Different and Enjoyable

I've been eagerly anticipating reading The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim for months. Life, unfortunately, got in the way, causing me to put this book on hold. Recently, I've had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the horror genre, but I am thrilled to say that this novel firmly belongs on my positive list. I would have been truly disappointed if I hadn’t enjoyed it, given how much I was looking forward to it.
Although The Eyes Are the Best Part is primarily marketed as horror, the first half of the novel feels more like a brutally candid character study with a touch of the macabre. The marketing materials mention Michelle Zauner's Crying in H-Mart, which is an apt comparison for this portion of the narrative. The character development and emotional depth in the beginning chapters are reminiscent of Zauner's work, offering a poignant and engaging read.
As the story progresses, the horror elements intensify dramatically. The second half of the book is filled with nightmare-inducing visuals that significantly ramp up the tension and fear factor. One particular scene involving an eyeball left a lasting impression on me, and I doubt I will ever see an eyeball the same way again.
My one critique lies in the novel's conclusion. It felt as though the author ran out of steam, with various plot details being resolved too conveniently and too quickly. I would have preferred a more thorough depiction of the suggested outcomes rather than the open-ended closing that was provided.
Despite this slight premature ending, The Eyes Are the Best Part was worth every late-night minute I spent reading it. I do, however, advise against reading it after midnight as I did. We live, we learn, and we continue reading.
In summary, Monika Kim's The Eyes Are the Best Part is a compelling blend of character study and horror that ultimately delivers a haunting and memorable experience.

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim is an eye-opening crazy serial killer/psychological horror debut. I will say more people need to read this book for the discussions, I hated the main character but she goes to a level of crazy that at the end I kind of liked. It is a kind of feminist where most of the men are sexist, and the killer hunts, but not all of them. This novel reminded me of the lead characters in Death Note and the movie Nightcrawlers. Where both characters went off the deep end and at the end of the day are psychopathic, but you're kind of rooting for them just to pull it off. The novel portrays the second-generation Korean family very well. It nails how the mother is all about family but a man kind of trumps that, and they're so demure that they never have the what do you think of this man I'm seeing talk. Most of the men in this story are trash the way they fantasize about Asian women and treat women in general. The characters are well written I've known a few of the men and women described in the book. The pace for this story is super fast as it is a fairly short book. The horror aspect is told in dreams mainly you will question reality as the main character does. The horror is about what one character fears to do, but I was still horrified when they do what they fear. The cover is an eyeball in chopstick and there's a lot of eyeball eating and everyone is gross even when they are on fish. The ending is the best part as a character really breaks bad, and pulls off a fantastic ending. I read The Eyes Are the Best Part thanks to Netgalley and Erewhon Books giving me a copy in exchange for a review. Eyes Are the Best Part was published on June 25, 2024.

Plot Summary: Ji-won is a second-generation Korean American, she is in her first semester at school she has no friends as her friends from High School all went to Berkley. She befriends Geoffrey who has a crush on her but is harmless. Her father has recently left her mother, Ji-won, and her sister alone. Her mother falls into a deep depression until she meets George a very rude entitled American that her mother is infatuated with. but Ji-won notices the roving eyes that her mother can not see. It upends her life when her mother lets him move in and she feels his blue eyes upon her that she just wants to rip out of his head and devour. Ji-won has recently tried fish eyes and is obsessed she keeps dreaming of human eyes.

What I Liked: The characters both Ji-won and George I kind of loved hating them. The ending was crazy and psychopathic but also great. It will stick with me, with how far it goes and what is next. I liked the Korean family scenes before George took over. I did enjoy the sisterly bonding, there were a lot of great moments. What Ji-won did to her friend that went to Berkley without her, and proved she was always crazy. I liked that in this story Ji-won sees herself as the protector, even though she is crazy. The cover is one of the main reasons I selected the book, it is one of the best most eye-catching (see what I did there) covers of this year.

What I Disliked: The detail and texture of the eyeball eating I could have gone without, maybe the first two and the last one but not 5. How sloppy the murders were and Ji-won even bringing up my DNA is everywhere and for it to go on for so long. I wanted to see Ji-won's lesbianism get explored more, and her mother's reaction to it. Ji-won was hard to connect with I liked the mom more, it was not until she turned crazy I was okay I didn't have to like this person but I wanted to see what they were going to do next.

Recommendation: Eyes Are the Best Part is a story about a character I did not like but need to know every crazy thing she does. I fully recommend you the audience to read and discuss, This book goes there and back. Ji-won reminds me of Misty from Yellowjackets just not as sweet and innocent. I have recommended one other book where I could not stand the main characters and that is Baby Teeth for the same reason as this book I wanted to see how far it was going to go. Trigger warnings are eye gouging and eating in too much detail. This is a pretty fantastic debut for Monika Kim that is sure to divide some, but I enjoyed it.

Rating: I rated Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim 4.2 out of 5. This book might make my Top ten books published this year it is out there but memorable.

I loved this book. The story opens with college student Ji-won’s family in crisis mode. Her dad leaves, and things go down hill fast when her mom begins dating a gross white guy who fetishizes Asian women. Ji-won’s rage builds and flairs as the story progresses…she developes a unique craving. This horror story is tightly plotted. It is about love and rage and a young woman who will do anything to protect her mother and sister…and sate her hunger. Five stars.

We all know the age old saying "Don't judge a book by its cover" but this cover is awesome! The story is just as great! It's creepy and unique. The writing draws you in and doesn't let go until the end. I thoroughly enjoyed this and it's one of the best books I've read this year! I HIGHLY recommend this! Special Thank You to Monika Kim, Kensington Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

*The Eyes Are the Best Part* by Monika Kim is a provocative and bold entry into the feminist psychological horror genre, blending elements of violence, cannibalism, and cultural critique with a gripping narrative.

The story follows Ji-won, whose life is in turmoil after her father’s infidelity and departure. Her personal disarray is compounded by her mother's distress, her sister's confusion, and her own academic struggles. Ji-won's nightmares are both disturbing and compelling, filled with visions of bloody rooms and eyes that mirror the obnoxious gaze of George, her mother's new boyfriend. George’s intrusive presence and prejudiced behavior become the catalyst for Ji-won's descent into a darker, more violent world.

Kim’s novel excels in its subversive and original approach, combining horror with social commentary. The portrayal of Ji-won's transformation into a serial killer serves as a chilling metaphor for her rage and dissatisfaction with her fractured family and societal expectations. The integration of themes like misogyny, Asian fetishization, and cultural identity adds layers of depth to the narrative, making it both a disturbing and thought-provoking read.

However, while the novel’s inventive premise and thematic ambition are commendable, the execution sometimes struggles with pacing and character development. Ji-won’s transition from a troubled young woman to a ruthless killer is both intriguing and unsettling, but at times her motivations and the impact of her actions on those around her feel underexplored. The graphic content, while effective in creating a sense of horror, occasionally overshadows the emotional and psychological dimensions of the story.

The novel’s critique of cultural and gender issues is sharp and relevant, providing a fresh perspective within the horror genre. Yet, the intense focus on violence and the grotesque may not resonate with all readers, particularly those seeking a more balanced blend of horror and psychological insight.

In summary, *The Eyes Are the Best Part* is a daring and inventive novel that pushes boundaries and offers a unique narrative voice in horror. Monika Kim’s exploration of a young woman’s unraveling amid personal and cultural crises is both bold and unsettling. While it succeeds in its original approach and thematic critique, it may leave some readers grappling with its intense and often graphic content. It’s a compelling read for those interested in feminist horror and cultural commentary, but it may not appeal to everyone.

This was so amazing and written in such visceral detail. Some parts had me gagging. The descriptions of Ji-won chewing the eyes 🤮. And it ended perfectly.

I was wondering if this book was going to lean into the horror genre at any point, and then the 40% mark happened. If you want to squirm in your own skin with body horror gags, you need to read this. The ending was also 10/10. This is one of my most surprising wins of the year! So creative and propulsive and deliciously repulsive.

I will be reviewing this one in full on the Book Talk Etc. podcast for the episode airing on August 13 - be sure to listen!

I was actually a tad disappointed with the amount of cannibalism in this book. I went in with the mind set of YEAH LET'S EAT SOME PEOPLE!!!!
And I did get some cannibalism- but I just wanted more.
I liked Ji-won as a character but I felt a little disconnected with her? The emotion and thoughts just weren't there on the page for me. I thought that since we were in similar situations I'd be able to understand the stress she was feeling, but I didn't. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I have always wondered what an eye ball would taste like though, and now I know.
Overall, I liked this. I won't be raving about it, it wasn't terrible. I did like how it all came together at the end though. That left me feeling a bit triumphant and had that DUN-DUN!!!!! feel to it.

