This debut novel from Monika Kim is out of control. It is completely unhinged but in the best possible way. It paints such a sad picture of feminine rage, brought on by grief and loss, racism and misogyny.

The story follows Ji-won, a young Korean woman whose father has abandoned her family. She watches her mother fall further and further into depression until she meets a disgusting new man who she immediately falls for. She begins to really experience the fetishization of Asian women, and as her anger grows, so does her taste for something new. What follows is an insane, gory (check your content warnings!) and wild spiral into madness.

I absolutely loved this book. When my stomach is churning in conjunction with me shouting "go, go, do it, do it again!", that's how I know what I'm reading is gold. Any author that can make me feel rage, disgust, sadness, triumph and horror all at once, that's an author I'm keeping my eye on and I can't wait to see what Monika Kim does next!

Love feminine rage? Love body horror? Support women's rights AND women's wrongs? Love being adventurous with your foods? If you answered yes, this is the book for you, you'll love it, I promise.

An absolutely chilling masterpiece. I loved the title and cover. I will definitely bring reading future books from this author.

First off... Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced readers copy! I can say I truly enjoyed this book!

When the father of Ji-Won doesn't come home anymore, she is in anger that her father just left the home without any explanation except for her mother. And when her mother- not to long after- meets a new man named George, Ji-Won isn't happy about this newly formed relationship within her family. Her sister acts differently and isn't happy either, and Ji-Won is taking a new special interest in human eyes. Without giving too much away about this story... she develops special interests in other things, too.

The eyes are the best part is a story about female rage and psychological events that discusses topics as fetishes, racism, cannibalism, manipulation and feminism.

The writer is no stranger to describing sickening scenes and truly table turning events in this book! All of the topics suit really well inside this story and will make you question both the maincharacter as much as the side character, making you question if you are comfortable enough to continue reading. That's when a horror/psychological thriller novel truly strikes its pose to me and hit its mark. There were times I was confused about the morals as I'm used to most times reading from the victims perspective. There were multiple times where is was like: "oh shit, is she really doing this, or is this a dream?". In a few words: well done, Monika.

Next to the striking topics of this book, the writing style is very easy to the eyes and understandable. It's fast paced, the characters are fleshed out well enough and the turns in this book were amazing. I however wish the ending was a little less rushed, as I feel as though this book was building up to the ending. I would've loved to get a bit more of explaining about certain twists.

I think 'the eyes are the best part' is a new book with unexpected turns, uncomfortable scenes and hitting twists that have a fresh and unique feel to it.

Please give this book a try if you love horror!

Thank you so much to Net Galley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC! I was so excited to get my hands on it! 🫶

Aaaaaaand, that's a wrap on the positive things I have to say about this book.

Those who follow my reviews should know to take them with a grain of salt since I am so often the unpopular opinion. I anticipate this being a smash hit once released based solely on the fact that I disliked it so much.

After finding Maeve Fly pretty lackluster, I was SO EXCITED for this. I thought this would give me everything I found lacking in Maeve Fly. Turns out, Maeve Fly is the superior novel...

If you're here for social commentary, this is your book. If you're here for something well crafted, keep looking. The execution of this novel is my biggest issue. This should've been at least a 4-star read, but because of the storytelling, I found myself really having to force myself to finish it. I found the beginning chunk to be so boring and by the time we finally got to the unhinged eye eating murder, I was so far removed from any and all characters that all I could see was the stupidity of every action in every scene.

