The Face

”[Bound-Alberti] writes with verve and illuminating detachment about the relationship between face and personhood… Ultimately, it is the face’s unreliability that Ms. Bound-Alberti renders at once intriguing and maddening.“–The Wall Street Journal
“A well-researched, yet conversational, interrogation of how the idea and understanding of the face has evolved over time… The Face leaves us thinking about the notion of facehood, challenging how assumptions (of others, of ourselves) are made, and how our faces are racialized, and gendered before we even speak.”–Chicago Review of Books
”[A] lavishly illustrated and intellectually provocative study… She analyzes with precision the effect on perception of the face of the advent of photography, followed by social media, and raises troubling questions about the risks of using surgery to modify the face… You won’t look in the mirror the same way again.”–Kirkus Reviews
“An ambitious, entertaining survey of human perception: how we consume images of ourselves and one another and how that process hasevolved over thousands of years via art technology, medicine, psychology and bureaucracy.”
–Ginia Bellafante, The New York Times
“In a fascinating new book, Fay Bound-Alberti, a cultural historian, gives full expression to the many meanings of the face… a wide-ranging and thoughtful history. Thanks to social media, people encounter more faces than ever before; after reading this book, you will see that there is more to a face than meets the eye.”–The Economist
“Lively and compel-ling… fascinating, far-ranging chapters… The Face is a thought-provoking, often moving read perfect for anyone who wishes to look inward as they put their best face forward.”–Bookpage
“Thought-provoking… Her compelling narrative is deepened by her experiences with prosopagnosia, or face-blindness, which she shares via personal vignettes. The Face turns our acceptance of the face as a form of identity on its head and complicates a societal narrative so ubiquitous that we don’t realize its pervasiveness until Bound-Alberti gently and thoroughly points it out. Through this lens, readers will take a hard look at assumptions about morality, judgment, and what it means to be human… The Face is a must-read for lovers of Replaceable You (2025) and other explorations of humanity.”–Booklist
“Poignant … with this weighty, political, and beautifully written book, [Bound-Alberti] illuminates the changing conceptions of the face.–The Lancet
“A stimulating reconsideration of the long-standing role of the face as a perceived window into a person’s inner substance… [The Face] makes for a fun and thought-provoking rumination on what it means to take each other at face value.”–Publisher’s Weekly
“The Face is a meticulously researched and unsettling book, and Bound-Alberti’s overarching message is poignant.”–The New Statesman
“An elegant and engaging history… at its most compelling when it becomes polemical, showing how the sexism, classism and racism that informs how we have long perceived faces is reinforced today.”–Financial Times
“Equal parts gripping and scholarly… a timely book that gets to the heart of contemporary society.”–Sunday Times
“Intriguing… page after page, Bound-Alberti reveals the extent of our present-day fixation on faces and compulsion to mess with them. … in The Face, a deeper intuition about human interaction shows.”–The Telegraph
“The Face has blown me away. It’s utterly fascinating, beautifully written, scholarly yet entertaining and I completely love it. I couldn’t admire Fay Bound-Alberti more.”–Dame Joanna Lumley, award-winning actress, activist, and author of A Queen for All Seasons
“Like the double-faced god Janus, Bound-Alberti’s piercing gaze is split between our rich past and our uncertain future, enabling her to offer some fascinating insights about the nature of human identity. She uses both the wide-angle lens and the magnifying glass to dazzling effect. A compelling and thought-provoking book that is sure to linger in the reader’s mind.”–Lindsey Fitzharris, New York Times Bestselling author of The Facemaker

Dr. Fay Bound-Alberti founded the Centre for Technology and the Body at King’s College London where she leads Interface, the world’s first and only multi-million-pound project examining technologies of the face. Fay is often interviewed for TV and radio, including the BBC, ABC and CNN, and she has written for publications including the Lancet, TIME magazine, the Guardian and Times Literary Supplement. She lives with prosopagnosia, also known as face blindness, and is based in London.

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