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3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Is the body another form of inherited currency alongside trust funds and surnames? Now, this supposed inheritance can be faked; or rather it can be remade via a strange repositioning in which the unnatural becomes the "real." What does this new, unnatural "realness" mean for the valuation of bodies in a globalized society that continues to determine human worth according to flawed hierarchies and not equitable meritocracies?
Although the question of plastic surgery is critically examined in Frances Cha's If I Had Your Face it's not the central focus. At first, it may appear to be the central focus due to the intensity of its presence in the reader's mind in relation to how relevant and common a topic it has come in the real world. Plastic surgery is fascinating, to put it simply, a relatively new and seemingly easy way of altering who we are by radically altering what we look like. Whether it's perceived as grotesque, necessary, or beautiful it has become ubiquitous in some societies such as South Korea, where the book takes place and where it's estimated that about 1 out of every 3 people has at least one surgery before they reach the age of 30. So the pressure to "improve" one's outward appearance, through impermanent and permanent means, is real for the women in Cha's novel. However it is only one way in which they are navigating the economic and gender biases which weighs them down. There is more happening below the surface of these constant changes to hair, nails, and jaws. Like seeing past the smile pasted on the face of a pretty server, Cha maps the expectations and limits of the women's publicly displayed bodies as well as the secrets and pain of their intimate, inner selves.
It's the body as a whole that is being looked at this book. The questions being asked are about the role of one's body and how it determines the course of one's life. By the whole body, I mean all of the labels and process afixed to body: gender and gender roles, skills and talents, physical and mental abilities, and, of course, appearance. If one's body is female and not male, as all of the central characters in the story are, then one has a heavier burden to bear in a society that still privileges men over women. If one's body has been hurt and been disabled in some way, then what happens to one? If one is able to do something, like create art that appeals to the mainstream buyer, then how does this skill play into the opportunities one gains access to? Each of the characters' bodies become emblematic of the realities one most contend with in a nation that faces aggressive economic and gender disparity.
---Spoilers Alert---
So what about the body? For each one of the characters, the body is shown to be a functioning vessel and one whose outward impression often has nothing to do with the person living within it. For example, Ara must deal with a body that has lost one of the functions deemed necessary by society; after being beaten with a bat by a classmate as a teenager, she has lost the ability to speak. Suddenly, she faces a world that depends on phones, idolizes k-pop singers and actresses with melodious voices, and sees a bodily "failure" such as hers as sign of low intelligence. Perhaps worst of all, it's seen as a reason to pity and avoid her. Over time, Ara has become withdrawn and relies on her bestfriend to act as her protector, both socially but also emotionally, translating her moods and speaking for her in the world outside their shared apartment. At the same time, Ara works as a hairstylist, a livelihood which rests on her ability to transform the body of the women who sit in her chair with dyes, chemicals, heat, and shears. She relies on women's belief that "perfecting" their body will improve their lives, to financially sustain her own life. Her muteness becomes a tool; clients enjoy her silent acquiesce to their needs and the pity of the salon owner protects her when she makes mistakes. At one point, when mistaken for a call girl, Ara's muteness is seen by the men paying for female attention as attractive. I can't help but wonder if this is because of what they imagine she offers: a female body that is empty of any voice but their own?
---Spoilers End---
The story offers the same layered observations of the lives of five women who reside in the same apartment building in Seoul. It's narrated by four of the women, the chapters rotating between like water slowly circling down a drain. Each piece of the story brings the reader a little closer to the truth of who these women are and what they hope for from life. It is their story, from start to finish. It is clearly a woman's world being painted by Cha, not in the sense that the society they live in belongs equally to the women living in it, but in the perspectives that we, the reader, are directed to gaze through. That doesn't mean the way in which the characters are shown to interact with each other reveals a feminine interior based solely on mutual affection or respect. This would be unrealistic and harmful in it's delusional take on the state of being female and on female friendships. Instead, the daily decisions the women face and the relationships they choose to pursue reveal the toll an economically stratified, sexist, and image obsessed society takes on them. The book slowly peels back layer after layer of their seemingly inconsequential speech and behavior in order to reveal the pain they are in, the dreams they hold close, and why they care for each other despite all their differences.
