The Eyes Are the Best Part

De: Monika Kim

Narrado por: Jaine Ye

“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

* TIME MAGAZINE 100 MUST-READ BOOKS OF 2024 * BRAM STOKER AWARD FINALIST * SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD FINALIST *

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

Brilliant work

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

Weirdly interesting

Tightly woven story with a pleasant ring of a young intelligent Asian girl’s Power in getting her own justice done . However, the reader is left saddened with Jeffrey’s fate!

Phenomenal!!

Wow!! Just WOW! This was the unhinged I didn’t know I needed in life. Absolutely loved every second of this wild ride.

Gruesome, but thrilling

i tried not to read the synopsis before the book so I went in blind. This book is a wild ride. Be prepared for gruesome and gross. The charachters were dimensional and felt like people you might know. The narration was perfect, though I noticed some sounds (pressing record, maybe) that were distracting at times. I doubt I will ever read this again, but it was a thrilling ride.

All over the place but addictive

Wish the mother didn’t stay with him
That was making me mad but everything was all over the place but also very addictive. Always needed to know what happens next

I ate this book up.

Definitely on of my top reads this year 5 stars. Gruesome, loved the writing, the suspense and the turns.

Good body horror scenes!

Good story with a great build up. It was a bot underwhelming at the end.

Gripping

This book is pretty well written but I almost did not finish. The deception of the eye stuff made me feel sick to my stomach. Otherwise this is a great listen.

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).

Well written

It was a good story …well written but I really didn’t like the end. It Disappointed me