Despite all of that, I know I'll be recommending this to others in the future. It's people are definitely out there, I'm just not one of them.

this is one of those books I’ve seen loads of pre-release hype, but unfortunately, I didn’t really enjoy it. ⁠
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there are some interesting and important topics covered in this book such as racism, misogyny, creating a life for yourself as an immigrant, Asian fetishization, and the impact of broken families and extra-marital affairs. I did enjoy the exploration of these topics, some were maybe a little heavy-handed but I still think that what the author set out to do by discussing them was achieved. where my issue lies is with this being an “unhinged woman” book.⁠
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I personally could not get on board with Ji-won’s descent into madness. the author gives her plenty of reason to have the kind of mental breakdown that she does, however, I had such a hard time believing it. I simply could not connect the character of Ji-won to the actions that she commits. there is a slight sub-plot that shows a darker element to Ji-won’s personality, but we are introduced to her as a sheltered and sweet character over anything else, so I couldn’t make myself accept or believe that she would switch so suddenly and aggressively. it’s not so much a descent into madness, someone has cut the rope and she is plunging into madness at a crazy speed. I do think the author was making some commentary about the stereotype of East Asian women being meek and submissive but I don’t feel like Ji-won was the right character to make that statement with, at least not without wayyyy more character building and a much slower journey of getting us to the point where she is truly unhinged.⁠
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I obviously don’t like not enjoying books, especially debuts, and I’m disappointed this one didn’t live up to the hype for me.

Such a fun read! It reads almost like a Korean drama TV show and for a debut novel it was very well done. I loved all the cultural food descriptions sprinkled throughout the book. In regards to the characters I enjoyed the family dynamic between the two sisters. The mother reminded me a lot of my mother after my parents split up, so the story felt more personal for me. I will say this was a slow burn book with a lot of action at the end. I would have loved to see more feminist rage, but still overall a great book!

A palpable psychological thriller on the making of a female serial killer. Whats best about is the eyes. The eyes are the best part started on a solemn note of a terrible separation of Jiwon's mother and father with the man out of their life suddenly, up and go without warning leaving her, her younger sister and her devastated mother. Ji won struggle to grasp the changing dynamics in the family, of the abandoned responsibilities of a father in the family and her mother whom was affected horribly by this break up. The mother started to obsessively consumed the fish eyes, chomping on that jellylike substance bursting with liquid once gnashed & saying that fish eyes brought luck or perhaps a wishful thinking her husband will come back

This story took a darker turn when unexpectedly, their mother had fallen in love with a white man named George with his blue eyes, a misogynist, racist and kinks for asian fetishization and all in all, a disgusting human being. Worse, he moved into their home, invaded their privacy, taking the family's home by storm. Jiwon and Jihyum both despised him, his leeriness, rudeness & extreme lack of courtesy to the mother but to protect their mother's happiness, they endured the torture of having the unbearable man in their house. Until Ji Won snapped.

Discussing on some of the Korean American struggles to find footing ina foreign country to the lense of their working parents and the fallen business of the father, the discourse on failing relationships that happened early on, the mental torment and anguish it have effects on the children's mind where we see Ji Won finally take upon her hand to protect her family. Lurking in dangerous territory of obsessive consumption of eyeballs, triggering the cycle of killing and pleasurable sensations gained from the act of eating, the gory descriptions and vivid details of Ji Won's relentless pursuit of eyeball is mindblowingly wild. What I love about this story is also the short, punchy sentences given the impact to the whole situation and the short chapters are a delight. Its disturbing and to see her spiralled into such a state was pretty devastating as I believe her mind had taken the shape of devouring eyeballs as a source of comfort and give her sense of groundness but seeing her delve into killing becomes unbearable at point.

The ending though, wow thats a great one. Remarkable to say the least, befitting a genius psychopathic killer in the making. She sure wont stop now.

Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

I could not put this book down, I absolutely loved it! Thank you NetGalley for this advanced copy in return for my honest review.

I love this! "Feminist psychological horror about the making of a female serial killer from a Korean-American perspective." The tagline alone got me interested, but this book really stuck the landing. The title and cover are evocative and perfect for the story. The pacing throughout is great. We get the perfect blend of seeing the everyday life of someone going to college and dealing with family with the increasingly unhinged and murderous tendencies. This book has great commentary about racism and misogyny alongside the more obvious horror of murder and eating eyeballs. Our main character is very flawed, but you can't help but be on her side throughout the whole ride. Definitely recommend!!

