#Monika Kim

[smokefalls]

How do I explain to her that the home I miss isn’t a place? It’s a time when my life made sense. When things made sense.

Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

[b-plot-butch]

some highlights from the eyes are the best part’s storygraph page

[harrowclare]

harrowclare's 2024 reading list

here is the long, long list of my 2024 reads with ratings & dates. because of tumblr's limit on links, i cannot direct to individual reviews. if you would like to view my reviews on their respective sites, you can find them on thestorygraph & goodreads.

dates are listed as month, day. manga volumes that are binged will be grouped so that this list isn't a million miles long, with the range of ratings for the volumes in the stack. a few of these titles were started in 2023, lol whoops! those are the only dates with a year stamp.

wanna read along or chat with me about books? i'm super active on fable.

reading challenges: horror bingo reaading challenge (2024-2025)

reading goal progress: 142/100

* * *

Fever House by Keith Rosson 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 12.27—12.31 - fiction

The Unmothers by Leslie J. Anderson 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 11.23—12.27 - fiction

Krampus: The Yule Lord 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 12.13—12.26 - fiction

Jawbone by Mónica Ojeda 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 12.01—12.11 - fiction

Fluids by May Leitz 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 12.14—12.17 - fiction

Doppleganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 12.01—12.11 - non-fiction

Thirst by Marina Yuszczuk 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 11.28—11.30 - fiction

Confessions by Kanae Minato 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 11.27—11.28 - fiction

Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 11.26—11.27 - fiction

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 11.26—11.26 - fiction

Graveyard Shift by M.L Rio 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 11.25—11.26 - fiction

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 11.16—11.25 - fiction

Exquisit Corpse by Poppy Z. Brite 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 11.11—11.20 - fiction

Rouge by Mona Awad 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 11.01—11.15 - fiction

NOS4A2 by Joe Hill 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 11.01—11.10 - fiction

Brat by Gabriel Smith 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 11.06—11.09 - fiction

Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 10.31—11.04 - fiction

Hallowpeen by Holly Wilde 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 10.31—10.31 - fiction

Phantasma by Kaylie Smith 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 10.11—10.31 - fiction

Taking Her Turn by Lisa Shea 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 10.31—10.31 - fiction

The Watchers by A.M. Shine 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 10.26—10.30 - fiction

The Vegetarian by Han Kang 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 10.26—10.27 - fiction

I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 10.24—10.25 - fiction

Feed by Mira Grant 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 10.15—10.24 - fiction

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 10.21—10.22 - fiction

The Fall of the House of Usher 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 10.21—10.21 - fiction

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huang 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 10.13—10.14 - fiction

Just Like Mother by Anne Heltzel 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 10.11—10.13 - fiction

Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 10.09—10.12 - fiction

The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 10.04—10.11 - fiction

The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 10.09—10.10 - fiction

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 10.03—10.09 - fiction

Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 08.25—10.09 - fiction originally i listened to the audiobook, stopping at 57% & restarting the hardcover book from the beginning.

Walking Practice by Dolki Min 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 10.04—10.05 - fiction

Stormflower by Keegan Kozinski & Tristen Kozinski (eARC) 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 07.29—10.02 - fiction

Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 09.27—10.01 - fiction

The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑 - 09.25—09.29 - fiction

Stolen Tongues by Felix Blackwell 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑 - 09.23—09.24 - fiction

Volume Ø: Issue 3 by multiple authors 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 09.21—09/22 - fiction

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 09.12—09. 21 - fiction

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 09.04—09.12 - fiction

The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw & Richard Kadrey 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 09.02—09.12 - fiction

This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 09.04—09.05 - fiction

Five-Star Stranger by Kat Tang 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 08.30—08.31 - fiction

The Haar by David Sodergren 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑 - 08.25—08.29 - fiction

None of This is True by Lisa Jewell 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑- 08.26—08.27 - fiction

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 08.19—08.25 - fiction i actually gave this a 3.75 on thestorygraph, which may seem obnoxious, but it felt right idk. sometimes rating shit 1-5 feels arbitrary and hard.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 07.30—08.24 - fiction

