An unsettling and brilliantly subversive feminist psychological horror that lingers long after the final page.
Monika Kim’s *The Eyes Are the Best Part* follows Ji-Won, a Korean American college freshman struggling to hold her fractured family together after her father’s affair. As her grades plummet and her younger sister reels from emotional trauma, Ji-Won retreats into a nightmarish inner world—where she dreams of blood-soaked rooms and is obsessively drawn to blue eyes.
Her descent intensifies when George, her mother’s new white boyfriend, enters the picture. A self-proclaimed consultant with a condescending grasp of Korean culture and a habit of leering at waitresses, George becomes the focal point of Ji-Won’s growing obsession. His striking blue eyes mirror those in her dreams—and soon, they become the object of a disturbing fixation that blurs the line between protection and possession.
What begins as a darkly comedic family drama spirals into a chilling exploration of mental deterioration, cultural alienation, and the violence of the male gaze. Kim’s prose is sharp, sardonic, and unflinching, with dialogue that cuts through the absurdity of familial dysfunction and societal pretense.
The novel’s power lies in its grotesque metaphor: the literal and symbolic act of consuming eyes becomes a metaphor for desire, control, and the consumption of identity. It’s a story that forces readers to confront how gaze, power, and trauma intertwine—especially in the context of immigrant families and gendered expectations.
The book’s cover, designed by Mel Four, is a visual masterpiece—its haunting imagery perfectly captures the central obsession and the psychological tension at play.
For fans of *My Sister, the Serial Killer* and *Boys Don’t Cry*, *The Eyes Are the Best Part* is a bold, original, and deeply unsettling read. It’s a book that redefines what horror can be—intimate, psychological, and devastatingly smart.
BookaliciousMY is an indie bookstore based in Subang Jaya, established in 2010, dedicated to amplifying Asian voices in literature.
