Review by bloupibloupreads - The Eyes Are the Best Part

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bloupibloupreads 's review for:

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim

3.75

dark tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

You ever read a book and it’s so obvious it’s a debut novel?

The story follows Ji Won and her family after her father leaves them behind for another woman. Her mother, depressed and loss, find comfort in George, a mediocre white man (~~who very obviously has yellow fever~~). At the same time, Ji Won develops a weird obsession with eyes, George’s blue eyes in particular.

If you’re expecting a lot of blood and gore, this book isn’t probably for you. It focuses mainly on Ji Won's relationship with her mother and younger sister and her role as the eldest daughter in a second gen immigrant family. The madness and murders only really start in the second part of the book, and if I’m being honest, I don’t think they take as much place as the family dynamic. ‘The Eyes Are The Best Part’ is more of a study portrait on family/mother-daughter relationship than a gory/horror book like some people may describe it.

The story was compelling and the writing style was good. There were some very good lines here and there, but there were just some flaws. The story telling felt a bit juvenile at times, almost fanfiction-y in its writing and the topics were too On The Nose. It was all in your face, especially chapter 32. Almost like the author was scared the reader wouldn’t understand what she was trying to say even though the double meaning and symbolisms were very very easy to understand. It’s a shame because everything fell perfectly in place like puzzle pieces and then, out of nowhere, we get a whole chapter explaining everything to us as if we were stupid.

I also think the story relied too much on the nightmare effects to show Ji Won's slow descent into madness. I do love a character going crazy, never really trusting what they’re seeing because what if it’s just their imagination? But this book pulled the nightmare card way too often it became repetitive. There are other ways to show madness.

Other than that, it was a pleasant read. Just very obvious that it is the author’s first novel. I will be reading her next book because there is clearly talent and place for growth.

Content Warnings