Absolutely devoured this book in 1 sunny afternoon. It was both disturbing and so interesting to read about the “making of” a serial killer. I should be writing a super intellectual review but all I can say its disgusting yet you keep reading, and then you keep thinking about it the next day.

Monika Kim’s The Eyes Are the Best Part is a chilling, feminist psychological horror that delves into the making of a female serial killer from a Korean-American perspective. The novel traces the unraveling life of Ji-won, a college freshman grappling with the chaos wrought by her father's extramarital affair and subsequent departure. As Ji-won navigates through her failing grades, distraught mother, and confused younger sister, she is haunted by dreams of walking through rooms filled with blue eyes—eyes reminiscent of George, her mother’s obnoxious new boyfriend.

George’s presence in Ji-won’s life exacerbates her growing rage. His condescending attitude, coupled with his blatant ogling of Asian waitresses, fuels Ji-won's contempt. As her resentment towards George intensifies, so does her craving for his beautiful blue eyes. Ji-won’s descent into madness is marked by a trail of victims around her campus, all while she maintains a façade of normalcy.

Kim masterfully crafts a narrative that is as mesmerizing as it is horrifying. Ji-won’s character is brilliantly complex—her psychological turmoil and descent into violence are depicted with a raw, unflinching honesty. The novel's exploration of the racism and misogyny faced by Asian women adds a profound depth to the horror, making it not just a tale of gore but a subversive commentary on societal issues.

One of the most compelling aspects of The Eyes Are the Best Part is how Kim portrays Ji-won’s internal struggle and her attempts to maintain composure amidst the chaos. The narrative is imbued with a sense of unease, and Kim’s descriptive prowess ensures that readers are both repulsed and fascinated by Ji-won’s macabre cravings. The recurring motif of eyes, especially the fixation on George’s blue eyes, adds a symbolic layer to the narrative, reflecting Ji-won’s desire to assert control over her fragmented life.

The supporting characters, particularly Ji-won’s mother and sister, are well-developed and contribute to the story’s emotional depth. Their interactions with Ji-won provide a glimpse into the family’s dynamics and the impact of their father's absence. Kim’s ability to blend backstories seamlessly into the main plot makes these characters feel real and relatable, evoking both empathy and frustration from the reader.

The pacing of the novel is brisk, though there are moments where the detailed descriptions, particularly of food, may seem excessive. However, these sections do little to detract from the overall impact of the story. Kim’s writing style is captivating, and the book is hard to put down, with its twists and turns keeping readers on edge.

The Eyes Are the Best Part is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a story that pushes boundaries, exploring themes of cannibalism and violence while simultaneously addressing deeper issues of identity and societal pressure. Ji-won is a protagonist who, despite her sociopathic tendencies, garners a strange sense of sympathy from the reader. Her journey is a testament to Kim’s skill in creating a character that is both deeply flawed and compelling.

In conclusion, Monika Kim’s debut novel is a bold, inventive addition to the horror genre. It’s a story that will leave readers both disturbed and enthralled, a testament to the power of psychological horror to explore the darkest corners of the human psyche. For those looking for a novel that is as thought-provoking as it is terrifying, The Eyes Are the Best Part is a must-read.

I don’t think I’ve ever read a book quite like this. I’m not sure where to even begin but I do know that this was such an interesting read. I appreciate the commentary on eyes and racism towards Asians and those of Asian descent as well as the fetishization of these people. This book really introduced me to loads of different discourses especially misogyny and the different perspectives. The main character was a force and I honestly am glad to have read this book.

Wow this was a really crazy horror story with great commentary on feminism, racism, misogyny, fetishization of Asian women and yes cannibalism. The writing in this was so good! You just felt a sense of dread while our main character suddenly can’t stop thinking about eye balls and what they would taste like. This is definitely not for the squeamish but it was so brilliant. Lots of layers to this one! One of my favorites of the year for sure! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC. 5 out of 5 stars ⭐️

I knew I was going to love this book going into it, but this turned out to be so much better than I even anticipated. This book touches on racism, misogyny, family trauma, toxic relationships, obsession, grief, and a favourite of mine ✨️cannibalism✨️ I really enjoyed the authors writing, easy to follow and a total page turner.