Loved this! Was absolutely hooked from the first page. Just the right amount of gruesome too. Looking forward to whatever the author writes in the future.

First I want to thank NetGalley and Monika Kim for this e-ARC, because it was downright disgusting and I can’t wait to buy a physical copy! Disgusting in the best way, of course. I want to start this out by saying that I work in the medical field, specifically, I work with eyeballs every single day. I am not a complete expert but I’d like to say I’m pretty close to it, since I take them out of the deceaseds skull, hold them, and cut into them every day. The reason I’m bringing this up is because I fear that Monika Kim has also held an eyeball in her hand, I am also concerned over her incredible accuracy at how it would feel, and taste, if you popped an eyeball into your mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Now, I have of course never done this myself so I can’t be 100% sure, but if you WERE to eat an eyeball, what she describes is exactly what I believe you would experience. And I think that intriguing fact alone should make you pick up this book.

And wow, was it satisfying!

I really loved this book. It's a psychological thriller/ horror that shows us the everyday struggles of a young Asian woman, how she's suffering due to her family troubles and shares important feminist views. It's well written, fast paced, characters are pretty complex and the story is interesting. Recommend!
I really appreciate the opportunity I've had to read this book before it's been published, thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This is my honest, and believe, very fair review.
#TheEyesAretheBestPart #NetGalley
Happy reading everyone🖤

Do you like weird books? Do you like thoughtful cultural critiques on racism and sexism. Do you like horror novels. Do you like unreliable narrators? Because this book has all of these.

My best description of this book is if Otessa Moshfegh grew up as a first generation Korean and wrote a book about it.

It has all the vibes. The writing is superb. Her ability to hold tension and to subtly moralize and critique is astounding. Her story is simple on the surface, but the undercurrent is sharp and cutting. You think oh this is just going to be a horror book, but oh no... or maybe you're like i won't like this I don't like it when social issues hide as a story, but then BAM you get hit with all the horror. It's a brilliant and balanced combination.

If you have a thing about eyes though - don't read it. But everyone else - you should try it. I bet you like it more than you thought you would.

However, I think the cover will turn off a lot of potential readers and could be more enticing.

I loved this book its was awesome! I enjoyed the writing, and the array of topics that are brought up in this book. If I have any critique it would be that the beginning is a little slow paced but it picks up and once it does I was hooked!

This is a novel that is built on the power of unassuming appearances and the dark cover of night to hide the compulsions that lurk not so deep beneath the surface. Horrific nightmares and their imagery are tied throughout the narrative, letting the reader's sense of suspense grow steadily as Ji-won's tenuous relationships at home and at school threaten to snap.
I have an appreciation for the combination of patience and impulsivity contained in Ji-won's mind and actions, and for the complicated nature of her sense of morality. I felt some chapters could have been fleshed out more fully or had more meaning attached to them, but overall, the writing is appropriately straightforward and quite representative of Ji-won's mindset throughout the novel. Characters occasionally fell a little flat, though the importance of focusing on Ji-won's state of mind may be the reason for this.
The reader is left to wonder not if, but when and how Ji-won is going to be caught. Monika Kim’s debut psychological horror novel will have readers questioning alongside Ji-won what’s real and what is just a bad dream until the very end.

