The Eyes Are The Best Part - Monika Kim - Book Review

 

                I've been thinking about taking a hiatus from reading horror stories. But someone sent me a copy of this, and here I am after reading the same. Plus, the book cover piqued my interest this time as well.

                Ji-won, a Korean American, has her life overturned when her father leaves the family. Her mother is having a meltdown and Ji-won, along with and younger sister, are left to handle the situation. Not long after, her mother starts seeing an American man, George. Shortly, the relationship progresses, and they end up fixing a wedding date. The girls are not happy with the decision. With all that is happening around her, Ji-won's studies dip. At the same time, she gets fixated on George's blue eyes. Dreams and hallucinations of eyes start affecting her, and her urge to eat blue eyes increases. Is this a sign of her deteriorating into madness, or is this due to the pressure she is facing?

                First of all, an interesting premise. Plus, the reading was quick, which was a good thing for me. The steady progress of the story kept the reading well paced. This was tagged as a horror genre, but I differ in my opinion. The cannibalism and the hallucinations involving eyes made me uncomfortable, but never at any point did the book scare me. The characters were written in a mediocre way. The main male characters were no doubt chauvinists, but the development of characters seemed forced, as if to make them look bad just for the main character to vent her rage. The ending did confuse me. I was confused if this was a revenge saga or the transition into madness. There are many trigger points like cannibalism, stalking, racial profiling, racial stereotyping, asian fetishism, depression, bottled up anger, etc. Some parts of the story can make people squirm. But this may not necessarily scare anyone. The cultural differences of people coming from different countries were interestingly brought out. As we read on, we might get a feel that there is more to Ji-won than just being a victim. That lessens our sympathy for the character. The writer does a good job of conveying how differently people handle depression in their lives. The female rage, which is the central point of the story, could have been handled better.

                To sum it all up, a pretty decent read which could have been a better one if the staging had been proper. Nevertheless, a quick read that may satisfy a certain set of readers.