Ji-won is Korean-American and this story's main character. Her mother barely speaks English but makes mouthwatering Korean dishes. During one such meal she offers Ji-won and her sister the eyeballs of the fish. While her sister refuses, Ji-won takes the risk. This releases a hunger inside Ji-won. A disgusting, barely satisfied hunger.

Kim's writing was captivating. Even in the slower parts of this story I was still dying to know what would happen. This is a dramatic, compelling thriller with a dark edge. Tension and pressure mounted steadily to the jaw dropping climax. An impressive and haunting debut.

3.5/5

This book started off strong, a family is torn apart, a mother who is unable to cope, a sister who is too young to deal with it and a main character who is stuck between it all on top of trying to keep afloat at school. The setup and the slow descent of Ji-won as the situation around her crumbles and her mother continues to make poor decisions felt so real. The anxiety I felt as things just kept getting worse and nobody was willing or able to do anything about it was so well done.

I think the book did a great job with the premise and slow descent, but it also began to lose itself a bit. There were too many dream sequences that didn’t really add much to the story, the subjects it touched were many and I wish it had just picked a few and focused more on them, and the ending felt far too rushed. I wished we spent more time exploring the ideas it presented and the characters.

Overall I think it was a good read, the descent into madness and anxiety was wonderfully done but it also needed a bit more to it in the end.

The Eyes Are The Best Part is full of food descriptions. Monika Kim delivers artful descriptions of Korean food from soy marinated soft tofu steamed egg, braised beef short ribs to all the variety of banchan, from how they look, taste and smell.

The food are not just for the stomach and tongue though; they are also memories of our protagonist, Jiwon. Which fish dish Jiwon's errant father had loved to what they had eaten the day he left his wife and two daughters for another woman.

You meet Jiwon in this part of her life. Her mother inconsolable, hurriedly slurping up fish eyes in hopes they bring her good luck, desperately wishing her husband back. Jiwon, the oldest daughter, witnesses her mother fall apart in the wake of her father's betrayal along with her sister. When Jiwon finally learns to eat fish eyes, her mother, in an effort to move on from her separated husband brings a white man in to their lives. A man whose yellow fever is incredibly clear to Jiwon. Soon after, Jiwon dreams of eating eyes—thick, blue, human eyes.

Kim's writing is arresting more than atmospheric; it doesn't evoke a memory but refuses to let you look away from the unfolding narrative, layered and emotional. You don't hear her telling you about what happened. You are there in Jiwon's head as she empties plate of food she has no heart to eat, not after what it signified.

Following Jiwon to her new university, she makes a friend, or more accurately, he forces his way into her life. Him and his desire to be smart, to be one of the good white men, to impress her with how much he cares about liberation, theory and what not buzzword that is currently trending in white liberal circles. Sounds familiar? This is one of Kim's strengths, to deliver critique without softening it or caricaturising it.

With pressure mounting from all sides of her life, Jiwon descends into her urges. The dream sequences used here were a tad overdone though. What was skin crawling at first turned repetitive at points. But overall, Jiwon's descent into becoming a serial killer was written very well.

Where Kim truly shines is her interweaving. From her insightful commentary on food, culture and heritage, the emotional weight of dealing with an father who left, to the social commentary on "nice guys", yellow fever, failure of white liberalism, there is never a moment it feels like a lesson. She's a deft hand at this.

It is an impressive debut and I will be looking out for more from the author. The Eyes are The Best Part is disturbing, horrifying yet appetizing and will leave you hungry for more.

I liked the tone of this story and the overall character of the narrator, Ji-Won. Her emotional detachment and tendency towards cold psychopathy was the kind of thing I love to read about, and you rarely find it in a young woman character. This was definitely a "Good for her" kind of story. I also liked the relationship between the two sisters, and the complicated dynamic between the sisters and their mother. There was definitely a weird factor to the story, also, with Ji-Won's obsession with eyes, and that was my favorite part of the whole thing. All that being said, some major suspension of disbelief is required throughout the book and I had a few other issues, also.

The action seemed very dragged out; there was a lot of build up to the third act and things got repetitive. Ji-Won talked a lot about what she was planning to do, and I found myself just wanting the narrative to pick up the pace. (I was thinking, "Get on with it!" after a while.) The author also made it apparent what was likely to happen with some of these characters, so knowing only made it more frustrating when I had to keep waiting. Geoffrey was so cringe and George was very gross. This was the point; they were written this way on purpose and quite realistically, almost to the point of being caricatures but not quite. There are indeed people exactly like them everywhere. It wasn't difficult to figure out what was going on and where the narrative was heading.

