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.