This was such a wild ride where I found myself rooting for Ji-won right until the very last page 🫶🏻

Read this if you enjoy unhinged women and revenge.
If you loved Maeve Fly by CJ Leede, you'll likely love The Eyes Are The Best Part.

I know I say this kinda often, but omg, someone make this into a movie. Pls. LOL. this would be such a good movie!

Anyway, enough of reading my ramblings, go read this book instead 👌🏻💖

Thank you so much to Kensington publishing & Erewhon for sending me an ARC and Netgalley for sharing a digital arc. As always, opinions are my own 🤘🏻💀🤘🏻

Female rage for the win. I absolutely devoured this debut novelist's book. I love a good horror novel laced with poignant social commentary. I love an unhinged woman that takes revenge on the society that has harmed her.

The speed at which I requested this months ago and it delivered!!

When I tell you this one isn’t for the faint of heart, trust me… I don’t know that I’ve read much eye horror but this was truly grotesque in the best way. I was cringing, trying not to gag but simultaneously couldn’t look away.

Hard to believe it’s a debut, because monika kim nails the story, it’s not only well-written, but ties up all ends in such a satisfying way. The pacing was excellent and I don’t think I’d change a thing in that regard. And I love that she balanced the body horror with the occasional snark.

The story centers around a Korean-American family living in LA, but not the kind we’re usually seeing in TV and movies, the middle-class. We have family trauma and family drama, a truly unhinged FMC who I really felt for–sharing a small apartment with her mom and sister, after her dad’s departure, she is unraveling and it comes to a head when her mom starts dating a white man. This guy is vile, laced with misogyny and an obnoxious fetish for Asian women, I’ve never rooted harder for women’s wrongs than reading this book.

I absolutely inhaled it, it’s not just a quick read but it was engaging and ticked all the boxes for me–feminist horror, psychological thriller, feminine (justifiable) rage. And the cover is everything!

3 Stars ~

I don’t really know what I missed. But I am probably the odd one out that didn’t love this one. Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed it, but I didn’t think it was amazing, just good.

Ji-won is living at home with her sister and mum, after their father left them one day and never came back. Ji-won’s mum had been trying to get the girls to try the fish eye as ‘the eye is the best part’, finally one day Ji-won decides to give it a go. And hasn’t stopped thinking about eyes since and what it would be like to eat an eye that is blue…

Cue scene: blue eyed George comes into mums life and Ji-won hates him but his eyes are so beautiful and sky blue.

A horrific story of a female serial killer enacting what she sees as divine retribution on an unassuming populace, all while she slides further and further into madness. Ji-won as the main character serves as a narrator that becomes more and more unreliable as the story goes. This is not just because of the strange dreams and visions she enters into when she consumes the titular fish eyes, but because of the parts of her personality and past that are revealed. Nothing in this book is as it seems, and the self image Ji-won has projected of herself onto the reader - the poor, down-on-her-luck, friendless outcast - begins to corrode quite early on.
When the horror begins and Ji-won sets down on her path of murder, the story grips you until its blistering climax. I couldn’t look away.

5/5. TW for cannibalism. If you are squeamish about visceral descriptions of gore (particularly around eyes), I would recommend staying away. For everyone else, I would fully recommend this.

3.5 stars-Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book, releasing today!

Holy body horror batman! I should have expected it from the cover, so that one's on me. I enjoyed a lot of this debut novel, about a Korean-American college student dealing with the aftermath of her parent's divorce, her new extremely awful stepfather-to-be, and life as a young Asian woman in college and elsewhere. The pacing was uneven (sort of a slow starter and then a LOT happening in the last third of the book), the repeated dream sequences sometimes felt a bit incongruous, and our protagonist Ji-won is the only one who really gets significant character development, but overall I enjoyed this one! I wish there was a bit more horror to be honest...but the eyeball-crunching descriptions almost make up for it.