There was some awkward writing here and there, such as “I screw my eyes shut.” It wasn't prominent enough to mess up the book for me but it felt worth mentioning. Also, I am not opposed to using dream sequences in books and I actually like that as a device, but there were too many in this story. They became annoying after a while. And so many passages or chapters began as dream sequences that I couldn't tell whether or not this was supposed to be a real scene or a crazy dream that Ji-Won was having. It broke the trust between me and the author. Might be silly or dramatic to say, but I felt like I lost my footing in the story. A few of these sequences are fine, but they were constant in this book. If the character had been someone that relied on dreams to live her life somehow, for example, I might be a bit more forgiving. But that was not the case here.

Regarding the ending, I HAVE to bring up a few things: (view spoiler) (***NOT INCLUDING THIS PART ON NETGALLEY*** Spoiler is hidden behind a tag on Goodreads.)

I think this book could be so great after some editing. It feels like a very solid first draft that needs a bit of work, but there's a lot of potential. I realize this review sounds very critical, but I enjoyed the book for the most part. I give it 3.5 stars out of 5. It has some important things to say about Racism and how women are treated in society, and I liked the creep factor and the violence that went along with it. The story just needs to be tighter with a more believable ending. (But also, WTF do I know?) Ji-Won is a great character, also!

Thanks so much to Netgalley and to the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of this so early before publication!

TW: Racism, fetishization of Asian Women, stalking, cannibalism

Ji-won invites us to get to know grief, being an adult but still living with your family in the best and worst possible sense. It is true that it shows bitter and somewhat depressive moments, at least the latter gives it a more lyrical touch as opposed to giving us a mediocre life sermon complemented with a very adult but "familiar" humor. While her mother seeks to start a new stage of her life after the abandonment of her husband, the protagonist will see how little by little the fethiche and machismo to non-white women will pass from something daily to worse.
The chapters are short, giving more shapes to how the novel transforms into something much more twisted, bloody and with a lot of female rage in search of self-righteousness. In which gore, South Korean superstition, and the dynamics of Asian racism are key ingredients to the plot.
Undoubtedly one of the best authors I read at the end of the year, and I hope it will be better received because it has already earned a good space for contemporary literature, especially as it describes the bloody scenes with an anti-racist and social message.

I finished this book last night, and I needed to take a breath and wait before writing my review. Not because I wasn't sure what to think, but because I needed to calm down and collect my thoughts. It's been a long time since a book made me so excited that I had to finish it in less than two days! I absolutely loved everything about this. The relationship between the two sisters were really well written, and felt very real. The horror elements were perfect too. When I like a book too much I always seem to lose my ability to write an eloquent review, somehow. Anyways. If you, like me, love reading about female rage, then this book is for you. I am not usually an excitable person, or someone who expresses a lot of emotions while reading, but this book made me dance and giggle from excitement. Put it on your TBRs right now!

The Eyes Are the Best Part is a tension-filled and disturbing ride. If you enjoy a character going through a cathartic downward spiral, this book is for you!

When her father leaves her mother for another woman, Ji-won’s life is left in shambles. Her mother is inconsolable, until she meets the awful George. Ji-won fixates on his blue eyes as her life falls apart around her.

Ji-won was a wonderfully complicated main character, whom I couldn’t help but side with, even as she began spiralling. Kim did an incredible job of ensuring the reader felt for Ji-won throughout the entire novel. Additionally, the way she touches on race issues, particularly demonstrating how damaging the fetishisation of Asian women is, ensured the novel worked below the surface level. I especially loved the ending - it was perfect.

4/5 stars

This is a beautifully unhinged masterpiece. I devoured this book and immediately wanted to start all over again.
If you love a “good for her” spiral into madness this one’s for you, I was cheering our girl on while she got her revenge.
I feel like this debut by Monika Kim is going to be a top pick for 2024!! I know she will be an auto read for me going forward.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

WOW. I'm truly blown away by what Monika Kim has done with this book. It has such a movement and a tense atmosphere that's held from the very first scene to the very last. The unreliable narration and descent into madness was so well written, as well as the discussions of fetishization and racism. This book was genuinely harrowing and stomach turning to read at times, but overall there was such a profound sense of dread that stuck with me when I closed the book. I adored the ending, but wish to leave this review spoiler free so I will just applaud Kim for an amazing debut.

Arc provided by Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

i just love when a highly anticipated read actually doesn’t suck ! this is genuinely one of my favourite reads of the year, and by far my favourite horror book. first things first do NOT read this if you’re squeamish. some of these scenes genuinely made my stomach turn. the whole book has an unsettling atmosphere right from the first page, but Monika Kim’s ability to create and hold tension is amazing. the slow descent into madness and Ji-won losing her mind was so well done.
i want to keep this review spoiler free so all i’ll say is the ending is so satisfying and i support women’s wrongs

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the e-ARC! (Out June 25, 2024)

If you like stories of women on a downward spiral, The Eyes Are the Best Part is for you!

This novel was fast, punchy, and disturbing. I found Ji-won’s character to be a bit one-note, but following her internal monologue was a trip. I would’ve loved to see more interactions between her and her sister and Ji-won and Alexis. The Alexis plot line felt like it could’ve been fleshed out a bit more and I also wanted to see more of her!

The dream sequences were engrossing (and gross!) and added to the feeling of uncertainty between what was real and what wasn’t. The body horror elements were well-placed and not overused for shock factor - every scene was there for a reason.

I’ve met many Geoffreys and Georges over the years and I know I’ll continue to meet them. As a woman who grew up in a post-“stranger danger” and Law & Order world, hyper-vigilance, fear, and heightened awareness of my surroundings was engrained in me from a young age. I can really emphasize with Ji-won’s experiences, specifically with Geoffrey, in that respect and it felt validating to see experiences similar to my own on the page.

I can definitely see this book blowing up when it comes out next year!!

A compelling concept utterly let down by middling execution and an unsubtle hand with moral and political themes. Examination of one-note antagonists illustrating various racist and misogynist behaviours interrupted occasionally by dull and fairly elementary lectures on aforementioned racism, misogyny, leading to the inevitable question: who is going to pick this up who doesn't already know about these things?

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an ARC to review!

4 stars!

I'm currently living in Korea and JUMPED at the chance of reviewing this! I loved this. It was insane, deep, emotional, gross at parts. You're witnessing Ji-won literally go through everything from toxic friends, stalkish 'good guy' who swears he doesn't have yellow fever and know she's not like other girls, maybe losing a sense of reality?, a toxic home life due to a creepy man named George who starts dating her mom, he has a fetish for Asian women and openly talks about her and her sister to people when he thinks no one is listening. Everyone deserved everything in this and what a wild ride it was! if you hate eye stuff, then be prepared!

Interesting concept that had high potential but ultimately does not fully commit to its premise, instead relying on dream sequences to distract from the fact that not much else seems to actually be going on.

i wasn’t expecting such a short book to feel so very long. even with such quick chapters, the slow pacing had me setting it down constantly and not wanting to pick it back up. there were way too many dream sequences that failed to build suspense or curiosity and reading these parts got old fast.

This book was creepy and compelling from the first page to the last. Visceral in all the best ways. Excellent horror that I'll be telling others to read!

Both gross and engrossing. I love unhinged women in literature, and while the main character was a little more than morally gray, I couldn’t help but root for her and her family throughout the book. It was certainly a wild ride, and the author is really good at letting the reader feel Ji-Won’s rage increase. Overall a very powerful and enjoyable read.

WOW. In a word, this book was sharp (literally and figuratively), in the best way. It wasn’t particularly action-packed until the last 20% or so, yet it still was such a fast-paced and propulsive read that I finished it in a day. I expected it to be a thriller/mystery, but it was more of a deep-dive into someone’s unraveling psyche, executed so well and with such a strong sense of character.

This review was made possible via an ARC through NetGalley.

The Eyes by the Best Part by Monika Kim is a horror debut about a young Korean-American woman whose father leaves her mother and then her mother gets into a relationship with a white man who openly fetishizes Asian women.

I was excited about this book from the moment I learned about it. The premise is unique and creepy and deals with the societal issue of how Asian women are fetishized in our society, especially by white men while also drawing attention to how some men will pretend to be progressive or think that they are progressive only to still have a lot of issues to work out or be just as bad as the men who are not outwardly progressive.

Ji-won is messy, having destroyed her relationship with her friends before the novel starts, but is also struggling with isolation and loneliness on a college campus while her world continues to fall apart.

I read this book from start to finish in a day, unable to put it down. The pacing is on point and the story is a roller coaster from the opening line to the very last one and I did not want to get off.

Content warning for depictions of racism and sexism, cannibalism, and gore.

I would recommend this to all horror readers and to readers who are new to horror looking for an entry point to the genre.