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A review by angethology
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
3.0
"This time, I feel no terror. It's hunger that propels me. Desire."
Ji-won is thrown into a life of chaos when her Appa abandons Umma for another woman, shattering the family. It's up to Ji-won now to make sure her younger sister, Ji-hyun, and Umma are well taken care of, while maintaining her college grades too — but heartbroken Umma latches herself quickly to another man, George.
In a downward spiral, Ji-won struggles to grapple with reality and is often overwhelmed. Instead of focusing on college, she instead starts salivating over a pair of blue eyes, George's. The same blue eyes that invade her space and peace of mind, the same that ogle other Asian women while he's out on a date with Umma. Ji-won's dreams and hallucinations start taking over her mind in the real world, and soon enough she finds a tangible need to satiate her strange desires. I've always loved body horror manifesting as a result of fucked up family dynamics, and these two aspects are constantly intertwined throughout the books. The very systems that marginalized groups abide by to achieve the American Dream, are actively harmful, as Ji-won and her family are expected to be submissive, tolerate fetishization and microaggressions, all the while sticking to patriarchal values that both pervade in the Western world and Korean culture. It's also interesting to see allies like Ji-won's friend, Geoffrey, perform in order to get brownie points, only to disguise his same bigoted views as pretentious allyship.
Monica Kim is very heavy-handed in exemplifying these points; we're entrenched in her thoughts that frequently turn into a polemic to remind us of her Asian American struggles. While I adore the way body horror seeps into Ji-won's mind as well as the themes that are conveyed through the book, I do wish that there was more subtlety. I think at some points it felt a bit ranty, and the themes are spelled out too much as if to make sure that the audience understands what Ji-won is going through. Based on the horror aspects, it's clear that Monica Kim is super talented in showcasing the dilemma caused by Ji-won's family dynamics that are emblematic of a much bigger societal issue. But unfortunately, the more drama/literary elements fall short for me. It's a shame that a lot of the horror parts also take place in Ji-won's head, leaving certain action scenes that happen underwhelming.
This is overall an entertaining and fun read with the kind of gore and motifs I look for in horror and I appreciate the grisly combo of food that's supposed to be like comfort food in a way, turned into an obsession that haunts Ji-won. It just slightly missed the mark for me personally as it's too on the nose. Thank you NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the eARC, all opinions are my own.
Ji-won is thrown into a life of chaos when her Appa abandons Umma for another woman, shattering the family. It's up to Ji-won now to make sure her younger sister, Ji-hyun, and Umma are well taken care of, while maintaining her college grades too — but heartbroken Umma latches herself quickly to another man, George.
In a downward spiral, Ji-won struggles to grapple with reality and is often overwhelmed. Instead of focusing on college, she instead starts salivating over a pair of blue eyes, George's. The same blue eyes that invade her space and peace of mind, the same that ogle other Asian women while he's out on a date with Umma. Ji-won's dreams and hallucinations start taking over her mind in the real world, and soon enough she finds a tangible need to satiate her strange desires. I've always loved body horror manifesting as a result of fucked up family dynamics, and these two aspects are constantly intertwined throughout the books. The very systems that marginalized groups abide by to achieve the American Dream, are actively harmful, as Ji-won and her family are expected to be submissive, tolerate fetishization and microaggressions, all the while sticking to patriarchal values that both pervade in the Western world and Korean culture. It's also interesting to see allies like Ji-won's friend, Geoffrey, perform in order to get brownie points, only to disguise his same bigoted views as pretentious allyship.
Monica Kim is very heavy-handed in exemplifying these points; we're entrenched in her thoughts that frequently turn into a polemic to remind us of her Asian American struggles. While I adore the way body horror seeps into Ji-won's mind as well as the themes that are conveyed through the book, I do wish that there was more subtlety. I think at some points it felt a bit ranty, and the themes are spelled out too much as if to make sure that the audience understands what Ji-won is going through. Based on the horror aspects, it's clear that Monica Kim is super talented in showcasing the dilemma caused by Ji-won's family dynamics that are emblematic of a much bigger societal issue. But unfortunately, the more drama/literary elements fall short for me. It's a shame that a lot of the horror parts also take place in Ji-won's head, leaving certain action scenes that happen underwhelming.
This is overall an entertaining and fun read with the kind of gore and motifs I look for in horror and I appreciate the grisly combo of food that's supposed to be like comfort food in a way, turned into an obsession that haunts Ji-won. It just slightly missed the mark for me personally as it's too on the nose. Thank you NetGalley and Erewhon Books for the eARC, all opinions are my own.