Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay, that was such a well-written and powerfully moving story, packaged in just the most disturbingly horrific way
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I keep asking myself if I simply had the wrong expectations for this.
This book was marketed as literary fiction, being discussed for example as weird girl fiction in the tradition of Moshfegh, or "good for her" fiction and social commentary/feminist horror in one of the more serious literature podcasts I know. But let's not kid ourselves - it's definitely genre fiction, this is a pure horror novel. I was surprised at the simplistic writing style, formulaic plot development and obvious plot-over-characters priorities in this book. These things are fine if that's what you like! I, personally, like horror aspects to be PART of smart litfic, like in Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under the Sea or Mona Awad's Rouge, most recently. I picked up The Eyes are the Best Part for some dread and, more importantly, some intellectual bite.
What I got instead was: "Hello, I am a character. Here is my entire worldview and here are my feelings and thoughts, spoken aloud in the most on-the-nose way possible so you, dear reader, won't miss a thing." No subtlety. No need for interpretation, analysis, or even mild curiosity - you’ll get The Point delivered on every third page. The book tries to be a feminist, anti-racist critique, and it sometimes succeeds (mostly when it's coming from a sharp satire-y angle), but not really in ways that feel fresh or surprising. The main villain here, Ji-Won's mother's new partner George, is SO cartoonishly racist, creepy and disgusting that you feel like you're just going along with the motions thinking "well yeah, he deserves bad things to happen to him I guess, but he also doesn't even feel like a person to me, so I'm not feeling a damn thing, certainly no complexity".
Some of the secondary characters are complete clichés and devoid of any more layered character traits. The new best friend is literally a perfect angel. The one-sided love interest (from his side, I mean) is a performative male feminist, complete with dropping the names of TED talks and books he's proud of having consumed. The mom's new partner is, as I said, literally atrocious with absolutely no redeeming qualities. I mean... Sure, what the hell. If that's the kind of book you're seeking. It wasn't what I was seeking, and wasn't what this was marketed as.
Credit where it’s due: the actual gorey horror scenes were pretty fantastic. Ironically, those parts (the "genre" stuff) felt the most literary, vivid and alive? The writing suddenly grew teeth and had some real atmosphere, good details and genuinely icky moments. I wish Kim had put more work into the social-issue related "deeper" aspects, and ALSO gone all in on being explicit and creative with the scares the way she did. I would have appreciated this book a lot more. :/
So yes, for me, it was a disappointingly simple book that probably wanted to be more complex. But if you’re in the mood for a quick, straightforward horror read with some crystal clear social messages that aren't saying anything new or complex, and a few strong, creepy set pieces, it might hit the spot for you. It just wasn't the layered, literary experience I was hoping for.
For what it's worth, I absolutely raced through this. The ultra-short chapters (74 chapters for 274 pages of text, which is... remarkable) and the super simple writing style make that very possible.
This book was marketed as literary fiction, being discussed for example as weird girl fiction in the tradition of Moshfegh, or "good for her" fiction and social commentary/feminist horror in one of the more serious literature podcasts I know. But let's not kid ourselves - it's definitely genre fiction, this is a pure horror novel. I was surprised at the simplistic writing style, formulaic plot development and obvious plot-over-characters priorities in this book. These things are fine if that's what you like! I, personally, like horror aspects to be PART of smart litfic, like in Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under the Sea or Mona Awad's Rouge, most recently. I picked up The Eyes are the Best Part for some dread and, more importantly, some intellectual bite.
What I got instead was: "Hello, I am a character. Here is my entire worldview and here are my feelings and thoughts, spoken aloud in the most on-the-nose way possible so you, dear reader, won't miss a thing." No subtlety. No need for interpretation, analysis, or even mild curiosity - you’ll get The Point delivered on every third page. The book tries to be a feminist, anti-racist critique, and it sometimes succeeds (mostly when it's coming from a sharp satire-y angle), but not really in ways that feel fresh or surprising. The main villain here, Ji-Won's mother's new partner George, is SO cartoonishly racist, creepy and disgusting that you feel like you're just going along with the motions thinking "well yeah, he deserves bad things to happen to him I guess, but he also doesn't even feel like a person to me, so I'm not feeling a damn thing, certainly no complexity".
Some of the secondary characters are complete clichés and devoid of any more layered character traits. The new best friend is literally a perfect angel. The one-sided love interest (from his side, I mean) is a performative male feminist, complete with dropping the names of TED talks and books he's proud of having consumed. The mom's new partner is, as I said, literally atrocious with absolutely no redeeming qualities. I mean... Sure, what the hell. If that's the kind of book you're seeking. It wasn't what I was seeking, and wasn't what this was marketed as.
Credit where it’s due: the actual gorey horror scenes were pretty fantastic. Ironically, those parts (the "genre" stuff) felt the most literary, vivid and alive? The writing suddenly grew teeth and had some real atmosphere, good details and genuinely icky moments. I wish Kim had put more work into the social-issue related "deeper" aspects, and ALSO gone all in on being explicit and creative with the scares the way she did. I would have appreciated this book a lot more. :/
So yes, for me, it was a disappointingly simple book that probably wanted to be more complex. But if you’re in the mood for a quick, straightforward horror read with some crystal clear social messages that aren't saying anything new or complex, and a few strong, creepy set pieces, it might hit the spot for you. It just wasn't the layered, literary experience I was hoping for.
For what it's worth, I absolutely raced through this. The ultra-short chapters (74 chapters for 274 pages of text, which is... remarkable) and the super simple writing style make that very possible.
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Quick read that had me tearing through it, unable to put it down. This book resonated with me deeply and mirrored my own feelings about my stepfather. I love aspects of dreams, hallucinations, and stalking in horror and this book delivered.
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was FREAKY!!!!!
I’m a little squeamish but I made it through this one despite some very descriptive eyeball scenes 👁️
I love books about women finally snapping and getting their revenge. This one was pretty insane. Good for her (sort of).
I’m a little squeamish but I made it through this one despite some very descriptive eyeball scenes 👁️
I love books about women finally snapping and getting their revenge. This one was pretty insane. Good for her (sort of).
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reading a book with this cover might be intimidating, but it's worth it! I loved this crazy-ass book so much! This is a female serial killer origin story with a unique perspective because of the second generation experience that made it so rich and captivating.
I found myself feeling very apathetic to our protagonist, Ji-won, and hating everyone that was against her, because she's my girl. And she can do what she wants. Because they all kind of deserve it. The ending was very fast and intense and I wish it had been a bit longer to explore the big reveals we get at the end.
This book isn't as gruesome as you might think, but there are a few hard scenes. Yay, cannibalism! It reminded me a lot of another Asian-American revenge thriller called The Fetishist by Katherine Min (one of the best books I've ever read) and it even had some lines that were like verbatim..."Oriental, like a rug!"
full spoiler-free book review on my booktube.
The Eyes Are the Best Part Book Review: https://youtu.be/FVy8Y4dU8YI
I found myself feeling very apathetic to our protagonist, Ji-won, and hating everyone that was against her, because she's my girl. And she can do what she wants. Because they all kind of deserve it. The ending was very fast and intense and I wish it had been a bit longer to explore the big reveals we get at the end.
This book isn't as gruesome as you might think, but there are a few hard scenes. Yay, cannibalism! It reminded me a lot of another Asian-American revenge thriller called The Fetishist by Katherine Min (one of the best books I've ever read) and it even had some lines that were like verbatim..."Oriental, like a rug!"
full spoiler-free book review on my booktube.
The Eyes Are the Best Part Book Review: https://youtu.be/FVy8Y4dU8YI
challenging
dark