Reading this story feels like cutting through flesh and muscle in order to reach the organs that thrum inside of the characters. These organs cannot be altered with injections or stitches, so they're able to hold the unaltered truth of the women's lives, to keep the truth of who they are safe until society is willing to create space for the "real" them. Whatever the real them looks like.
Although the question of plastic surgery is critically examined in Frances Cha's If I Had Your Face it's not the central focus. At first, it may appear to be the central focus due to the intensity of its presence in the reader's mind in relation to how relevant and common a topic it has come in the real world. Plastic surgery is fascinating, to put it simply, a relatively new and seemingly easy way of altering who we are by radically altering what we look like. Whether it's perceived as grotesque, necessary, or beautiful it has become ubiquitous in some societies such as South Korea, where the book takes place and where it's estimated that about 1 out of every 3 people has at least one surgery before they reach the age of 30. So the pressure to "improve" one's outward appearance, through impermanent and permanent means, is real for the women in Cha's novel. However it is only one way in which they are navigating the economic and gender biases which weighs them down. There is more happening below the surface of these constant changes to hair, nails, and jaws. Like seeing past the smile pasted on the face of a pretty server, Cha maps the expectations and limits of the women's publicly displayed bodies as well as the secrets and pain of their intimate, inner selves.
It's the body as a whole that is being looked at this book. The questions being asked are about the role of one's body and how it determines the course of one's life. By the whole body, I mean all of the labels and process afixed to body: gender and gender roles, skills and talents, physical and mental abilities, and, of course, appearance. If one's body is female and not male, as all of the central characters in the story are, then one has a heavier burden to bear in a society that still privileges men over women. If one's body has been hurt and been disabled in some way, then what happens to one? If one is able to do something, like create art that appeals to the mainstream buyer, then how does this skill play into the opportunities one gains access to? Each of the characters' bodies become emblematic of the realities one most contend with in a nation that faces aggressive economic and gender disparity.
---Spoilers Alert---
So what about the body? For each one of the characters, the body is shown to be a functioning vessel and one whose outward impression often has nothing to do with the person living within it. For example, Ara must deal with a body that has lost one of the functions deemed necessary by society; after being beaten with a bat by a classmate as a teenager, she has lost the ability to speak. Suddenly, she faces a world that depends on phones, idolizes k-pop singers and actresses with melodious voices, and sees a bodily "failure" such as hers as sign of low intelligence. Perhaps worst of all, it's seen as a reason to pity and avoid her. Over time, Ara has become withdrawn and relies on her bestfriend to act as her protector, both socially but also emotionally, translating her moods and speaking for her in the world outside their shared apartment. At the same time, Ara works as a hairstylist, a livelihood which rests on her ability to transform the body of the women who sit in her chair with dyes, chemicals, heat, and shears. She relies on women's belief that "perfecting" their body will improve their lives, to financially sustain her own life. Her muteness becomes a tool; clients enjoy her silent acquiesce to their needs and the pity of the salon owner protects her when she makes mistakes. At one point, when mistaken for a call girl, Ara's muteness is seen by the men paying for female attention as attractive. I can't help but wonder if this is because of what they imagine she offers: a female body that is empty of any voice but their own?
---Spoilers End---
The story offers the same layered observations of the lives of five women who reside in the same apartment building in Seoul. It's narrated by four of the women, the chapters rotating between like water slowly circling down a drain. Each piece of the story brings the reader a little closer to the truth of who these women are and what they hope for from life. It is their story, from start to finish. It is clearly a woman's world being painted by Cha, not in the sense that the society they live in belongs equally to the women living in it, but in the perspectives that we, the reader, are directed to gaze through. That doesn't mean the way in which the characters are shown to interact with each other reveals a feminine interior based solely on mutual affection or respect. This would be unrealistic and harmful in it's delusional take on the state of being female and on female friendships. Instead, the daily decisions the women face and the relationships they choose to pursue reveal the toll an economically stratified, sexist, and image obsessed society takes on them. The book slowly peels back layer after layer of their seemingly inconsequential speech and behavior in order to reveal the pain they are in, the dreams they hold close, and why they care for each other despite all their differences.
Reading this story feels like cutting through flesh and muscle in order to reach the organs that thrum inside of the characters. These organs cannot be altered with injections or stitches, so they're able to hold the unaltered truth of the women's lives, to keep the truth of who they are safe until society is willing to create space for the "real" them. Whatever the real them looks like.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes