The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim Published by Erewhon Books on June 25, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Horror
Pages: 288
Format: Hardcover
Source: Purchased
Goodreads
Amazon | Audible | B&N | Kobo | Libro.fm
“Violent, smart, gruesome and wildly original, this novel pulls readers into a horrific world of murder and cannibalism while also critiquing misogyny, exploring Asian fetishization and stereotypes, sharing what it’s like to navigate two cultures and telling a touching story of a family in turmoil.” —New York Times Book Review
A TIME MAGAZINE 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024
Crying in H-Mart meets My Sister, the Serial Killer in this feminist psychological horror about the making of a female serial killer from a Korean-American perspective.
Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her Appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying . . . yet enticing.
In them, Ji-won walks through bloody rooms full of eyes. Succulent blue eyes. Salivatingly blue eyes. Eyes the same shape and shade as George’s, who is Umma’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George has already overstayed his welcome in her family’s claustrophobic apartment. He brags about his puffed-up consulting job, ogles Asian waitresses while dining out, and acts condescending toward Ji-won and her sister as if he deserves all of Umma’s fawning adoration. No, George doesn’t deserve anything from her family. Ji-won will make sure of that.
For no matter how many victims accumulate around her campus or how many people she must deceive and manipulate, Ji-won’s hunger and her rage deserve to be sated.
A brilliantly inventive, subversive novel about a young woman unraveling, Monika Kim’s The Eyes Are the Best Part is a story of a family falling apart and trying to find their way back to each other, marking a bold new voice in horror that will leave readers mesmerized and craving more.
This was very good! I am not going to lie: I initially picked this book up for the cover. It is a pretty awesome cover. When I first started reading, I wondered if the assumptions that I had made were wrong since it didn’t feel like a horror novel. Eventually, the family drama gave way to the story’s more horrific elements, and I had a great time reading as everything came together.
Ji-won is a young college student living with her mother and younger sister after her father left them to live with another woman. Her mother soon falls for a man she met at work, George. George seems to have a thing for Asian women but doesn’t seem to respect her mother or Ji-won and her sister. Ji-won suspects George is hiding something even while she can’t stop thinking of his blue eyes. Ji-won is struggling academically at school but has made some friends. She just can’t stop thinking about those eyes.
I would recommend this book to others. Watching Ji-won’s life start to unravel as her family life fell apart and she dealt with unspeakable urges kept me glued to the pages. I wanted to see things work out for Ji-won even when her actions crossed the line. I plan to keep my eye out for more books by this talented debut author.
That cover kind of creeps me out. I don’t think this is one for me, but I’m glad you enjoyed it. 😀
That sounds interesting.
Totally icky cover though
That cover definitely grabbed my attention though I’m not sure I would have had the same response that you did! I’m glad you enjoyed this one and it sounds like a good one!
Sold! Adding to my TBR.