Like a lot of people I was drawn in by the cover.

Ji Won's life at home is falling apart. Her Umma becomes fixated on eating eyeballs until she meets George, a very cookie cutter racist white man. At first Ji Won is disgusted by the eyeballs but gradually she becomes more fixated on eating them.

Most of the horror elements occur during Ji Won's dreams. It's too much of a cheap cop out to imply "it was all a dream".

This definitely left me feeling disgusted and uneasy at times but not scared.

Thanks to Netgalley for the eARC.

This book is a gripping read about Ji-won, a young woman whose obsession with blue eyeballs leads her down a dark path. The details of her descent into madness are well-written and intense.

It’s a shorter thriller that dives into Korean culture and the struggles of a family dealing with a father's departure to start a new life with a younger woman. This family drama seems to spark Ji-won’s unraveling, which builds up steadily through the story.

While it does include some gore, it's compelling and hard to put down with its short, addictive chapters. As Kim’s debut novel, it's quite impressive. The ending leaves some questions unanswered, making me eager to see what comes next, possibly a follow-up to this story.

This was one of my favorite books of all time! I really enjoyed how it balanced the horror aspects and the culture and the way that she is treated because of who she is. My favorite type of book is a woman’s revenge story, and boy was this a total revenge story!!! The descriptions for some scenes were so sick & disgusting, I loved it!!!!

This was a fun read. I came for the eyeballs, eyeballs I received. I felt like this was more literary horror/ YA than I was expecting. I really loved the parts that highlighted white males fetishizing Asian women. I loved the critical and blunt dialogue and witty lines regarding this. I also really loved the explanations of Asian American generational trauma and family dynamics. Also, the mother/father daughter and sister relationships. I liked the way the author wrapped up the story and she didn’t fill in parts just to give the book longevity. It was interesting the whole way through. The ending was unexpected and perfect in my opinion. I really enjoyed this book. I got the hard copy and the cover is SO good.

I really wasnt a fan of this book. It was slow and hard to get into. I felt like I kept waiting for something to happen. This would be good for fans of Maeve Fly(which I also didn’t really care for).

THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART by @monikakimauthor is a diabolically delicious horror book. Thank you to the author, @netgalley, and the publisher @erewhonbooks for the e-ARC.

🔥🔥🔥

Ji-Wun is an 18 year old Korean-American college student whose father has recently left their family. She and her sister Ji-Hyun try to console their mother after his departure and pick up the pieces of their lives together. Until their mom meets a white man named George. Ji-Wun and her sister are uncomfortable and unhappy with George's presence, especially since he can't even bother to say their real names calling them JW and JH. As her schoolwork increases and tensions at home escalate, she becomes increasingly obsessed with how blue eyes, like George's, might taste...

🧿🧿🧿

This is one of my new favorite coming of age horror books. Kim captures the emotional roller coaster that is young adulthood mixed with complex family, cultural and societal obstacles to create a firestorm of rage in her young character. Give me this kind of book any day of the week! Every character in this book was both relatable and cringey at times making them feel that much more real.

I highly recommend this book if you:

🔥Can or want to identify with bubbling young female rage
🧿Like coming of age horror
🔥Aren't squeamish
🧿Also don't like to take no shit
🔥Enjoy a pressure cooker of a book

This one just came out a few weeks ago so you can read it NOW!! I received this in my subscription to @nightworms and am so freaking happy!!😍

While I did not have a problem reading this one, I am totally weirded out by anything touching my eyes. Like the optometrist and ophthalmologist can give me some serious anxiety. I think that is pretty normal, but you tell me - do you get weirded out when something is near your eyes even if for medical purposes?

💚SMASHBOT💚

"The Eyes Are the Best Part" wasn't really for me - I made it about a third of the way through before I started skimming the book to get through it.

Jiwon's father has left her mother, who, in her fifties, finds herself infatuated with a new boyfriend. Jiwon, feeling the stress of living at home with her little sister, her mother, and her mother's boyfriend, also has to tack on the pressure of slowly failing her way through college and being pretty friendless, having sabotaged her high school friendships. In the midst of this, Jiwon starts to get an interesting appetite for.... eyeballs (I mean, it's in the title of the book).

