Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - If I Had Your Face

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

54 reviews

bluejayreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Literary and contemporary are two genres I don't often enjoy, but I very much enjoyed this book. Not so much that it was entertaining, but more like it was a door showing me modern South Korea and the concerns of women there. Each of the four protagonists had her own worries, her own dreams, her own history, and her own way of coping with the challenges of South Korean life, from the brutal economy to the female beauty obsession to the tension between personal desires and traditional values. It's dark and it's sad and it doesn't wrap up neatly - real life never does, either - but it's engrossing and emotional and ultimately finds hope in the power of female friendships.

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alexhaydon's review against another edition

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emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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merries's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book had me in a chokehold for a while; each of the characters have their own struggles in South Korean society, and watching these women develop in a world shaped by beauty was interesting and intriguing. I do think the synopsis is a little misleading, especially in the case of Ara. Most of the time, I would not say she goes to “violent extremes” in her love with an idol. I do think also that Wonna is probably forgotten about around the halfway mark but then has more of a role towards the end. Personally, my favourite story was that of Kyuri’s: the complications of her clients at the room salon, and how her work shapes her life are really interesting aspects of the novel. I will say that, understandably with her job, she is very blunt and sometimes graphic in her NSFW descriptions, so if that is something you don’t like to read about this probably isn’t the book for you. Regardless, I loved watching these women develop and grow in South Korean society. The writing was also seamless and I felt each character had their own voice throughout.

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boomwormbrittany's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

If I Had Your Face follows four women who are living in Seoul, Korea in the same office-tel. This books follows these women as they navigate their own society and the standards that are expected of women.
I want to start off by saying that I am going to be commenting on my enjoyment of this book and what I learned from reading this book. I cannot speak about the experience of living in Korea as a Korean women and cannot speak to those experiences.
I really loved this book because it was about four women who felt they could be real people. It felt like I could meet them and talk to them about their own experiences. Each character was distinct from each other and their voices were very distinct. They all come from different backgrounds and it really shaped their experiences as they progress in this book.
I found it fascinating to see how surgery was a big part of women's experience and how they compared themselves to not only idols but other girls who were considered perfect. They go through painful procedures to make sure that they can look the best they can, especially the girls who work in room salons. It was a commentary on comparing yourselves to others and I really loved how Frances Cha handled that in this book.
Along with that, it talks about relationships through marriage, dating and infatuation. I liked how Frances Cha really highlighted about the experience of fans liking Idols and not realizing they are actual humans like us. I liked how it showed this. This book also talks about cheating and keeping secrets from spouses. I think Frances Cha handled this so well.
Overall, I'm really glad I decided to read this book. I found it really interesting and I can't wait to see what else she is going to write in the future. I would highly recommend this book to everyone as it had a really interesting narrative that it was speaking on.

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sarlim's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sunny_not's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I really enjoyed it, it depicts the issues that women and especially Korean women face quite well. It highlights their different experiences and different hopes which was quite interesting. However I didn't give this a higher rating since I'm not a huge fan of open endings and there were many questions left unanswered which is also not my cup of tea. Overall I would recommend this book.

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