Killing Stalking Deluxe Edition Vol. 1 by Koogi 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 08.24—08.24 - webtoon

House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 03.16.23—08.22 - fiction

Schappi by Anna Haifisch 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 08.20—08.20 - graphic novel

You Will Own Nothing And You Will Be Happy #1 by Simon Hanslemann 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 08.20—08.20 - graphic novel, reread

Werewolf Jones and Sons Deluxe Summer Fun Annual by Simon Hanselmann & Simon Pettinger 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 08.20—08.20 - graphic novel

Something Akin to Revulsion by Judith Sonnet 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑 - 08.19—08.20 - fiction

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 08.16—08.18 - fiction

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 08.09—08.16 - fiction

The Troop by Nick Cutter 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 08.12—08.14 - fiction

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 08.01—08.12 - fiction

Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 07.27—08.09 - fiction

The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 07.30—08.06 - fiction

The Ruins by Scott Smith 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 08.01—08.05 - fiction

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 07.24—07.30 - fiction at the time of reading and reviewing this i was unaware of the controversies surrounding the author (uncredited use of the likeness of a video game and possible Zionism.) i don't want to change my rating & review because the book did have a profound impact on me, but i also do not believe in separating art from the artist, so i will not be purchasing the book or reading more from the author.

Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 07.14—07.29 - fiction

Playground by Aron Beauregard 🌕🌑🌑🌑🌑 - 07.23—07.28 - fiction

Middle of the Night by Riley Sager 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑- 07.17—07.27 - fiction

Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑- 07.15—07.24 - fiction

The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑- 07.11—07.23 - fiction

The Liminal Zone by Junji Ito 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑- 07.20—07.22 - manga

The Summer Hikaru Died Vol. 1 by Mokumokuren 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 07.19—07.20 - manga

Looking Glass Sound by Catriona Ward 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 07.11—07.16 - fiction

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 07.10—07.13 - fiction

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 07.09—07.10 - fiction

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 07.08—07.09 - fiction

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 07.03—07.08 - fiction

Do a Powerbomb! by Daniel Warren Johnson 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕- 07.05—07.05 - graphic novel

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 06.27—07.03 - fiction

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 06.26—06.26 - fiction

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 06.23—06.25 - fiction

Victim by Andrew Boryga 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 06.14—06.17 - fiction

A Good Happy Girl by Marissa Higgins 🌕🌕🌗🌑🌑 - 04.19—06.14 - fiction

A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 06.06—06.13 - fiction

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley 🌕🌑🌑🌑🌑 - 06.01—06.06 - fiction

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 05.22—05.31 - fiction

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 05.26—05.27 - non-fiction

Annie Bot by Sierra Greer 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 05.19—05.21 - fiction

You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 05.10—05.19 - fiction

Ghost Eaters by Clay McLeod Chapman 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 05.18—05.19 - fiction

The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 05.14—05.18 - fiction

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 05.10—05.13 - fiction

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 05.01—05.03 - fiction review: thestorygraph, goodreads

The Measure by Nikki Erlick 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 04.21—04.23 - fiction

Tokyo Ghoul Vol. 1 - Vol. 8 by Sui Ishida 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 04.22—05.08 - manga

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 04.18—04.21 - fiction

Know My Name by Chanel Miller 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 04.05—04.18 - non-fiction

Chainsaw Man Vol. 1 - Vol. 11 by Tatsuki Fujimoto 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 04.16—04.22 - manga

Jujutsu Kaisen Vol. 5 - Vol. 26 by Gege Akutami 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 12.23.23—04.16 - manga

Tampa by Alissa Nutting 🌕🌕🌑🌑🌑 - 04.02—04.03 - fiction

Circe by Madeline Miller 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 03.29—04.01 - fiction

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 03.25—03.28 - fiction

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑 - 03.23—03.25 - fiction

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑 - 02.02—03.20 - fiction

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vyong 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕 - 03.06—03.06- poetry

