We follow Ji-won at a very difficult time in her life. Her father left her, her sister, and her mom, and her mom quickly fell prey to an opportunistic, lying, manipulative, gross white man. She has no friends, her grades are falling, and she starts having weird dreams, slowly becoming obsessed with the idea of consuming eyeballs.

This was gross, enraging, unhinged, quick to read, and full of great commentary about racism, racial fetishization, abandonment, and generational trauma. I feel like the ending was maybe a tad bit convenient, but overall, it's an unsettling read that makes you think.

We follow Ji-won at a very difficult time in her life. Her father left her, her sister, and her mom, and her mom quickly fell prey to an opportunistic, lying, manipulative, gross white man. She has no friends, her grades are falling, and she starts having weird dreams, slowly becoming obsessed with the idea of consuming eyeballs.

This was gross, enraging, unhinged, quick to read, and full of great commentary about racism, racial fetishization, abandonment, and generational trauma. I feel like the ending was maybe a tad bit convenient, but overall, it's an unsettling read that makes you think.

This book felt like it was written for me, I loved it! The commentary, the visceral descriptions, the unhingedness… I just felt like every page turned we were falling deeper into madness.

It did take me a little while to fully get into the book but once I was in, I was HOOKED. I can’t wait to pick up a physical copy of this!

A psychological horror book about a small Korean family who comes to shambles when Appa’s affair results in a divorce and makes the whole family living in despair. Ji Won, as the oldest daughter, barely managed to keep her grades from falling. Ji Hyun wants everything back to being okay. Umma’s crying all night makes Ji Won in rage to her father, to her mother. All added with Umma came home with a new boyfriend, George. Disgustingly George with his blue eyes, ogle over Asian women, Ji Won and Ji Hyun.

Females rage, woman’s wrong, feminist horror, mixed in one fast-paced story, telling you that this actually happened with our humanity. How patriarchal discrimination destroys a family, the horror of being asians living in ‘white’ countries, asian women being fetishized.

I love Monika’s writing so much. She can do it as if she’s stabbing the readers with her beautiful words, stating the painful facts over our humanity. I like how it’s written in a form of horror that can not stop me from turning the pages, and each chapter is short. You won’t get bored and keep being enticed. As you know it’s a horror book, you might also wanna know it contains cannibalism. I felt a bit queasy when I read this even though I love this kind of book. So please check trigger warnings and probably don’t read it while you eat :)

Thank you, NetGalley, Kensington Books, and Monika Kim, for this amazing e-ARC.

Pub date: 25/06/2024

3.5 stars.

The Eyes Are the Best Part follows Ji-Won as the changes & pressures within her life build up, causing her to eventually break and descend into an eyeball craving madness.

Ji-Won is in her freshman year of college and her father has just left - leaving the family in shambles. She must navigate this sensitive time in her life while also looking out for her younger sister and trying to assure her mother is not left broken hearted yet again by her new racist & misogynistic boyfriend.

This is most definitely a slow burn type of horror and although I enjoyed the slow build up of the story, I can't help but feel a little let down by the ending. After the slow pacing of the first 80% of the book, the end just felt sort of rushed. I also feel like there may have been some teensy little plot holes in here 🤏🏼

I loved the scenes where we get a glimpse at the dark & violent side of Ji-Won and I just wish there was more of that featured. The few scenes that did feature eyeball eating were *exceptional* and I loooveeedd the descriptiveness in the writing.

One thing that I did enjoy was the depth given to the characters and the story of the family as a whole. The three women each have their own load of trauma and I appreciated the time spent on that - in addition to the commentary on racism, fetishization, and sexism.

I believe this is a book that many people will enjoy and I can definitely see myself picking up more from Monika Kim in the future. 👁️

This book is incredibly written. Immediately the story is so immersive with the imagery and the prose was just perfection. I felt I could relate to Jiwon in many aspects of life. I love how the story flowed very naturally into madness. I read this in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. I loved the feminine rage and the imagery best of all. Definitely recommend

At first I wasn't sure if I was going to like this that much, but it turned out to be really good. The main character was interesting to say the least.

I loved this book! I drew me in and I read it all in one day! I couldn’t pull myself away! Ji-won is the epitome of female rage!

e psychological body horror was no joke and the story had a fresh take on the making of a serial killer, but the pacing wasn’t always perfect for me. Some sections seemed to drag on, while others were too rushed. I needed just a bit more character development to truly feel the organic fall of our MC

Im hungry.