This book tackles Yellow Fever - the colloqial term for when a Caucasian man is only interested in dating Asian women because of the stereotypical portrayal of Asian women in media - in a very "hit you over the head with a big stick" kind of way. There's no subtlety and no nuance - Jiwon is eventually pursued by a white classmate, who becomes stalker-y and obsessive and has no other interactions or friendships with white people. There's no redeeming qualities about George, her mother's boyfriend, and no depth to him either - or any other character for this matter. I can see this book being shelved as a "satirical horror" except it isn't subtle enough to be satire.

Also, what's up with the brain cancer plot point that's briefly mentioned and immediately dropped at the very end of the book? Was that supposed to be relevant to any other point in the story?

While this had all the right ingredients for my horror loving heart to adore, I think the execution just wasn’t there. Ji Won’s tone of voice led to an air of boredom that I think was supposed to come off as disassociation to her life, but it didn’t read that way. The disaffection turned into boredom for me with the plot, and I never felt connected to any of the side characters. I finished it, and I don’t necessarily regret that, but I feel like this one could have used some more editing.

The cover alone intrigued me, so I started reading this book without knowing what it was about. As the story unfolded, I realized it was about a female serial killer, her family dynamics, and her transformation from a normal girl to a murderer. The narrative became increasingly eerie and triggering, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I tried to guess the ending: would she be caught or not?

While I enjoyed the suspenseful plot, the ending felt average to me. It was left open-ended, which didn't completely satisfy me but didn't ruin the story either. Overall, I found the suspense to be great.

🚩Trigger warnings:
Cannibalism
Stalking
Sexism
Racism
If any of these topics trigger you, please avoid this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and Erewhon Books for an arc of this novel!

I have a morbid fascination with cannibalism and its utilization in creative works, so you can imagine my excitement when I first caught wind of Monika Kim's <i>The Eyes Are the Best Part</i>. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this.

This feminist psychological horror novel deals with misogyny, the fetishization of Asian women, navigating two cultures, and it does so through familial bonds, cannibalism, and murder.

The use of cannibalism is interesting: Ji-won's world has abruptly changed in the wake of her Appa's infidelity and subsequent departure. Her family is falling apart, and so is everything else. When Umma suddenly introduces her new boyfriend George to her daughters, Ji-won's already tumultuous life takes a gradual turn towards the worse. And in the midst of this, she develops an all-consuming obsession with eyes - blue eyes, in particular. The novel's themes and the obsession with consuming eyes is very intriguing.

<b>So why did I DNF at 73%?</b>

For me, what really disrupts my enjoyment of the novel is the writing. I'm not a huge fan of first person, and even less when it's in the present tense. I find that stories told in this perspective often have a "and now I'm doing this, and now I'm doing that..." quality, which ultimately disrupts the storytelling and plot progression as well.

While I found many aspects of the novel interesting, especially Ji-won's relationships outside her family, I found myself procrastinating every planned reading session and I have spent nearly 2 months trying to finish this fairly short novel. I finally decided to DNF after a week of seriously thinking about it.

This novel was unfortunately not for me, but I think it can bring insight, enjoyment, and perhaps catharsis to many readers. It certainly delivers regarding the ingestion and chewing of piercing blue eyes.

The descent into madness and Ji-won's obsession with eyeballs is a gripping read. The detail in her thoughts and actions are well written. All of the men in this book absolutely suck. While it was a fun read there are many plot holes that can be a bit annoying in parts.

Would recommend.

Fantastic. Ji-won is a college student living at home with her teenaged sister and their mother, who has recently been abandoned by their father. Their mother begins dating a man named George—he’s white, and has a proclivity for Asian women. As things develops, Jo-won finds herself fixating on his blue eyes—then dreaming about eyes, and thinking about eating eyes…This one was REALLY good. It built and built, perfectly layering on itself. Themes around misogyny and fetishization are portrayed in ways that felt both very real to life and also over-the-top horrifying. I will absolutely be reading more from Monika Kim and highly recommend this one for anyone who likes morally gray characters and horror with important social themes—plus a really satisfying ending.