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jiao_li's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence
thania's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Domestic abuse
Minor: Sexual content and Miscarriage
leannanecdote's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Drug use, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, Grief, Sexism, Infertility, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Cursing, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Self harm, and Abandonment
vintovka's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The book got surprising amount of events and things happening on its pages, but not a lot of character development. Most of it is ambigiously left off screen. Did Ara realise something about the nature of parasocial relationship and consumption? Does Wonna have a chance of actually being a good mother in the future, or will her trauma ruin any of her children? Will Miho get over her friend's suicide, and what will it do to her? Will Seunjin regret going down the route of debt and prostitution? I don't know. I can only guess. Which kind of leaves me wondering what even was the point.
I love reading about the good, the bad and the ugly of different female experiences, so I was excited for this book. It gave of vibes of kind of an antithesis to girls' fairy tales and female wish-fullfillment fantasies. It's not _not_ that, but because it's not anything at all. I got attached to the characters and their lives, but the ending left me stumped. What did the book want to say? What was the point of me reading all that?
The book's redeeming qualities are being short and having good, flowing prose, but in the end, IIHYF is a snapshot of how it sucks to be a poor south korean woman, and it doesn't have anything more than that.
Graphic: Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Pregnancy, and Cursing
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Ableism, Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Abortion
adriaxlife's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Violence, Bullying, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Child abuse
mschwa1118's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
helliepad's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Abandonment, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Minor: Classism, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Grief
pvid's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Suicide, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Fatphobia, Classism, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Medical content, and Domestic abuse
nondelicate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Minor: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Abandonment, and Sexual content
gofortori's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
“Multifaceted portraits of working women in Seoul reveal the importance of female friendships amid inequality.”
My second literary contemporary cultural debut novel this year (the first being “In Every Mirror She’s Black” which focuses on Black American and Black African women in homogeneous Sweden)! This time around, we explore the impact of impossible beauty standards and male-dominated family money on South Korean women.
I had no idea how normalized intensive plastic surgery was in South Korea. I looked it up and apparent it’s the cosmetic surgery capital of the world. I can’t imagine the pressure these expectations have on financially struggling women. Especially sad was Kyuri’s and Sujin’s ready acceptance of the side effects of their surgeries, including permanent nerve damage.
These portraits of four working-class women in modern-day Seoul reveal an array of societal constructs that are difficult to overcome, such as class, patriarchy and inequality — in addition to impossibly high beauty standards.
The story definitely highlights the differences in individualistic Western & collectivist Eastern cultures! I took a college course on Chinese culture and media, and one of the main tenets was unlearning that Western culture is better just because it’s what we grew up with. To the individuality-loving Westerner, Eastern social structures and hierarchies can seem rigid and harsh. Whereas vice versa, Easterners may view Western society as isolating and unsupportive. It’s disorienting but enlightening to read about the lives of Korean girls our age from within a Western bias.
“…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.”
I’d love to know what happens to Ara, Kyuri, Wonna, and Miho — did Miho get her revenge? Did Kyuri achieve the career she never thought she’d grasp? The novel ends seemingly right before the conclusions to their arcs, but I also liked the nod to the reality that life continues on.
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Ableism, and Abandonment