“There are some things you can never truly escape. Not really. Maybe that’s why, even now, she’s stuck in the past pong after everyone has moved on.”

Monika Kim’s books is about the downward spiral young Ji Won finds herself in when her father leaves her mother after having an affair leaving them including their sister. During this time she witnesses how her mother tries to cope with losing her husband and finding another partner in George. He is taking advantage of her mother and is as obnoxious as they come. Ji won however finds herself having disturbing visions of eyes, in particular George’s eyes where she has this hunger to eat them.

This felt like a front row seat in the disturbing mind of a young women who has a dangerous hunger she’ll go any length to see fulfilled. It was interesting to see the perspectives shift from the beginning to where Ji Won’s delusions become more prominent. It’s where fantasy and reality were bound to collide and how she plans to execute her plan is hinted at throughout.

The imagery did make me cringe at times with the details on the eyes, especially those descriptions where eating them is mentioned 🤢

Overall this was a crazy story that kept getting bizarre the more you read on.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Refreshingly honest, totally unique and absolutely bat**** in all the best ways. After her mom starts dating an incredibly racist and misogynistic white man, a Korean-American college student becomes obsessed with the thought of cutting out his BRILLIANTLY BLUE eyes. There's a great deal of EYE BALL horror on display here, which definitely makes this feel distinct. Some of these scenes will forever be seared into your mind's EYE. Ji-Won launches a murderous spree, but the violence is coded with some pretty brilliant social commentary that elevates the horror.

Highly recommend!

After Ji-won’s father left them, her life fell apart. Her mother was a mess, and got herself a boyfriend - a racist white boyfriend who fetishizes Asian women. Ji-won herself, after tasting a tasty fish eye, started to have a thing with eyes. She kept having dreams of juicy blue eyes until she began craving for more.

“It’s an eye. A human eye. Clean and white and beautiful without blemishes, a ring of black around the iris. The blue is so familiar; I can’t stop staring. It might be the most mesmerizing thing I’ve ever seen.”

The eyes are the best part is a debut novel by Monika Kim about a serial killer in the making. The author also said that this is a novel about Asian fetishization and racism. And these two themes are very obvious in the book, maybe a bit too on the nose for my taste. The writing itself is very unsubtle, which really annoyed me until I got halfway through and the eye obsession began. The writing style worked well for this that I got disgusted because I could imagine the taste, the texture, and the smell.

"I flush, pushing down on the handle, and watch my sins disappear. They swirl down, down, until there's nothing left."

Ji-won is an interesting character. I liked the way her daddy issues and relationships with her family and her mother’s new boyfriend were depicted. As a character, she’s manipulative, and as a narrator is unreliable. Again, Ji-won’s eye obsession was fascinating (and disgusting) to read and what compelled me to finish the book despite the unsubtle writing. I love characters becoming more and more unhinged as the story progresses, and Kim did not disappoint in that area. However, I would have liked to have delved deeper into Ji-won’s mind. The necessary parts of her personality are there but I feel like they needed to be threaded better. I also still couldn’t fully understand the origins of her cravings, I just went along with it.

"I want the crunch of cartilage in my mouth. I want the saltiness of blood on my tongue."

The concept reminded me of Han Kang’s The Vegetarian and the writing reminded me a little bit of Sayaka Murata’s Earthlings. The way the themes were written also reminded me of Rebecca Kuang’s Yellowface. So if you liked any of these, then there’s a chance you might like this too.
The eyes are the best part is a promising debut. While it fell short in some aspects for me, the story itself was compelling enough for me to be interested in Kim’s future works. She has the good ideas, I just need better execution.

I received the arc from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted the narrative threads of this to tie a *bit* more firmly together before that breakneck ending speed, but there is so much to love here. Messy fucked up women are my favorite kind of MCs, and Ji-Won absolutely delivers on that front. Once I got going on this it was very hard to put down; I kept wanting to know what came next, how it would all shake out. I loved the sensory details best. SO many visceral & disgusting & revoltingly erotic descriptions of eyeballs (and yes!! Never fear!! The eyeballs really do get eaten!). God what a book. Great for fans of American Mary, Jennifer’s Body, Lisa Frankenstein, and Maeve Fly.

Twisted. Unhinged. Intense. The way I murmured “wtf” to myself at least 10x during this…

We’re introduced to the Lims, an Asian-America family whose lives begin to spiral following their father’s infidelity and sudden abandonment. Our protagonist, the eldest daughter, Ji-won struggles to understand all of her emotions following this rejection, juggling grief and rage, while also keeping her younger sister and distraught mother together… all while also trying to survive college.