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌗 - 02.01—02.01- fiction

Y/N by Esther Yi | fiction 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 - 01.31—02.01 - fiction

my tiny DNF pile

Falling by T.J Newman stopped at 6% - 10.07 - fiction

The Laws of the Skies by Grégoire Courtois stopped at 32% - 09.07 - fiction

People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry stopped at 24% - 05.03 - non-fiction

new words

(tbh i know many of these verbally, but didn't know when when i read them - or vice versa depending on whether i was reading with my eyes or ears.)

acrimony, alacrity, allay, ameliorate, aplomb, assiduously, avarice, avulsed, conviviality, detritus, eddy, garrulous, germane, gloaming, gunwale, inexorable, itinerant, lassitude, lugubrious, moribund, palliative, palimpsest, pernicious, pugnacious, sententiously, scrim, sepulchral, shale, splume, stalward, surreptitious, rime, verisimilitude

[dandelion-network]

Review: The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim

You know what the world needs more of? Unhinged women of color who commit murder and cannibalism. Additionally, the spot on commentary on race, racism, fetishization of Asian women, and misogyny. What a read.

This book isn't that long so it goes rather fast and that worked in its favor. I really liked how Kim gave us examples of how manipulative Ji-Won has been in the past with people she cares about so when she manipulates people in the present, it feels incredibly in-character.

There's also these moments where Ji-Won tells us she's worried or shocked or anxious in interactions with people in specific scenes but her face is completely devoid of emotion. So to the people she's speaking with, to them she's stoic and in control, but we as the reader know this woman is slowly descending into eye-eating madness.

I had a lot of fun being in Ji-Won's vengeful head.

[bekah-reading]

98

5/5

C- 9 A- 10 W-10 P-8 I- 10 L- 7 E- 10

Total: 9.1 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is about a young Korean American woman, Ji-won who is now dealing with her father leaving her, her mom, and her sister. Now her mom has brought in a new man and things spiral down from there.

This book talks about racism, the fetishisation of Asian women, and obsession. This was an unhinged spiral downwards as the main character soon develops an obsession with blue eyeballs.

This was a short novel, at 278 pages, and it had very short chapters along with easy and flowing writing that makes it just run by quickly. I read this in one sitting, I absolutely did not want to put the book down at all.

This was interesting and it was very visceral. I loved the details when it came down to it. And the downward spiral was unhinged and amazing. This is a book that I hope is a contender in the Horror category for the 2024 good reads awards this year. I am so glad I read this and I fully recommend it.

This is the author’s debut and I am absolutely keeping my eyes on this author for her books after this one.

[boywithskull]

I haven't seen many people talking about this book, so I wanted to recommend this wonderful horror/commentary book I recently read called The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim. Review/synopsis under the cut!

It centres on an eighteen year-old college student named Ji-won, who is a second generation Korean-American and whose father recently left, leaving her mother in shambles and younger sister in need of support. Her mother meets a new man named George, who flaunts his flawed knowledge of Korean culture while refusing to be corrected, and is extremely creepy toward Ji-won and her sister. Struggling at college and now emotionally responsible for her family, Ji-won develops a craving for George's blue eyes, and finds a way to save her family and herself by... taking care of both George and a stalker-ish "nice guy" classmate.

I absolutely adored this book because Kim's writing is concise yet biting, and Ji-won's relationship with her sister in particular felt so realistic. I loved how Ji-won was allowed to be a flawed person, and reading about her take control of her life and step up for her family when no one else will was very satisfying. It explores topics such as misogyny, cultural clash, Asian fetishisation, and fortune, and is coupled with some fantastic body horror concerning the eyes. I would very much recommend.

[jetwhenitsmidnight]

The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim

Release date: 25 June 2024

Genre: adult psychological horror

If you like:

Female serial killers

Female rage

Revenge

Cannibalism

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐💫/5

Synopsis

Ji-won’s life tumbles into disarray in the wake of her Appa’s extramarital affair and subsequent departure. Her mother, distraught. Her younger sister, hurt and confused. Her college freshman grades, failing. Her dreams, horrifying… yet enticing.

