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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.
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.
BookBrowsers ask Donna Everhart, author of Women of a Promiscuous Nature
The entire book was challenging, speaking frankly - but maybe not in the sense of what you're thinking. I get asked this question often, and it's usually regarding the mental fortitude it takes to write scenes that deal with abuses, etc. That's not and really never has been an issue for me. Am I ...
-Donna_Everhart
Other than the main trio (Baker, Ruth, and Stella) which character struck a chord with you and why?
The character who struck the strongest chord with me was Frances . She was clearly intelligent, even if she often appeared unhinged. It seemed to me that she created that persona as a way to survive the daily cruelty she faced. By hiding her true intelligence and feigning ineptitude, she protecte...
-Betty_Taylor
Through much of the story, Celia wrestles with identity. At their core, how are Owen’s struggles with the issue similar? How are they different?
Bigotry is bigotry. Hate is hate. Whether it is on account of race, national origin, ancestry, color of skin, gender, sexual orientation, disability, etc., stereotyping and discrimination are wrong . Owen, like Celia, was not free to be his authentic self, to live openly and proudly offering no a...
-Janie-Hickok-Siess
Despite the appearance of wealth, Lord Greshamsbury (Francis) and Prince Julius zu Liechtenburg are both facing financial ruin. What protections do their respective nobility and royalty bestow? Are their titles more of a burden than a benefit?
I think the titles for these characters served to protect them from the harsher realities of poverty. Yes, they were both in debt, but their titles and family histories meant they were extended a lot of lines of credit and given way more opportunities to turn over money in investments, etc. in or...
-Jael_R
To what audience would you recommend Becoming Madam Secretary?
Older readers who would remember Frances Perkins and appreciate the social & personal challenges she faced. I also read Kirstin Downey's nonfiction treatment of Frances Perkins and found this a much easier read. It followed the highlights of her life and moved swiftly. The Nonfiction book was den...
-Katherine_S
Overall, what did you think of Becoming Madam Secretary? (no spoilers, please!)
I truly enjoyed reading Becoming Madam Secretary. As is frequently the case with historical fiction, I learned about a woman of great influence unknown to me. So many women and so many stories! History rightly credits FDR with the reforms of the New Deal yet largely ignores those like Frances Per...
-Donna_D
"Magnificent ... With unblinking focus, [Cha] confronts some of the darkest consequences of contemporary gender inequity." —Booklist (starred review)
"[A] powerful and provocative rendering of contemporary South Korean society, one that might be considered bleak if not for the women themselves, who occasionally surprise with their compassion and bravery. At heart, If I Had Your Face is a novel about female strength, spirit, resilience—and the solace that friendship can sometimes provide." —The Washington Post
"The chapters alternate among the women, each one breathing new life into the old chestnut, 'You never know what goes on behind closed doors.' ... Take a closer look and you'll find the sisterhood at the heart of this ambitious book. It's the scaffolding—and also, occasionally, the wrecking ball." —The New York Times Book Review
"[Cha] has a biting wit and an eye for absurd glitz... . Ultimately, female friendship bolsters precarious fortunes in this gripping novel—compelling readers to consider what remains after beauty fades." —O: The Oprah Magazine
"Make way for Frances Cha, an entrancing new voice who guides us into the complexities and contradictions of modern-day Seoul, a dissonant, neon world that is ripped open to bare the same universal and human challenges that face us all. I devoured this novel in a single sitting." —Janice Y. K. Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Piano Teacher
"Few American novelists know Seoul the way Frances Cha does and in her intimate, panoramic debut, she brings that dazzling city to life. There are voices here you haven't heard before... . An enthralling read from the very first page." —Ed Park, author of Personal Days
This information about If I Had Your Face was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Frances Cha is a former travel and culture editor for CNN in Seoul. She grew up in the United States, Hong Kong, and South Korea. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the Columbia University MFA writing program, she has written for The Atlantic, The Believer, and the Yonhap News Agency, among others, and has lectured at Columbia University, Ewha Womans University, Seoul National University, and Yonsei University. She lives in Brooklyn.
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