This is a story of the unraveling of a young woman and her reemergence as a monster.

3.5 stars out of 5. The psychological body horror was no joke and the story had a fresh take on the making of a serial killer, but the pacing wasn’t always perfect for me. Some sections seemed to drag on, while others were too rushed. I needed just a bit more character development to truly feel the organic fall of our MC. Content warning: the story features the immigrant experience, fetishism, misogyny, trauma, and cannibalism.

Thank you NetGalley and Kensington Books for providing me with a digital advanced copy in exchange for my review.

This book was delicious. I didn’t know I was looking for her, and yet she found me. It is so unhinged in all the right ways.

After her father leaves and her mother gets a new boyfriend, Ji-won begins to spiral and seek revenge. I could not put this down! The writing was simplistic but effective- I found it very addictive with great pacing. As a horror lover, I appreciated the graphic eyeball imagery (haha) and other gore (though it could have been even more brutal for me hehe).
This read like a thriller and I loved to hate our villain George. Would definitely recommend if you like books about feminine rage.

I knew this one would be gory and hoooo boy- don't eat before reading! The serial killer aspect has big appeal for horror/crime fans and those who like body gore. I also liked the feminist aspect and taking down men who fetishize Asian women. The twists near the end are intriguing.

In this story we're following Ji-won, a Korean-American college student who in the midst of many life stressors start to develop an appetite (and obsession) for eyeballs - specifically the blue eyes of her mother's racist, misogynistic pig of a boyfriend.

I read this book within a day's time, completely captivated by Ji-won and her descent into well, chaos and cannibalism. The pace was gripping and had just the right amount of weirdness - enough to intrigue but not so much you get lost in it. I found myself rooting for Ji-won, despite her cruelty at times, which is due to the brilliance of this debut's writing. I do wish that the ending was a bit stronger and didn't happen as quick as it did but aside from that, I have no complaints.

I don't want to say too much about this one since it's on the shorter side and is best enjoyed with as little known - in my opinion anyways. But if you're a fan of psychological horror with social commentary and an unhinged girlie at the forefront, this needs to be on your list for the summer!

I'd specifically recommend this one for fans of Maeve Fly This one was a bit less descriptive than MF but definitely was heavy on the eyeballs - so if that grosses you out, you've been warned!

“The Eyes are the Best Part” by Monika Kim follows Ji-Won, a young college student with an appetite for destruction.

When her dad leaves, her, her mom, and her sister are left to pick up the pieces. Then, George comes along and Ji-Won’s appetite is activated. He is loud and sloppy and misogynistic. She regularly has dreams of killing him or hurting him. Between nightmarish dream-like chapters and narrations of college and home life, Ji-Won navigates young adulthood and finding her voice and sense of agency.

This book was deliciously disgusting — I found myself actually recoiling from some of the descriptions. overall, This was a really fun read, but I did find myself wanting a little more character development wise. otherwise, the alternating narratives and the concept was very good!

The Eyes Are The Best Part is a gripping debut by author Monika Kim. Told from the perspective of eighteen-year-old Jo-won as she struggles to maintain a semblance of normalcy in her life following the abrupt departure of her father for his mistress, the novel initially teeters between the conventional and the surreal.

Ji-won’s mother eventually finds comfort in a repugnant new boyfriend named George, her sister Ji-hyun is anxious regarding the state of their lives and her grades are dropping terribly. And then there are the dreams: the rooms with eyes on the walls that are are enticing and so very blue.

A desire to consume those eyes has awakened within Ji-won-following her decision to devour a fish eye during a dinner to please her mother-but it initially remains a macabre fascination

At least until the bodies begin to appear

The Eyes Are The Best Part is intense, engrossing, absolutely infuriating at times and very grisly. As a Korean young woman, Ji-won is forced to contend with the insidious intermingling of racism and misogyny: both depicted overtly by George, perpetuated subtly by Ji-won’s would-be “friend” Geoffrey and the latter even upheld by Ji-won’s own mother.

Ji-won is an intriguing and flawed protagonist: manipilative and envious, but also constrained by the expectations of and her desire to help her family. As Ji-won’s rage and desire to consume grew, I remained entranced and uneasy as I contemplated what would happen next.

The Eyes Are The Best Part is excellent novel and I look forward to reading Monika’s Kim’s writing in the future. Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Erewhon Books for granting me access to this ebook.