In them, Ji-won walks through bloody rooms full of eyes. Succulent blue eyes. Salivatingly blue eyes. Eyes the same shape and shade as George’s, who is Umma’s obnoxious new boyfriend. George has already overstayed his welcome in her family’s claustrophobic apartment. He brags about his puffed-up consulting job, ogles Asian waitresses while dining out, and acts condescending toward Ji-won and her sister as if he deserves all of Umma’s fawning adoration. No, George doesn’t deserve anything from her family. Ji-won will make sure of that.

For no matter how many victims accumulate around her campus or how many people she must deceive and manipulate, Ji-won’s hunger and her rage deserve to be sated.

CW book cover with eye related gore under the cut

Content warnings

Violence

Blood, gore, body horror

Cannibalism

Racism, fetishisation of East Asian women

Misogyny

Sexual harassment

Pedophilia (brief)

Stalking

Psychosis

Hospital/medical content

Alcohol consumption

Review

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC! 🔪👁️🍽️

I loved this so much!

The chapters are rather short and the writing was accessible, which made this a quick and easy read, although at times I found some of the dialogue to be a little awkward.

I am not easily grossed out, but the writing and the descriptions of some of the gory bits were legit gruesome, but also impossible to look away from.

I loved how Ji-Won's descent into madness/cannibalism/serial killing was portrayed. The way her internal narration was written, of growing obsession and paranoia and justification of her actions, paired with the dream sequences, creates an immersive atmosphere of unreality that was unnerving to read.

I found myself relating a lot with Ji-Won's struggles to make and maintain friendships, as well as her struggles to handle all the changes in her life. Although she's manipulative and does some truly awful things (outside of murder), I can't help rooting for her.

I wished Ji-Won's attraction to Alexis was explored more. Given how much the book focuses on male entitlement and the fetishisation of East Asian women, I think it would have been interesting to see how Ji-Won navigates her own feelings of attraction towards women (or just one particular woman) as well as how this attraction affects the way she is viewed by men/society. But I understand that this is not the focus of the book so its fine.

The way the different elements of the story come together and culminates in that ending was sooo satisfying to read.

I know this book is a standalone, and I am not one to advocate for sequels to things that wraps up by itself, but I would LOVE to read a sequel to this.

[bitchy-rakdos-enchanter]

Just finished The Eyes are the Best Part by Monika Kim

Pretty good. Short little read, knocked it out in maybe four-ish hours on a day off.

A nice little descent into madness accompanied with a healthy dose of feminine rage and cannibalism.

My brain is warped so I can't really gauge how disturbing it actually was but there was some nice, evocative imagery; particularly concerning the title of the book.

All-in-all, good read. Would recommend.

[delusional-delirium]

My haul today from a couple book stores, Penny lane, and a walgreens for the hair spray.

Currently 19 pages into ‘In the Miso Soup’ and enjoying the writing style so far. In a real horror kick lately.

The big clothespin is a booklight! And I got 3 new pairs of sunglasses because the sun and snow have been giving me migraines lol.

[menacingpolkamusic]

[random-bookquotes]

Swearing on your mother’s life is something so American, so white, that neither of us can truly understand it. In our culture, swearing on your mother’s life is probably one of the worst sins you can commit. What is there that’s more important than your mother, your father, or your grandparents? It doesn’t sound like George has ever heard of filial piety.

Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

[smokefalls]

What is it like to live freely, to live a life untethered, without having to be responsible for everyone around you?

Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

[b-plot-butch]

just finished the eyes are the best part by monika kim! really enjoyed it, chomped through it in about four hours. the writing is visceral—like GODDAMN that girl sure can eat an eyeball! it was cathartic in many ways and reminded me a bit of monkey man (2024) in that it’s totally a revenge fantasy for the marginalized. i would like to use this book to scare white people.

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim

I have a bit of a weird relationship with extreme horror. In general, I love it in book format but I can't tolerate it in film and TV. There's something about reading that means I can control what things look like in my mind better than I can when my eyes are actually confronted. I am fascinated by depraved, violent, psychopathic minds, so I am always interested in reading books like this.

Ji-won's appa has left the family following the revelation of his affair and the family is torn apart. Her umma has already begun dating a new man named George and it's not long before he moves in. George is a white man with blue eyes, who often brags about his life and flirts with other Asian women. Ji-won has started having dreams where she is surrounded by bloodsoaked rooms full of blue eyes and she has developed a hunger. As the bodies pile up on her college campus, Ji-won discovers that her hunger and rage must be satisfied.

