Reviews with content warning for Vomit - The Eyes Are the Best Part

Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim

70 reviews

eftucker11's review against another edition

3.0

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

tales_told_in_gold's review against another edition

4.25

dark emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Who would’ve thought I’d ever root for a cannibal? Not me!

The way this novel made me feel like such a fly on the wall, staring at the lives of Ji-won and her mother and sister as they struggled to deal with the loss of their husband / father through sudden abandonment. Even the seemingly dull aspects of their living were made fascinating by the constant tension underlying their interactions with one another.

This is more than just a story of a young woman with a sick hunger for eyeballs.. it’s a look into generational trauma and grief through the Korean-American perspective. It’s about learning how to combat against oppression from white supremacy. It’s about someone losing their mind to the downsides of life, despite being the cause of some.

Now admittedly there are some plot holes throughout, especially in the ending, but if you’re willing to suspend disbelief then “eye” gotta say.. you’ll love this revengeful tale!

Content Warnings

amaranth_wytch's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Content Warnings

callme_tippy's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book was disgusting in all the best ways.

I enjoy books with unhinged women so I had high hopes for this one and it did not disappoint.

This was a light exploration of misogyny, anger, hatred, responsibility, and family dynamics.

Does this book have some cliches that I normally roll my eyes at? Yes.
Is it the most amazing writing ever? No.
Did I still every second of this weird ride? Absolutely!

Would recommend!

Content Warnings

metanav's review against another edition

3.5

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

interesting enough book on feminine rage, specifically exacerbated by her experiences as an asian american woman suffering from very real things that i've experienced as a feminine asian american person myself. at times felt a little too on the nose, but that could've been purposeful, with the focus to be more on ji-won's spiral. overall i liked ji-won more than i didn't, but i didn't love her either.

multiple aspects of the story (ex: failed/sabotaged high school friendships) served a specific purpose but it didn't fully carry it out and as a result felt out of place. unless i'm misremembering as i did read this part at like 1am,

even the event itself felt almost OOC to me? her hiding her friend's ring to try to sabotage the friendship just over jealousy of not getting into the school? it would've been one thing if their friendship was set up to be tumultuous to begin with, but the fact that it was established to be completely cordial up until that point made everything feel off kilter.

even w/ some brushed over history and the events throughout the story, the buildup of everything ji-won was going through felt very sudden and abrupt despite attempts to build it up. the

cancer reveal

was a definitely an eye roll, and the end of the book overall left me dissatisfied.

wish there was more on ji-won and alexis's relationship though! and umma's character definitely plucked at my heartstrings, even though she is completely different from my own mother, just remembering her own personal struggles as a poor refugee definitely made me emotional over her both her parents' struggles.

Content Warnings