The Eyes Are the Best Part

4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars | 1,914 ratings

Price: 17.5

Last update: 12-22-2024


About this item

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 listeners mesmerized and craving more.


Top reviews from the United States

  • McKinley
    5.0 out of 5 stars excellent read
    Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2024
    This was a very interesting at times disturbing read. I felt like there were lots of good themes and excellent prose. I like the twist at the end and the vigilante aspect of it
  • babygirl
    4.0 out of 5 stars spookyyy
    Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2024
    This book keeps you on the edge of your seat, making you question what’s real until the first pivotal moment occurs. Initially, it may seem surreal, but most of the events are grounded in reality. I appreciated the protagonist's resilience as she stands up to those who attempt to harm her, from her mother’s new boyfriend’s inappropriate behavior to the stalker who poses a threat. The story skillfully explores themes of vulnerability and strength in the face of adversity, especially reflecting on the effects of her father's abandonment of her and her sister. I genuinely enjoyed this book and look forward to exploring more works by this author.
  • Amanda Fischer
    3.0 out of 5 stars not bad. wouldn’t read again
    Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2024
    It was decent and had a good story just wasn’t my cup of tea I guess but it was a quick read
  • Jasmine
    5.0 out of 5 stars Stunning
    Reviewed in the United States on December 5, 2024
    I love love loved this book! Absolutely stunning writing. Love when a woman goes insane and then acts accordingly. Such complex characters and themes, such a clear vision. It deals with racism and misogyny in such a fresh way that was so insightful. Big TW for gore and body horror but it’s SO well done. I still can’t eat grape tomatoes or popping boba even though I read this a few months back lol
  • under the radar dot com
    4.0 out of 5 stars Are they really?
    Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2024
    THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART
    Monika Kim

    I’ve got a horror stunner for you today. I read it in early summer, and it might have been the highlight of my trip.

    Let’s talk about it.

    Usually, a divorce means separating from the spouse and not the children but when Ji-won’s dad left his wife he left everyone else. And in his place, in his wake a hole formed so deep and so wide no one else could fill it. And in that hole things started to fall in and become part of the darkness and the vastness of it.

    Grief manifests in Ji-won as an obsession with the eyes. How they look, how they smell, the way they taste and feel between her teeth and going down her throat. Seeing everything they pass, somehow consuming all the while being consumed.

    THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART is about what it means when someone could so easily up and leave you. How it affects the way you see yourself. The more Ji-won starts to feel herself disappearing the more she becomes obsessed with being seen.

    THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART is the ultimate psychological horror book. Rarely do horror books come this polished with no confusion or meandering. It was straightforward and fantastic.

    Thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books | Erewhon Books for the advanced copy and the opportunity to provide feedback!

    THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART…⭐⭐⭐⭐
  • Ashlee
    5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE!
    Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2024
    I've been reading this as a late night read and boy was I not disipointed! You killed this Monika! Great read.
  • christie
    4.0 out of 5 stars Prepare To Be Disgusted
    Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2024
    This book is disgusting- in a good way. I couldn’t put it down, the story made me want to keep reading and find out “why” more and more. Characters were compelling and infuriating at the same time, much like real life. But be warned- for those that get queasy easily- don’t read on a full stomach.
  • Clarissa Pham
    5.0 out of 5 stars This thriller has such a relatable main character.
    Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2024
    Ji-won is a deeply flawed character whose responses to certain situations are at times vexing yet also understandable. She commits some truly heinous acts and yet I felt an empathy and understanding for her I don't often feel for characters.

    Maybe it's because I understand some of her rage and resentment towards men and in particular her father as well as George who reminds me a lot of my own father. When my mom was dying of cancer my dad was cheating on her with a wealthy woman. He slipped seamlessly from our family who he deeply hurt and traumatized throughout the years to another family where ended up getting everything he ever wanted, a 6 figure job from his business owner wife, living in a million dollar home, with an older stepson that hasn't been damaged by his years of abuse. He abandoned my teenage brother without a thought and me while we struggled to come to terms with our mothers death. Almost 8 years later my rage is still palpable.

    Ji-wons father abandons his wife and family so he can have a new one. It sends her into a deep psychosis and despair, as she and her sister and mother are left to pick up the pieces and move on.

    Like my mother, Ji-wons mother is weak and dependent on horrible, awful men who do nothing but mistreat and use women. She puts her daughters at risk when she starts dating George, a predatory white guy that's a relentless cheat who like my father would openly leer at and objectify women. Like my mother Ji-wons mother says nothing and never stands up for herself which further fuels her rage.

    Ji-wons anger and rage becomes an obsession. While I can't condone her actions I too feel a deep rage and resentment towards the men my mother put in my life and it makes her pain all too understandable. Having a mother do nothing in the face of such misogyny fueled my rage. How could she let this happen? How could she do nothing? How could she sacrifice my brother and I at the altar of her weakness?

    I shouldn't like Ji-won, whose actions are reprehensible and yet I feel I can relate to her and understand her more than any other character I've ever read.

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