THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART
Monika Kim

I’ve got a horror stunner for you today. I read it in early summer, and it might have been the highlight of my trip.

Let’s talk about it.

Usually, a divorce means separating from the spouse and not the children but when Ji-won’s dad left his wife he left everyone else. And in his place, in his wake a hole formed so deep and so wide no one else could fill it. And in that hole things started to fall in and become part of the darkness and the vastness of it.

Grief manifests in Ji-won as an obsession with the eyes. How they look, how they smell, the way they taste and feel between her teeth and going down her throat. Seeing everything they pass, somehow consuming all the while being consumed.

THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART is about what it means when someone could so easily up and leave you. How it affects the way you see yourself. The more Ji-won starts to feel herself disappearing the more she becomes obsessed with being seen.

THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART is the ultimate psychological horror book. Rarely do horror books come this polished with no confusion or meandering. It was straightforward and fantastic.

Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books | Erewhon Books for the advanced copy and the opportunity to provide feedback!

THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART…⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Eyes are the Best Part is a short and fast paced horror novel about a young korean-american woman trying to navigate college in the midst of her parents separating. Her mom starts dating a new guy who does not seem like a great pick, she is starting to have weird dream about blue blue eyes, and her little sister is starting to notice something is not right with her.

This novel deals with how children deal with their parents separating and how it impacts them even if they are already adults. It also talks a lot about racism and the hypersexualisation of asian women. Queer characters are implied.

At the beginning of this book I was a little confused about why it was classified as horror but it is just due to a slow beggining (in terms of horror). If you are squeamish about eyes, please do not pick up this book, even the descriptions about eating fish eyes were a lot so I am warning you. There is not a lot of body horror besides eye stuff.

I think that the main character, Ji-won, and her mother are well written but most of the other characters are unfortunately very one tone. For the villains I don't really mind honestly as it drives the point home harder, but I was sad not to learn more about her sister or her friend Alexis. The ending was also veryyyy fast paced and there is huge reveal that is kind of brushed under the rug and that felt a bit weird.

Overall I like the gross body horror, the ending even if it was a bit rushed, and having an unhinged female character. It could have benefited from being a little longer but it is a fun short read and I would definitely recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Monkia Kim, and Kensington Books for the ARC! So I was initially really excited for this one because the cover was so gnarly. Upon getting around to reading it, I felt like was a very satisfying book, both in length and through the eventual actions of the main character Ji-Won. The spree of violence that Ji-Won embarks on is well written in regards to both gore and the commentary/motivations behind it. Still, I felt like a lot of the dialogue felted strangely stilted and lacked subtlety. I felt like George and Geoffrey were written in a way that was a little over the top. That being said though, I have to acknowledge that I do not have first hand experiences as a white woman with this kind of fetishization and racially motivated misogyny. Additionally, I felt like the constant dream sequences were a little much. Yes, I know this is to show her inability to discern her dreams from reality but again, it was a bit much. All of this being said, I'm a sucker for a good feminine rage book and I have to say this delivered.

This was a great fun book for me! It's an entertaining look at how a female serial murderer gets started. We watch timid Ji-won become into a murderer. I was enthralled with the family's bond and their genuine concern for one another. It's true that this book is about a female serial murderer who is fascinated with eyes, but it's much more than that. I was unable to put it down once I got going!

I started reading the first few chapters of this book at my first ever platelet donation– I didn’t get too far in before I put it down, deciding the uneasiness I was feeling might be lessened at home on my couch under the safety of a blanket. I also probably saved the people around me from having to watch my horrified expression as the novel unfolded before my eyes (no pun intended).

But seriously this book was fantastic! It’s a horror/thriller novel of course, but you have contemporary fiction aspects as you get to know Ji-won, her family and their motivations throughout the story. I can’t say I’ve read a lot of horror novels before, but I know this one was good because there were scenes that made me want to look away or that had me wanting to close my eyes and skip ahead. The short chapters also help the story keep pace as Ji-won digs herself deeper into her obsessions and acts on her impulse to kill. I’d also like to say that I don’t condone female serial killers, but in fiction, there is no greater feeling than women wielding power over men and giving them a taste of ultimate fear. :) Looking forward to a possible sequel for this novel!!

*Thanks to NetGalley for exchanging an e-ARC of this book for an unbiased review!

Wow, I can NOT stop thinking about what I just read. If body horror is not your thing, don't read this. However, if you are looking for an eerie, haunting novel, pick this one up. It was incredible and I will absolutely be looking for Monika Kim's future work too.

