The Eyes Are the Best Part

By: Monika Kim

Narrated by: Jaine Ye

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.

©2024 Monika Kim (P)2024 Recorded Books

slow burn, but well worth it

Many times throughout the story I almost DNF. It's a very slow burn, with a lot of exposition. But hanging in there til the end is worth it. The end ramps up in the short last chapters, wrapping (almost) everything up. Definitely worth a listen if you're wondering what to spend your monthly credit(s) on. Though there are a few other titles more worthy of a listen (Maeve Fly comes to mind).

There is, at the time of my writing/listening, a lot of hype about this being scary and graphic, but I feel it may be over hyped in some cases. Nevertheless, it's worth a pick up / listen.

Brilliant work

I enjoyed the story and the narration was pleasant. I increased the speed due to personal preference, but this was nicely done.

The story gave me a very squeezey feeling.

I like the characterization of the main character (specifically her fall to darkness) but I dislike how the story (vocals) sometimes "jumped" or "skipped" (this is probably an issue with the recording).

Squishy eyes

Overall a solid read/listen. I honestly never felt bored listening to the narrator. I enjoyed the development of the characters and how creepy everything was.

Sensational

One of the best books I’ve listened to in years. There isn’t anything else out there like this and I couldn’t stop listening. Truly a masterpiece!

Solid 4 stars

Did anyone else hear slurping throughout the book? Anyway this was a slow build but I liked it.

best twist ending

normally i dont like the way the twist at the end is done, but i still found myself saying “good for her” at the end.

the perfect crime

I loved how everything lined up in a way that I did not see coming! I think I'm rooting for a villain, but am I really?The Eyes Are the Best Part feels like a front row seat to karma. Just a side note, the clicking in the narration was a little distracting. Overall fantastic listen.

The Eyes are the Best Part

A good listen. The story of a young girl going slowly mad, then cascading into full blown insanity; and the menu…the menu…

A decent first novel, but could be better.

I just would like to say this was a decent good first start, but it just wasn’t good enough to be a five for me.
I think a little more description about the main characters college and also her relationship with her friends would’ve made the story better Her friend Alexis, should have had more description about her life as well