These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser.
In her deftly crafted debut novel, Frances Cha alternates between the perspectives of four different women in Seoul as they navigate romantic and financial crises, filial expectations, career aspirations and deeply held traumas. Each of the women dreams of escape from her hapless situation through different routes: Kyuri, through her beauty; Miho, through her art; Wonna, through her unborn child; and Ara, through a K-pop star. Cha, who grew up in South Korea, Hong Kong and the U.S., imbues each character with her own unique voice as they all fight through a grim depiction of modern-day Seoul, where repressive misogyny and class tensions still are all too common.
Buy Now: If I Had Your Face on Bookshop | Amazon
More Must-Reads from TIME
- How Donald Trump Won
- The Best Inventions of 2024
- Why Sleep Is the Key to Living Longer
- How to Break 8 Toxic Communication Habits
- Nicola Coughlan Bet on Herself—And Won
- What It’s Like to Have Long COVID As a Kid
- 22 Essential Works of Indigenous Cinema
- Meet TIME's Newest Class of Next Generation Leaders