The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim
Thank you to Net Galley and Erewhon Books for allowing me
the opportunity to preview Monika Kim’s exciting and disturbing thriller The Eyes are the Best Part. I was instantly drawn to the title and cover
art for this book, and reading the description as feminist horror further
piqued my interest. Although this isn’t necessarily the kind of traditional
horror, it is a psychological horror story told through the experiences (or
eyes) of Ji-won, a first year college student. Kim creates a relatable yet
complex character through Ji-won. I found her to be someone with whom I could
empathize and sympathize, as she goes through the trauma of her father
abandoning the family while also experiencing micro-aggressions and
stereotyping. As a first-generation Korean American college student, Ji-Won
must not only navigate the challenges of adapting to college, but also in
emotionally supporting her mother and sister through this difficult time.
Ji-won experiences further challenges when her mother meets George, a
middle-aged white man, who eventually reveals himself as someone who
objectifies Asian women. Kim’s characterization of him was creative and
detailed, as told through Ji-won’s observations about George’s choice of
restaurants or his ogling of waitresses. To further emphasize his lack of
cultural competency, George resorts to creating nicknames for Ji-won and
Ji-hyun, Ji-won’s sister, since he cannot accurately pronounce their names.
Beyond taking their mother away, George also introduces his blue eyes, which
begin to haunt Ji-won and tear at her sense of reality. We experience Ji-won’s
nightmares as they happen, unsure if she is dreaming or not. Kim’s descriptions
are both unnerving and creative, and I found these parts disturbing, but in a
meaningful way. George’s intrusion into the family and imposing his beliefs and
ideals on the family has further disrupted Ji-won and Ji-hyun. While sharing a
seafood meal with the family, Ji-won is reminded that her mother always said
eating the eyes brings good luck—hence, the eyes are the best part. This
eventually sends Ji-won on a quest for the blue eyes that haunt her in sleep
and eventually in wakefulness. She grows her plans to take George’s eyes
further and further, watching him as he sleeps and imagining how they might
taste. As her fascination with eating blue eyes grows, Ji-won is also dealing
with some friends from her classes and trying to obtain better grades to get off
probation. The family stress greatly affected her during her first semester,
and she struggled to successfully complete her first semester. We also learn
that she lost some of her high school friends due to some self-sabotage. This
part made me question Ji-won’s motivations, since she was angry or jealous of
her friends for getting into Berkeley. It seemed like she resented them for
their status and advantage, and she did things to sabotage them. This incident
and the later meeting with these former friends during winter break provides us
with a different side of Ji-won, one who seems slightly vindictive, but also
someone who is somewhat powerless and seeks to go behind the backs of others to
make herself feel better. I wasn’t sure if this part provided more motivation
for Ji-won’s later actions, seeking out blue eyes, and that she is somewhat
self-destructive. However, I also think it helped to emphasize the fact that
Ji-won was someone who was also somewhat bound to expectations and stereotypes
and that taking action secretively against her friends showed how she sought to
empower herself, but that she couldn’t necessarily do it in the light. It was a
little surprising, but it also added to Ji-won’s complexity. As Ji-won’s mother
falls more in love with George and Ji-won deals with Geoffrey, a boy from class
whose ingratiating personality wore thin and eventually becomes obsessed with
Ji-won. It’s interesting that both white men in the novel have similar names
and kind of represent opposite ends of the kinds of aggressions that Asian
women face. However, Ji-won gradually abandons Geoffrey, tiring of his
incessant messages and his micro-aggressions, like giving her chopsticks for a
present. I found both Geoffrey and George to be really annoying but done so in
an over-the-top manner that also kept me reading to see what Ji-won would
eventually do to them. While she eventually gets revenge on Geoffrey, it’s the
games that she begins to play on George that are vindictive and entertaining.
Ji-won eventually begins to experiment with eye-eating, finding victims around
the college. Kim’s descriptions of eating the eyeballs are some of the best
writing in the book. Pretty graphic and gross, but also incredibly detailed and
appealing to different senses (tasting like iron, popping, gelatinous).
Ji-won’s eye eating also transforms her, and I found this part of the book to
be somewhat like Crime and Punishment, where we experience the paranoia of
someone who knows they did wrong, but still feels justified in their actions.
Ji-won’s crimes gradually empower her and give her more confidence to take
action against George, with the hope of driving him away from their mother.
Kim’s writing is propulsive and the short chapters kept me reading to find out
what would happen next. I also really loved the use of chopsticks to mark the
chapter breaks. Very creative and unique. Although the book was exciting and
disturbing, the ending happens a little suddenly and was a slight let-down. In
some ways, this book reminded me of some other books about racial identity and
transformations—both Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang and White Ivy by Susie
Yang. Both characters in these books experienced a kind of lack of acceptance
by the dominant culture and felt the need to change their identities, to become
more white and change their ideals and values as well. They pay the costs, yet
Ji-won is somewhat different. While it seems like family and racial trauma
eventually pressure her into destructive behavior, she is able to plan out a
way to escape and place blame on those who have wronged her. I think this also
kind of positions Ji-won as a powerful character and an empowered character who
is eventually able to use the stereotypes and expectations against those who
try to pin her down. Although I couldn’t put this book down, I think that some
people might struggle with the racism, objectification, and graphic violence in
the book. It’s not gratuitous; Kim does show how the daily racism and
aggressions can take their toll, but she also creates a character who seeks to
subvert that trauma and pain and use it to right the wrongs she faced. Highly
recommended and important book to read.
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