ARC Book Review | THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART by MONIKA KIM

4.5/5 ⭐’s | ARC Review | PUB DATE: 25 June 2024

Read if you're looking for:
- A young, Korean-American woman who starts feeling disturbing urges around blue eyes
- Major body horror & stomach churning imagery (a lot of eyeball stuff)
- Condescending men getting their comeuppance
- Themes of misogyny, racism, fetishization, & feeling like you don’t fit in
- A “good for her” ending

This book was right up my alley, and was a quick, short read. Our main character, Ji-Won, is a young Korean-American woman in her first year of college, when her father leaves her family for another woman, leaving Ji-Won, her mother, and her sister behind. Ji-won’s mother seems inconsolable until she meets a new man, a white man name George who fetishizes Asian women and expects them to be meek and submissive. George proceeds to be gross, while Ji-Won starts to have disturbing fantasies about his mesmerizing blue eyes. Ji-won starts to unravel, and begins on a journey of violence, concluding in a satisfying ending.

This book was very well-written and the characters were very realistic and relatable. Ji-won’s mother is painted perfectly as a woman who doesn’t know who she is without a man in her life, and Ji-won is angry and frustrated. I loved how the author mirrored the fetishization of asian women by the male characters with Ji-won’s fetishization of blue eyes. This was super gory, so if eyeball stuff grosses you out, this is not the book for you. Kim also includes a lot of dark humor, especially around the character of Geoffrey, who is another white man who becomes obsessed with Ji-Won while continuously attempting to convince everyone he’s a “nice guy” and that “he’s not like those other men.” This book is outstanding for a debut, and I would enthusiastically recommend it for lovers of body horror and revenge.

CW: Cannibalism, Body horror, Gore, Racism, Stalking, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Cancer, Pedophilia

New unhinged girlie book alert!!!!! I devoured this book as Ji-won devours blue eyes.

I loved how this book started off with me asking myself 'huh, this is not horror? where is the story i expected to get?' and it unraveled and spiraled quickly (but not too quickly!) into the most bonkers of stories. The Eyes Are The Best Part is a story of grief, complicated family dynamics, obsession, the fetishization of Asian women, immigration trauma, cultural differences, and of course: body horror!!!

George, and everything he stands for, was such a hilarious addition to the story. Both his misogyistic and fetishizing tendendies, but also his relationship to Ji-won's mom and the confusing relationship she has with him, made him such a great side character and clear cause (the catalyst really) of her descent into madness. I think this summarizes their rapport pretty well: <i>"Oriental? What am I, a rug?"</i>

God, I loved this book! Exactly my kind of weird, unsettling, far-fetched and gory story. If you loved books like Chlorine, A Certain Hunger and those written by Mariana Enriquez, get this on your tbr now!!!!

Honestly this was so good! Put a little generational trauma, we hate the patriarchy, and some good ole fashion gore into a blender and you get this bad boy. Perfect balance of social critique and horror that allowed for an interesting and thought provoking story that never compromised the pacing. This was so compulsively readable. I think it would make a great book club pick and would be a good rec for people who like books like A Certain Hunger or Natural Beauty but want a slightly more traditionally horror premise. The only part of this book I’m not sure I loved was the ending, but it wasn’t a bad ending I’m just not sure if it’s the direction I was hoping for? Would definitely recommend!

Ji-won is going through a crazy time in her life. Ji-won is going to college while consoling her mother and younger sister through their absentee father issues. Her plate is full. Her mother starts falling for this man who clearly has an Asian fetish. As tensions rise, Ji-won finds herself with a hyperfixation to eyeballs. The way this story unfolds is disturbing yet captivating. I will certainly never look at a cherry tomato the same ever again. I often find myself thinking about this book. The ick levels were off the charts, but in a good way. The kind you want your horror book to deliver on.

The madness. The gore. It was all so good. I am so squeamish when it comes to eyeballs so this really did it for me. I audibly gagged at some parts. If that’s not something you’ll be grossed out by it’s still such a good story of a girl absolutely losing her mind but rightfully so.

Thank you, NetGalley and Kensington Books for the advanced readers copy in exchange for my honest review!

In this feminist psychological thriller, our story follows Ji-won, a college student whose life falls into disarray after her father’s affair. The Eyes are the Best Part can be visceral and brutal at times. Still, the author does a fantastic job creating complex characters and a story that deals with misogyny, racism, fetishization, and false allyship. I think one of the things I enjoyed so much about the story is that so often in tales of revenge, female characters are left taking the moral high ground or having to be the example of the better person, but Ji-won is allowed her revenge and it is skewering. Yet, Ji-won is intensely layered and we feel for her as much as we root for her and maybe are a little afraid of her. Monika Kim did an amazing job of bringing this deeply complex character to life on the page.

My only small critique of the book is its pacing. The first 50% of the story was a very slow burn that eventually picks up with a lot happening within the last few chapters. It felt like everything was wrapped up maybe a little too neatly.

Overall, it's a fantastic read, and I can’t recommend it enough!