Horror fans are going to love this debut! I love a great story about a female serial killer and this one did not disappoint. Ji-won’s life begins to spiral out of control when her father has an affair and leaves the family. Her mother begins to date misogynistic and racist George and he quickly wears out his welcome around their home. With all the upheaval, Ji-won’s grades in college plummet and she is plagued every night by visions of eyeballs; specifically blue eyes that resemble George’s. This book begins with a bang with Ji-won’s mom demonstrating how to eat fish eyeballs to her two daughters and never lets up till that fantastic ending. This story is extremely graphic, disturbing, and very well written. For such a short book, it covers a lot of themes and packs a big punch.

There's main characters that are morally grey and then there's main characters that are just pieces of shit and this main character falls into the later. She's going through a rough time, but she takes it out on absolutely everyone around here. Her sister is trying to be there for her and she's so mean to her and she's horrible to her friends because they have the absolute audacity of having a functional family. She's completely mental, and not in the fun way. I was hate-reading this book by 40% and that's without getting into the ridiculousness of her obsession with her mom's boyfriends eyeballs. Gonna be a no from me dawg.

"Fish eyes are good luck."

Things are tough for Ji-won. Despite her good grades in high school, all of her friends got into Berkeley but she didn't, having instead to settle for another college. Her father has walked out on their family. Her mother is inconsolable; her younger sister is unhappy and hurt. And then her mother attaches herself to the first man to show her any interest, George. George just so happens to be a first-class creep, ogling young Asian waitresses as well as the two young girls. Things get worse when he "temporarily" moves in while his apartment is fixed, and he proposes to their mother.

In the meantime, Ji-won is having odd dreams of eyeballs. Rooms of eyeballs. Eating eyeballs. Eyeballs everywhere. And she is feeling the urge to eat them like the fish eyes...

YIKES.

Honestly, this was great. I enjoy Asian horror, due in part to the culture it brings to the story. And this was no different. I liked this whole story except for one thing - at one point, the story went way into a short feminist tirade - an all men are evil kind of thing - and I completely came out of it. The sentiment was prevalent throughout the story - Appa is bad, George is bad, Geoffrey despite his "I love all women and all cultures" attitude is bad, but the in-your-face part removed me from the story. Before that, I was at a hard 5 stars, but that short part just messed things up for me. I don't like to be beaten over the head with messages, and I feel like that's what was going on. Otherwise, the story was terrific. I look forward to seeing what the author publishes next.

I did not finish because the story was grossing me out, which I assume other people would love. I should have realized this book wouldn't be for me. It is totally the fault of me not the author. I got through 47% and couldn't read anymore. I didn't review because I didn't think it would be fair.

I support women's wrongs!
In this book we are following Ji-won, her life is slowly falling apart and she is starting to fall down a dark dark hole. All she can think about are eyes...beautiful blue eyes. This books is a serial killer origin story, we get to watch Ji-won unravel and go down the rabbit hole with her
I loved this book so so much, I had a hard time putting it down.
This is was an arc sent to me in exchange for my honest review.

I couldn’t support women’s wrongs any harder!!!! The Eyes Are the Best Part is giving Promising Young Woman x You x Dexter x Yellowface x Saltburn.

This was an IMMEDIATE 2024 NetGalley request, and I had to Marshmallow Test myself to not read it until closer to pub date so I’d have people to scream about it with. THE EYES is about a lot of things, but when a book centers around two sisters, it’s gotta go in the TBR.

This was my vacation meal read, and it had me questioning my own reality and constantly wanting to throw up my breakfast. Monika Kim slays the pacing - there’s Chlorine-level thriller and body horror vibes with notes of Natural Beauty’s painfully accurate satire.

One of THE EYES’ biggest strengths is its read on family dynamics, fetishization, and the isolating and deceiving dangers of too much interiority. Your immigrant mom dating a Trumper? Canon event. Your hyper-vigilant younger sister sensing your menty b from a distance? Canon event. Some “post-racist” white dude monologuing at you about not having yellow fever? Canon event. Bi panic? Canon event.

