If I Had Your Face

A Novel

By: Frances Cha

Narrated by: Frances Cha, Sue Jean Kim, Ruthie Ann Miles, Jeena Yi

Length: 8 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

A riveting debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, South 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.

©2020 Frances Cha (P)2020 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“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

“An enthralling tale about the weight of old traumas, economic disparity and the restoring power of friendship . . . [A] powerful debut.”—People

this could and should be a movie

I think this would be an even better movie than an audiobook. It was a little confusing to follow the back and forth timeline listening to it. maybe reading it would have been a little easier. The story and the performances were wonderful with the exception of Wonna who it turns out is read by the author and honestly she should have hired a professional to read the part.

Amazing book!

This book lets you feel the pain, struggles, and sisterhood love that Korean women are fighting nowadays to let show, don't miss this experience!
It's important to let their voices be heard!

honestly one of the best books i’ve ever read

completely beautiful, finished in two days and i’m sad now haha. seriously beautiful book. love

Fantastic book! Hoping for a part two!!

Great book on culture, acculturation, impacts of beauty standards, generational trauma, love and friendship. I loved it! I can see this book becoming a movie or series. And I hope the Author writes a second book. I love how the stories of the characters come in and out, drawing you close and then transitioning to another character. Beautifully written!!!

Pretty good!

I honestly liked the story and the characters. I honestly felt like I was watching a Korean drama. I liked how the characters each have their own unique story and how they take care of each other. I also loved the narrators they all did a great job. I would honestly listen to this again. I will definitely look forward to more works done by the author. I do wish tho that it did not end in a cliffhanger. I want to know what is the outcome of each of the girls situation.

Interesting but not interesting enough…

Eye opening look into a part of Korean culture that I didn’t know existed, but the book left me wanting more at the end…would be worth it if there was a follow up book, but not just on its own.

Loved and then it just ended...

This story is so beautifully written from five points of view and when it ended, I double and triple checked to make sure I hadn’t missed something. Not enough resolution for me. The story started and unfolded and then, just quit. So sad.

Couldn't Put It Down

I found myself listening to this book like I'm listening into a conversation with a friend. It's candid and unapologetic depiction of women living in South Korean society was eye opening and engaging. All four women's stories played off each other in a way that painted a deeper picture with it's simplicity. Would definitely read again!

Beautiful Interpretation

While this story may not be to everyone’s taste, being a slice-of-life of four (really, five) somewhat gloomy lives, this audiobook is a great way to immerse yourself in modern Seoul and how it treats the women living in it.

The writing alone might not have been enough to distinguish the four POV characters starkly, being a debut novel, but the performances from the voice actors (including author Frances Cha herself) really infused each girl with personality and helped strengthen the bonds of friendship forming or strengthening in each chapter.

The struggles of women

My biggest takeaway from this book is how women's struggles are universal. Not that this is surprising, but it's that the packaging of the experiences might look different, but the root of the issue is still the same. So much of this culture is tied up in appearance, so it's not hard to understand the pressure to get plastic surgery. The way Americans are going into debt for college, the women in this story are doing the same with cosmetic procedures. It's wild.