The anticipation of the things in this book will jump from 0 to 100! I absolutely loved this book, breezing through it and wincing through it. The characters and the storyline were written so well, and wohhh, the horror and gory aspect were just absolutely amazing to read. The author did it so so well and I can't recommend this enough.

Now, of course, trigger warning through and through. It was gory, it was disturbing, and the unraveling of the main character was so entertaining. She was an absolute sociopath and the more you read, the more things happened that were so bone chilling and jaw dropping. Her lack of empathy for others versus her care for her mom and sister were laid out so well that somehow I didn't dismiss her character. Weirdly I found myself wanting to read more and more about her. Like I said, I can't recommend this enough!

Thank you to NetGalley, Monika Kim, and the publisher for the eARC of this amazing horror book. All opinions are my own.

I DNF'd this at 54% due to the body horror being more prominent and drawn-out than I was expecting. Overall, this moved along fast enough but the writing was disjointed at times and the writing was a bit shallow for the topic matters discussed within. Fetishization through the lens of horror deserved so much more than this, in my opinion. The lack of depth to the characters made them completely lack nuance, which meant gray areas didn't exist. This might have been resolved by the end of the story, but I have a feeling it wasn't.

Kensington Books, Erewhon Books, and NetGalley for providing an ARC!

This was fun!

Really interesting coming-of-age story about a college student who is grappling with her father leaving, her mother's new boyfriend, and a lurking craving for eyeballs......

I read this in 2 sittings - it was really hard to put down! Ultimately I enjoyed the story and the twists and turns, but something didn't quite connect for me. I still really recommend it - it's unique, gross, and worth your time.

weird, entertaining, stomach-turning, got me cheering for someone's cannibalistic desires lmao thank you so much to netgalley and the publisher!

Ji-won is a first generation college student of Korean immigrants and having been rejected by her first choice school and alienated by friends, she is left picking up the pieces after her parents sudden divorce. When her mother meets someone new - George - she is left scrambling to get her act together to protect herself and her sister. When she attempts to appease and entertain her mother by consuming the eyes of a fish, ‘the best part,’ she developes a sudden ravenous hunger for the unspeakable - human eyes.

Throughout this book all I could think was GOOD FOR HER and I truly would not have had this written any other way. Through the lense of horror and cannibalism Monika Kim examines the fetishization of Asian women in American culture and she does an exquisite job of displaying the ‘nice guy’ trope for us to examine & explore. This being Kim’s first work of horror is astounding and I absolutely have to get my hands on more.

“In Korean, the word for ‘fortune’ is paljua.”

The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim follows Ji-Won as she navigates relationships, family, and………her appetite.

I enjoyed reading this book. It is DEFINITELY within the body horror genre so be prepared diving in. You may want to check trigger warnings beforehand. I enjoyed the descriptiveness of certain scenes in the story (LOL) and this is the first book to actually make me have a physical reaction.

In addition to the shock value of the story, I really liked how the topics around fetishism, self-proclaimed allyship, family dynamics, and “I’m a good guy” are explored and the effects these things can have on women, especially women of color.

My favorite thing about this book is that Ji-Won isn’t as “innocent” as one may think. Her character is VERY complex in how I understood 100% where she was coming from and have very well felt the same in some situations BUT she also did some messed up things herself……BUUUUUT I still understood what her actions were rooted in LOL. I was going through a constant back-and-forth with her character.

If you want a fast-paced, horror/body horror story with a complex character and interesting societal topics, then this book is for you! If you’ve ever had a white man say “I’ve never been with a [insert minority identity] before” OR “I heard [insert minority identity] enjoy XYZ” OR “I’m not like those other guys you’ve dated”, then you will find camaraderie within Ji-Won’s story.

Thank you to Kensington Books and NetGalley for the ARC!!

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was THRILLED when I saw that I was given an ARC of The Eyes Are the Best Part. This is my first book like this and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I love an unhinged female character & watching Ji-Won's 'descent' was terrifying, yet fascinating. The ending was very fast compared to the rest of the book, but I still liked it.

I will 1000% be picking up any of Monika Kim's future works!

👁️ 🔪 🩸 Review🐟🥢💍

Title: The Eyes Are The Best Part
Author: Monika Kim

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5

Thoughts: I had zero expectations going in and I really loved every bit of this. There were moments that turned my stomach which I can't help but love 😅.
We get to follow a young adult become a women full of carefully crafted rage and wrath. As Ji-won is navigating betrayal from her father, she's also trying to keep her mother's life together while assuring her younger sister.
We see this young woman get a taste for 👁️ and 🩸 as she comes into her own.
I loved the little spin at end that really brought everything together. My only gripe is I think this one could have been a little shorter but that's knit picking. All and all, this was a delicious read 😈.