I was attracted to the Emerald Fennell of it all - the cringe, ick, suspense, philosophical grappling. Does unhinged vengeance justify the means? Are we wired not okay, or are we a product of the horrors?

Monika Kim, you’re wild for this one! There are a bajillion great books out this year, and I kind of want to drop everything and re-read The Eyes are the Best Part just to feel something.

I haven't read many stories like this. This was gruesome, but compelling. I found myself both grossed out and needing to keep reading. Also, like, I know that it's probably just like the blue eyes are the best because that's the brand of crazy her brain is subscribing to, but like....do they taste better? I want to know but I also don't want to know. I loved the writing and I loved all the dynamics of the different characters and the ways they interacted. While this was gross and at times I had to look away, I would absolutely read more from this author in a heartbeat. Blech but also this was great.

I've got a question for all serial killer/cannibals out there . . . how do you know the eyes are the best part if that's all of your victim you ever eat?

Seems a bit wasteful to me . . .

I guess I just prefer more frugal cannibals who use EVERY part of the corpse.

Ji-won has discovered she has a taste for eyes . . . blue eyes, anyway. I would feel a bit more sympathetic to her if she chose her victims Dexter-style: only those deserving of having their lives cut short, and their eyeballs devoured, but our heroine is a picky eater - blue eyes are the tastiest, and the ONLY eyes on the menu.

This certainly held my interest while it turned my stomach. I enjoyed Ji-won's family dynamics, and, honestly, I wouldn't mind reading a continuation of their adventures. Who knows . . . maybe our girl will develop a taste for liver with fava beans . . .

During dinner, Umma tells Ji-won that the eyes are the best part of the fish because they are not only delicious but bring good luck too. After always declining, she decides to try it out and realizes that her mother has been correct this whole time. When the family learns of Appa’s marital affair, he immediately abandons the entire family.

Her Umma and younger sister are devastated and heartbroken, leaving it up to Ji-won to take care of them both. In a few months, Umma begins dating a man called George with beautiful blue eyes. He is condescending, offensive, racist, misogynistic and in no time at all, Ji-won and her sister grow to hate him. He fetishes them and blatantly watches other Asian women, making for a hostile and uncomfortable environment. Umma is obsessed with George and doesn’t take much notice of his horrible behavior or her daughter’s discomfort.

On top of this, Ji-won grapples with the struggles of friendship and failing school. Her dreams become vivid and violent. In them, she sees beautiful blue eyes that follow her around. She walks into rooms that are full of delicious bloody eyes, good enough to eat and look just like George’s. Soon, the fascination of blue eyes takes Ji-won over and it becomes all she can think about. She begins to spiral and decides that maybe her dreams should become a reality because she deserves to do something about it and save her family from George. After all, Umma did say eating eyes will bring good luck and they could use a lot of that at a time like this.

I loved the Korean-American representation with a complex, family dynamic. The depiction of the culture and food was very well done. There is a lot of profound commentary on racial and gender discrimination but also how Asian women in particular are treated. The unraveling of Ji-won is fascinating and watching her become unhinged and fully commit to her rage was delightful. She may be slowly descending into madness but you can’t help but to cheer her on.

A brilliant, feminist horror novel is perfect for the summer and just what I was looking for! I can’t recommend this enough as it is such a strong debut. Monika Kim is an upcoming author that we should be sure to keep an eye out for! Thank you to Netgalley and Kensington Books for an advanced copy of this!

There are many levels of horror in this quick, dark read.

The horror of the way men treat women, even worse the fetishization of Asian women, the ways in which our parents fail us and even put us in harm's way, and then of course the hunger to remove and devour eyeballs. Specifically, very blue eyeballs.

The build up to the murder takes a bit, but by then you're already so horrified by the actions that put Ji-won in this position, many of them not her own, you kind of get why she goes down this path. She has every reason in the world to be angry and want some piece of power for herself.

She's also a master manipulator and an expert at sabotage. The way everything lines up in the end is nearly delightful in it's intricacy. Ji-won is terrifying, and she's only going to become more powerful.

If you've ever been an angry woman, this will feel good.