Ji-won's umma is actively shunning Korean men, following her husband's betrayal. Therefore, she is a willing partner for George and his fetish for Asian women. However, she is also a woman who is hurt and desperate to feel desired. Easy prey for a sleazy man.

The scenes in the family home are tinged with sadness, confusion and longing. As Ji-won's rage develops, there is also anger but it's clear that Ji-won, her sister Ji-hyun and their umma is distraught by their appa's departure. It feels like grief and I guess in some ways, it's potentially heavier because his leaving was down to his own actions. It's easy to see how a man like George doesn't have to do much to work his way into their lives.

I won't go too much further into the plot but I will say that the tone shifts very gradually and it's terrifying. I could literally feel the motion of Ji-won's spirals into unspeakable, horrific insanity and it was equal parts fascinating and destabilising. The tension builds so slowly and it's that subtle creep that differentiates the novel from a senseless gorefest -it's much scarier than that.

The Eyes Are The Best Part is a very violent, sickening read that successfully comments on misogyny, fetishism and shifting family relationships. You will definitely want to avoid it if you're squeamish because there is no holding back on descriptions of mutilation and cannibalism. You've been warned!

[noahsbookhoard]

🦇📚September 2024 Book Review (Part 1/4)📚🦇

Today is Halloween so in honor of that I pulled every spooky read from September and put them all together!

The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim

Ji-won's life has fallen apart since her father left her mother and her mother found a new boyfriend, George, a misogynist, condescending man who eyes out every Asian waitress. Adding to this stress due to her collegue studies and the persistent nice guy who won't take no for an answer, Ji-won starts having wierd dreams, dreams of bright blue, delicious looking eyeballs.

In terms of taboos, cannibalism ranks pretty high. It is deeply uncomfortable to hear stories about it yet it is an interesting question whwne it comes to moral vs survival. Yet I had never read a book that dived into the subject. What is interesting here is that Ji-won's hunger is 1) pretty specialised 2) entirely opportunistic and not driven by a need to survive. There's no point in judging the moral values of a fictional characters and I know that's kinda the point of horror as a genre but Ji-won's action sometimes made me really uncomfortable.

There is also a critique of misogyny and Asian fetishization which is well handled as far as I could tell. The father cheated and left with another woman, George to is cheating but he is even more disturbing than the whole eye eating thing, he is a creep, a cheater, demanding, borderline pedophile and just unsufferable as a person. If I was Ji-won I would have done more than hide is car keys in the fridge.

As for the end, it's wierd, it's just wierd. It's hard so say what was really murderous pulsions because George deserved it and what was Ji-won being sick, what was real and what was supernatural (if any of it was).

Overall it was a pleasant enough read in term of style. As for the theme I don't know if I like it or hate it. Maybe it's also a matter of setting, I usually like my horror a little bit less modern and down to earth but that is a matter of preference.

Ring Shout by P Djeli Clark

Just after World War I in the South of the US, the KKK is everywhere. Most of them are human, except among their ranks are hidden monsters just as dangerous as those men and women. Maryse and a group of resistant are fighting the Klan, through skirmish and sabotage but something more evil than before is brewing in Macon...

It has a really creepy but really cool twist on the Klan: there is still human member who embody the values of the KKK, and that's horrifying; but there are monsters with the same white form but wierd limbs, eyes and teeth. I love the author's way of introducing those supernatural elements: they are the first Klan members we see and it is unsettling to see them pounce on a dog carcass when you were expecting humans in costume. It's interesting to use real historical racist threats (the KKK, Birth of A Nation) and add to it a supernatural element while still maintaining the actual real life danger. It also raised the classic question: where is the line between man and monster?

I am neither American nor black so I can't really comment on the African American cultural aspects but they were really interesting and fitted well in the fantasy aspect of the novella as well as creating a contrast with the white side of Macon.

The characterization is great, I love the characters, Maryse and her comrade Sadie especially but the antagonist really brought the "Love To Hate Them" feeling for me. Also the Aunties, they are just the best.

