Horror Book Review: The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim

 

They say eyes are the windows to the soul. Is that why eyes are considered the best part? 

You may change your views when you read Monika Kim’s new book THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART. 

Delve into the gory and unhinged with this novel that sits at the number one spot on the bestsellers list of U.S. Horror Fiction and Asian American Literature. 

The book, which was published on June 25th, has amassed positive reviews with the author being hailed as the new voice in horror. The author has also been praised for writing complex characters that have encountered trauma, and their subsequent reaction after that. 

Readers have found this book interesting, suspenseful, and hard-to-put-down. While the theme borders on the gruesome, readers find it to be tolerably disgusting. 

Of course, not everyone could stomach the graphic scenes and there are a few negative reviews about that as well. 

On the whole, critics and readers found that Monika Kim’s novel gave a good insight into Korean culture. 

Quick Book Review of THE EYES ARE THE BEST PART based on the sample

This is one of those books where I wish I wasn’t only reviewing the sample but the entire book. Very rarely do I find any novel that I want to dig into immediately. 

The Eyes Are The Best Part has a bizarre cover which is why I was hesitant to pick it up in the first place. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read a book about people feeding on other people’s eyes. 

I did expect it to get gory from the very beginning, and I was certain that I would be so put off by it that I would close the sample and continue my search into finding the next horror book for my post. 

But here I am, surprised and intrigued by what I have read. 

The sample consists of seven chapters and readies the outline of the plot. 

We meet a small family consisting of Umma, Ji-hyun, and her elder sister, our protagonist, Ji-won. 

The first scene shows Umma cutting into the fish and offering the eye to her daughters. Both are disgusted even as their mother tells them that the eyes are the best part and also considered to provide good luck if consumed. 

 

We then learn that their father, Appa, had left them more than two weeks ago after he got into an affair. Distraught, their mother began to foolishly await his return and ended up believing that if she consumed fish eyes, her husband would return. 

He doesn’t. 

Noticing her depressed state, one night Ji-won consumes a fish eye just to make her mother happy. Her mother is happy that her daughter has matured and hopes she is luckier than her when it comes to love. 

Days later, there is a keen discussion in an article regarding which race of men are more faithful. Umma doesn’t stop talking about it until Ji-won concedes and promises she will not date any Korean men and instead look for a White man. Ji-Hyun doesn’t commit to anything. 

As per the synopsis, Umma will find a white man that she brings into the house, and one that Ji-won knows is not a good person. He is condescending, and not worthy of being part of their family. 

This is when Ji-won begins fantasizing about eyes, blue eyes in particular, and becomes unhinged. 

The author writes a compelling story, and delicately takes the reader through it. I was just glad that the gory parts didn’t hit you from the very beginning. Instead, we see proper character development and develop sympathy for the family. 

Whether or not Ji-won’s actions are justified, remains to be seen because I did not glean much from the sample chapters except that the daughters have clearly much to deal with at home. 

To Read or Not to Read?

Monika Kim’s story throws us into a world of pain, anxiety, and trauma, and where it ultimately leads to. There is no sense of urgency to get to the gruesome parts, rather there is a build-up to why the characters are motivated to behave in this manner. 

I was obviously intrigued by the story enough to continue reading chapter after chapter, only to be disappointed when the sample ended. I would definitely consider reading the entire book, certain that I would enjoy every aspect of the story. 

You can get the book here

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