects, and instead focuses more on the bonds between the women and how they support each other. I really liked that about this book, and I think without it the book could’ve been quite difficult to read.
This one has a lot of things I love: character-driven stories, female friendship, and social commentary. Having read "Kim Ji Young, Born 1982", "Pachinko", and "Please Look After My Mom", the cruelty of being a woman in South Korea that's painted by this novel is not new for me, but the writing still proved cutting and provocative. Also offers some harsh truths for delusional kpop/kdrama obsessed fans haha
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