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A review by screamdogreads
The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim
4.0
"A shrill buzz. Just as I'm trying to find the source of the noise, the light flickers on. I blink into the brightness. When my vision adjusts, I scream. Eyes. There are eyes everywhere."
Oh my God. Oh, Jesus. Ew, ew, ew. The Eyes Are the Best part is a book so disgusting, so vile, so grotesque and horrendous, it made even someone well experienced in reading extreme horror, gag. Despite the sickening, slimy, grime slicked top coating this book has, there's a wonderful and insightful commentary hidden away at it's glistening, beautiful core - you just have to be brave enough to submerge yourself in a swirling whirlwind of eyeballs to find it. This is the single defining book of unhinged girlie summer, it's the ideal revenge story. Like plenty of books within this genre, there's a heavy character focus here, and it starts out slow, building over time until it bubbles over uncontrollably.
The Eyes Are the Best Part is a ferocious, snarling beast of a novel. This is what female rage looks like in print form. It's an obsessive, hideous novel, one that will forever change the way you think about the human body. This shocking, powerful thrill-ride is packed to the brim with guts, gore, and of course, eyeballs. It's a surrealist masterpiece, the vividity with which it is told is both gorgeous and horrible. Almost the entire first half acts as a rather candid character study, one that delves slowly over time into madness. This macabre little novel packs as much of an emotional punch as it does fill us up on disgusting imagery. It's entirely enrapturing and foul and nasty, but in just the perfect way, the horror is delightful, stomach-churning and impactful without once being overwrought or gratuitous.
Oh my God. Oh, Jesus. Ew, ew, ew. The Eyes Are the Best part is a book so disgusting, so vile, so grotesque and horrendous, it made even someone well experienced in reading extreme horror, gag. Despite the sickening, slimy, grime slicked top coating this book has, there's a wonderful and insightful commentary hidden away at it's glistening, beautiful core - you just have to be brave enough to submerge yourself in a swirling whirlwind of eyeballs to find it. This is the single defining book of unhinged girlie summer, it's the ideal revenge story. Like plenty of books within this genre, there's a heavy character focus here, and it starts out slow, building over time until it bubbles over uncontrollably.
The Eyes Are the Best Part is a ferocious, snarling beast of a novel. This is what female rage looks like in print form. It's an obsessive, hideous novel, one that will forever change the way you think about the human body. This shocking, powerful thrill-ride is packed to the brim with guts, gore, and of course, eyeballs. It's a surrealist masterpiece, the vividity with which it is told is both gorgeous and horrible. Almost the entire first half acts as a rather candid character study, one that delves slowly over time into madness. This macabre little novel packs as much of an emotional punch as it does fill us up on disgusting imagery. It's entirely enrapturing and foul and nasty, but in just the perfect way, the horror is delightful, stomach-churning and impactful without once being overwrought or gratuitous.
"I bite into the cartilage. It splits open in my mouth, the blood shooting down the back of my throat. I'm whimpering like a dog, but I can't help it. The combination of adrenaline and the taste - oh god, the taste - sends waves of pleasure radiating through my body. I am in ecstasy. I choke down the first one, chewing noisily, before shoving the second into my mouth. I suck the blood and fluids and juices out of it, feeling it deflate in my mouth."
What begins life as a family drama, what wears the face of a simplistic character study, unravels, slowly unfurling, becoming a kaleidoscopic nightmare of madness - a story that demands your full attention, a story that takes its time and refuses entirely to be rushed. The level of gracefulness and beauty within this debut novel is insane, there's such an intensity to the imagery that this novel displays, it's something that takes a grip of your soul and tears little pieces from it until there is nothing left. Yes, The Eyes Are the Best Part is strange. Honestly? It's fucking weird, it's messed up, but it's also god-damn fantastic and brilliant. It is a novel that refuses to be ignored and will never be forgotten. If you're seeking the most uncomfortable nightmare of your life, you've come to the right place.
"I don't hesitate. I pluck one eye after the other, shoving them greedily into my mouth. I mash them into a pulp, teeth gnashing, feeling each clump slide down my throat. I eat until my stomach is full and aching, until the wall is bare. The room grows bigger, hallways extending. I scramble to my feet and start walking, straining my ears. This place is familiar."