A review by bluejayreads
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

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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