Book overview Monika Kim

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim: Summary and Study Guide

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Quick Facts

  • Author: Monika Kim

  • Publication Year: 2024

  • Genre: Feminist psychological horror

  • Setting: Contemporary Los Angeles, California (family apartment, college campus, and surrounding areas)

  • Narrator: First-person (Ji-won)

  • Main Characters: Ji-won (narrator), Umma (mother), Ji-hyun (younger sister), George (mother's boyfriend/fiancé), Geoffrey (classmate/stalker), Appa (father)

  • Key Themes: Consumption as a coping mechanism for inherited trauma; the cycle of abandonment and the refusal to wait; the politics of looking and the reversal of the gaze; domestic ritual as a site of control and resistance; the burden of filial duty and the cost of protecting family

  • Key Symbols: Fish eyes, blue eyes, pocket knife, paper flowers

  • Page Count: Not specified in the supplied data.

Short Summary (150 words)

After her father abandons the family for another woman, college student Ji-won watches her mother Umma unravel. Umma's desperate hope for his return manifests in superstition, and she begins eating fish eyes for luck. Ji-won, burdened by filial duty and her own grief, volunteers to eat one too. This act ignites a compulsion. As Umma becomes increasingly dependent on her new boyfriend George—a white man with blue eyes who Ji-won finds predatory—Ji-won's obsession with eyes escalates. She begins to fantasize about consuming George's eyes, and her fantasies turn into reality when she murders a stranger and eats his eyes. The novel follows Ji-won's descent into violence, culminating in her murder of George and her framing of her stalker Geoffrey for the crime. The story ends with Ji-won planning to confront her father, whom she holds ultimately responsible for the family's suffering.

Full Summary (1,200 words)

The novel opens at a family dinner where Umma, Ji-won's mother, declares that the eyes are the best part of a fish. She breaks down a whole fish and eats the eye herself, a practice rooted in her own impoverished childhood in 1970s Seoul. This is the first time she has mentioned her husband since he left two weeks earlier. The family is reeling from his abandonment, and Umma's grief is palpable. She later tells her daughters that eating a fish eye brings good luck and might bring their father back, and she eats one in a desperate ritual. Ji-won overhears her parents' final argument, learning that her father left because he met someone else.

The narrative then shifts to Umma's backstory, revealing a multigenerational pattern of abandonment. As a child in Seoul, her own parents left her and her siblings to survive a winter alone. While her siblings eventually left to find work, Umma refused to go, waiting for her parents to return. She survived alone, and her parents did eventually come back. This history of waiting for absent men becomes a central theme. Ji-won's father's own story is also told: he rose from poverty in Busan, moved to California, and built a life, only to be swindled by a friend and lose everything.

As the family adjusts to their new reality, Umma begins a relationship with George, a white man she meets at the grocery store where she works. He is the antithesis of her father—humble, attentive, and with pale blue eyes. Ji-won is immediately uncomfortable with him, finding his gaze predatory and his behavior toward Asian women objectifying. Her discomfort is compounded by her growing obsession with eyes. After eating her first fish eye, she begins to dream of consuming human eyes, specifically George's.

Ji-won's life at college is strained. She is on academic probation, and her only friend is Geoffrey, a classmate who is increasingly possessive and stalker-like. He gives her unwanted gifts and becomes jealous of her other friendships. Meanwhile, George moves into the family apartment, and Ji-won's mother becomes absorbed in wedding preparations, folding paper flowers for the ceremony. Ji-won's obsession with eyes intensifies. She researches eyeball anatomy online and begins to have violent fantasies about George.

The violence becomes real when Ji-won discovers a dead homeless man near her car. Overcome by compulsion, she cuts out his eye and eats it. This act is both horrifying and liberating for her. She begins to see herself as a protector of her family, and her violence becomes a distorted extension of her filial duty. She murders another man, a drunk she picks up at a bar, and eats his eyes. Her actions are driven by a ravenous hunger that she cannot control.

