{"product_id":"if-i-had-your-face-9780593129487","title":"If I Had Your Face","description":"\u003cb\u003eA riveting debut novel set in contemporary Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossible standards of beauty, after-hours room salons catering to wealthy men, ruthless social hierarchies, and K-pop mania\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Powerful and provocative . . . a novel about female strength, spirit, resilience--and the solace that friendship can sometimes provide.\"--\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003eTime, \u003c\/i\u003e NPR, \u003ci\u003eEsquire, Bustle, \u003c\/i\u003e BBC, \u003ci\u003eNew York Post, InStyle \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eKyuri is an achingly beautiful woman with a hard-won job at a Seoul \"room salon,\" an exclusive underground bar where she entertains businessmen while they drink. Though she prides herself on her cold, clear-eyed approach to life, an impulsive mistake threatens her livelihood. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Kyuri's roommate, Miho, is a talented artist who grew up in an orphanage but won a scholarship to study art in New York. Returning to Korea after college, she finds herself in a precarious relationship with the heir to one of the country's biggest conglomerates. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Down the hall in their building lives Ara, a hairstylist whose two preoccupations sustain her: an obsession with a boy-band pop star, and a best friend who is saving up for the extreme plastic surgery that she hopes will change her life. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e And Wonna, one floor below, is a newlywed trying to have a baby that she and her husband have no idea how they can afford to raise in Korea's brutal economy. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Together, their stories tell a gripping tale at once unfamiliar and unmistakably universal, in which their tentative friendships may turn out to be the thing that ultimately saves them.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrances Cha\u003c\/b\u003e is a former travel and culture editor for CNN in Seoul. She grew up in the United States, Hong Kong, and South Korea. A graduate of Dartmouth College and the Columbia University MFA writing program, she has written for \u003ci\u003eThe Atlantic, The Believer, \u003c\/i\u003e and the Yonhap News Agency, among others, and has lectured at Columbia University, Ewha Womans University, Seoul National University, and Yonsei University. She lives in Brooklyn.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Ballantine Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50613362458898,"sku":"9780593129487","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_3507e604-e225-4bd4-bc2d-ec6ab5bdc16d.jpg?v=1732397456","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/if-i-had-your-face-9780593129487","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}