This book started with a really cool concept that had me hooked for a little bit and then it just kept on going and quickly became "White man bad" which yeah not a fan of that so what could have been a really cool idea explored of trauma and how we deal with it quickly became just hateful.

huge thanks to netgalley and kensington books for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

y’all, this needs to be on everyone’s radar for 2024, it’s such a bizarre and bingeable read that i can’t stop thinking about! i absolutely devoured it and will be recommending it to all horror/weird fiction enjoyers. if you’re in a reading slump, i think this would be the perfect book to get you out of it because its short chapters are super immersive and it can easily be read in one sitting.

i was hooked from the very beginning and thrilled as soon as i noticed the first parallel; the girls’ mother waiting for their father, not realizing he’d abandoned his family forever, was eerily reminiscent of her childhood and the way she was the only one out of all her siblings who stayed behind to wait for their parents, risking death from malnutrition or hypothermia. in her marriage, she was unable or unwilling to go against her husband’s wishes or stand up for herself and it appeared as if she tried to make up for that lack of self-respect by being overly harsh on her daughters and exerting power over them. it was either that or complete neglect and i couldn’t decide which approach was harder to read about, especially because her lack of attention coincided with her older daughter’s descent into rage and madness.

the introduction of charles was when the book took a more sinister turn. his character was so well-written that i couldn’t help but physically cringe whenever he said something he believed was a progressive take but was actually extremely offensive and derogatory, e.g. referring to ji-won and ji-hyun as “oriental” just because they were asian… but hey, what else could you expect from a white man with a republican bumper sticker? he was extremely sleazy and it felt like ants were crawling all over me every time he got a bit too close to either one of the girls because that’s how repulsed i was by his predatory behavior. to everyone but the girls’ mother, it was clear that charles enjoyed fetishizing asian women and their cuisine, but the mother was smitten to the point of oblivion.

aside from charles, ji-won’s friend geoffrey was another weirdo and i quickly got exasperated by his obvious desperation to be with ji-won all the time. similarly to charles, his knowledge of who ji-won was didn’t extend beyond her race and he proved this when he got her chopsticks for christmas. even though he did try to get to know her on a deeper level, it was clearly unsuccessful and he failed precisely because he tried too hard, e.g. wearing a shirt with some feminist quote on it so he would appear as one of the good guys who is aware of all the struggles women go through on a daily basis simply because of their gender. eventually, his insatiable urge to be ji-won’s best friend and jealousy when he realized he wasn’t the only one she hung out with prompted him to start stalking her. this was a step too far, especially because ji-won has been plagued by hallucinations since meeting charles and geoffrey’s stalking only added more stress to her already fragile state of mind, making her question her own sanity.

this is only the tip of the iceberg, though, because i firmly believe knowing as little about this book as possible will make it a more enjoyable reading experience. although the title and the cover are indicative of the direction the author took when writing this story, that’s still barely scratching the surface. there’s a variety of topics discussed in this that it’s impossible for me to touch upon every one in my review, but i truly enjoyed everything about this debut, even the parts that made me gag - i’m apparently more squirmish that i thought. this is undoubtedly among my favorite reads of the year and i’m excited to read more from this author!

An engrossing novel from start to finish, including a lively cast of characters. I highly recommend the book. I mean, sometimes I can find trouble holding my attention while reading books. But that wasn't the case here. I was clearly hooked from the first page. Ultimately, I look forward to reading future books by the author.

Unsettling and addicting! The Eyes are the Best Part starts out with a slower creeping build as we learn about the lives of JW and JH (lol), and their umma. I loved how flawed all these characters were, including the mother and father characters! I was both frustrated and sympathetic toward the mom and felt so bad for her making those precious little flowers but also wanted to shake her back to reality. Love a book that makes me feel so many things! The more unhinged Ji-won grows, the more compelling it gets!! Stayed up way too late reading the last act. 

Must read for horror fans!!!

In the beginning, we meet Ji-won, our MC, and it seems life has dealt her a not so great hand. Not only is her family poor, but her father has gone off to start a new family leaving Ji-won, her younger sister, and their mother feeling heartbroken, lost, and depressed. As life moves on and her mother brings a new boyfriend into the picture, Ji-won begins to unravel - having bizarre nightmares and disturbing cravings.

I honestly wasn't sure where this was going on the beginning! This was a long sloooow burn! But once the story picks up, it just takes off like a rocket! Great twists and an ending I definitely didn't see coming!