Ji-won's paranoia grows. She suspects George is following her, and she becomes convinced that he is a threat to her family. She discovers he is cheating on her mother with a woman named Jen. She also learns that her father is having a baby with his new partner. The pressure builds until Ji-won decides to take action. She drugs George with sleeping pills and drives him to an abandoned construction site, intending to cut out his eyes. However, George wakes up and attacks her. Geoffrey, who has been stalking her, arrives and beats George to death with a rock.

Ji-won wakes up in the hospital. She has a brain tumor that was discovered and removed during emergency surgery. She learns that George is dead and that Geoffrey has been arrested for his murder. Ji-won tells the police that Geoffrey attacked her and killed George. She frames Geoffrey for the crime, and he is arrested. While recovering, Ji-won discovers that her mother has been visiting George in the adjacent hospital room. She realizes that George is still alive, though in a coma.

In a final act of violence, Ji-won administers crushed oxycodone to George, killing him. She then removes his eyes and eats them. When Geoffrey visits her, she manipulates him into opening the connecting door to George's room, where he discovers the body. Ji-won screams, and Geoffrey is arrested for George's murder. The novel ends with Ji-won planning to visit her father, whom she holds responsible for the family's suffering, and to ensure he can never harm them again.

Main Characters

  • Ji-won (narrator): A college student whose obsession with eyes escalates from eating fish eyes to murdering and consuming human eyes. She is the responsible daughter, burdened by filial duty, and her violence emerges as a distorted extension of her protective role.

  • Umma (mother): Ji-won's mother, who endures abandonment by her husband and seeks love through a relationship with George. She is emotionally fragile and dependent on men, repeating a cycle of waiting for absent partners.

  • Ji-hyun: Ji-won's younger sister, who is perceptive and protective. She often clashes with Ji-won but also shares moments of sibling solidarity. She is aware of Ji-won's strange behavior and worries about her.

  • George: Umma's boyfriend and later fiancé, a white man with blue eyes. He becomes the primary target of Ji-won's violent obsession and eventual murder.

  • Geoffrey: A classmate who stalks Ji-won, claims to love her, and is ultimately framed by her for George's murder.

  • Appa (father): Ji-won's father, who leaves the family for another woman, triggering the family's unraveling and Ji-won's eventual quest for revenge.

Themes

Symbols

  • Fish eyes: Recur as a symbol of cultural inheritance, superstition, and Ji-won's escalating compulsion to consume eyes.

  • Blue eyes: Particularly George's, represent Ji-won's obsession with the predatory white male gaze and her violent desire to possess and destroy it.

  • Pocket knife: Given by her father, becomes Ji-won's tool of self-defense and later her weapon of murder, symbolizing inherited protection turned to violence.

  • Paper flowers: Umma folds them for her wedding, symbolizing her futile hope, grief, and the destructive cycle of waiting for men who abandon her.

Ending Overview

The novel's climax occurs in the hospital. After Ji-won's brain surgery, she discovers that George is alive in the adjacent room. She kills him by administering crushed oxycodone, then removes and eats his eyes. When Geoffrey visits, she manipulates him into discovering the body, and he is arrested for the murder. The novel ends with Ji-won planning to visit her father, whom she holds responsible for the family's suffering. She intends to punish him and ensure he can never harm them again. The ending is a dark culmination of Ji-won's transformation from a passive victim of circumstance into an active, violent agent of revenge. For a deeper analysis, see the ending explained page.

Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Chapter Title Summary
1 One Umma declares the eyes are the best part of a fish and eats one. She mentions the father for the first time since he left.
2 Two Umma eats a fish eye for luck, hoping to bring the father back.
3 Three Ji-won overhears her parents' final argument; her father admits to an affair.
4 Four Umma's childhood in 1970s Seoul is recounted; she was abandoned by her parents and survived alone.
5 Five Umma rants about dating preferences, insisting her daughters not date Korean men.
6 Six Ji-won volunteers to eat her first fish eye.
7 Seven The father's life story is told, from poverty in Busan to his failed American Dream.
8 Eight Ji-won meets Geoffrey at a coffee shop after overhearing racist comments.
9 Nine Ji-hyun discovers divorce papers and suspects Umma is hiding something.
10 Ten Umma reveals she is dating George.
11 Eleven The family prepares to meet George.
12 Twelve The family meets George at a Chinese restaurant; Ji-won notices his blue eyes.
13 Thirteen Ji-won dreams of eating eyes from the walls, including a blue human eye like George's.
14 Fourteen Geoffrey and Ji-won bond over class; he shows jealousy.
15 Fifteen A flashback reveals Umma's suicidal ideation after the father left. George begins sleeping over.
16 Sixteen Ji-won listens to George's breathing through the wall and dreams of a giant blue eyeball.
17 Seventeen The family spends Thanksgiving with George, who shows his controlling and racist side.
18 Eighteen Ji-won recalls sabotaging her high school friendships after not getting into UC Berkeley.
19 Nineteen Ji-won meets her old friends and deflects their confrontation.
20 Twenty George moves in temporarily; the sisters bond over memories of their father.
21 Twenty-One Ji-won fails her philosophy final and obsessively researches blue eyes online.
22 Twenty-Two George eats a fish eye and offers it to Ji-won; Ji-hyun scolds him.
23 Twenty-Three Ji-won is placed on academic probation and has a violent hallucination.
24 Twenty-Four Ji-won is forced to apologize to George; Ji-hyun offers to kill him.
25 Twenty-Five Ji-won fantasizes about George's death and deletes her old friends' chat.
26 Twenty-Six Ji-won befriends Alexis, who gives her sleeping pills. She suspects she is being followed.
27 Twenty-Seven Ji-won retrieves her father's pocket knife and confronts a follower who disappears.
28 Twenty-Eight Umma announces her engagement to George.
29 Twenty-Nine Ji-won recalls finding her father's secret email account.
30 Thirty Ji-won has a nightmare about George's eyes popping out.
31 Thirty-One Geoffrey gives Ji-won a disturbing gift. Ji-won cuts George's cheek with a knife.
32 Thirty-Two Ji-won recalls her father's humiliation by a white customer and a lesson in handling men.
33 Thirty-Three Ji-won steals from George and hides his keys. She dreams of stabbing him and eating his eyes.
34 Thirty-Four George's keys are found in the refrigerator; Ji-won gaslights him.
35 Thirty-Five Ji-won's grades improve. She again suspects she is being followed.
36 Thirty-Six Ji-won studies with Alexis's group and is confronted by Geoffrey.
37 Thirty-Seven Ji-won finds a dead homeless man, cuts out his eye, and eats it.
38 Thirty-Eight Ji-won eats the eye in a gas station bathroom and disposes of George's driver's license.
39 Thirty-Nine Ji-won hallucinates blood on her hands during her psychology final.
40 Forty George's shredded license is found; Ji-hyun worries the family is cursed.
41 Forty-One Alexis tells Ji-won about a homicide investigation near her apartment.
42 Forty-Two Ji-won sleepwalks into her mother's room.
43 Forty-Three Umma obsessively prepares for the wedding, making paper flowers.
44 Forty-Four Ji-won steals sleeping pills from Alexis's apartment.
45 Forty-Five Ji-won murders a man in an alley and eats both his eyes.
46 Forty-Six Alexis is scared of a killer on the loose. Ji-won finds a condom wrapper in George's suitcase.
47 Forty-Seven Ji-won destroys George's Rolex watch, causing him to spiral.
48 Forty-Eight Ji-won follows George and sees him with Jen. Ji-hyun wishes the wedding wouldn't happen.
49 Forty-Nine Ji-won sabotages George's work presentation.
50 Fifty George is fired after his presentation is replaced with explicit photos.
51 Fifty-One Ji-won catfishes George on a dating app.
52 Fifty-Two Umma desperately tries to hold onto George as he pulls away.

| 53 | Fifty-Three | Ji-won murders a drunk man with blue.

Published by What Happened?

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