I really liked it, but I might have appreciated even more with a deeper understanding of the period and the culture (too bad for me). Lots of actions, great characters and a really cool battle at the end, go for it!

What Moves the Dead (Sworn Soldier #1) by T Kingfisher

Alex Easton just arrived in the most rural and isolated part of Galicia at the request of Madeline Usher, a childhood friend. Her brother, Roderick, reveals what has been going on for the last months: Madeline is ill, dying probably. However some things sticks Easton as odd: why is Madeline sleepwalking all of the sudden? What is the white fur like substance growing on her skin? And what does it have to do with local superstition of Witch Hare?

Short but incredibly impactful. Fungi are really a freak of nature that works really well in horror: there's a ton of them, they interact with other living things in wierd ways and they are really hard to classify for non mycologist. The rewriting of Poe's classic short story The House of Usher is good, it keeps the key elements of the plot and characterization but develops everything around it. Roderick and Madeline are pretty much in character and I liked what she added to them. I liked Galicia, the country Kingfisher created for this story a lot: the land sets and atmosphere, it's cold, gray and wet. It also all happens in a very isolated place, ifused with traditions and superstitions that serves as foreshadowing and red herring.

Alex Easton also is a treat. A gender non conforming former soldier with no people skills whatsoever. The Sworn Soldier system is really cool and allows some ambiguity with Easton's gender that I loved. The PTSD is really well treated and adds both to the characterization and to the atmosphere. I also loved Angus and Miss Potter who added some much needed common sense to the cast.

I really loved it. The traditions, legends and history of Galicia are imersive and the way it tied supernatural elements with more natural but just as spooky threats works really well. I have just finished reading What Feat at Night, I heard somewhere that a third novella will be released somewhere in 2025 and I'm really looking forward to that.

The Book of Blood (Vol. 1) by Clive Barker

A series of twisted stories, from a serial killer on the subway in NYC to a theater of undead, not forgetting a monstrous man eating sow.

This was September's blind draw, let's say many of the book club members skipped this one. This is a collection of short stories, they vary a lot on theme, ton and unfortunately the enjoyment I took reading them: some where really good and disturbing, some where forgettable, some still baffle me six weeks later.

"The Book of Blood" is the prologue, and it sets the tone: creepy, characters that are deeply flawed and supernatural gory elements. It is also the shortest. It did well as an introduction but it wasn't very memorable to me.

"The Midnight Meat Train" left me divided: I was sold on the serial killer butchering people in subways. I was interested in the part where the city knew and let it happened. I was mildly disappointed by the supernatural element that fell a bit short after the adrenaline of the subway train scene. Yet it was interesting and well written.

"The Yattering and Jack" didn't left me much memories, except that it was quite funny. It is a Beetlejuice meet the Grinch kind of atmosphere. I liked the twist on the demon haunting that made the main character aware of what was going on but pushing through and frustrating the demon to no end. I never felt any real threat from the demon, though.

"Pig Blood Blues" is the gory twisted tale I was promised in the back cover: ghost, scary animals, possessions, ritual sacrifice and cannibalism; you name it, it's in it! Redwal's as a very down to earth character that you usually see in Stephen King's main character and his discovery of the giant sow who is at the center of human sacrifice rituals is just as satisfying. The sow itself gave me shivers, it is described in an entirely too human way to be comfortable. Lacey, a young boy that starts as the frightened victim scared of ghost and ends up just as monstrous as all the over character perfectly sets the mood. I was really wiered out by Redwall's attitude toward Lacey but his punishment at the end is really satisfying.

"Sex, Death, and Starshine" is my favorite but not the scariest! The living characters takes some time to realise that other are dead but once they do it's all fun and games and playing Twelfth Night in front of a ghost audience before going on a road trip! Just the tiny bit of whimsy, loved it!

"In the Hills, the Cities" is the most disturbing to me because I'm still wondering what the hell that was. Every years two cities straps themselves together to create a giant man shaped structure and they merrily go as a Flesh Transformer to the other city's Flesh Transformer. People die. Not because of the battle but because there assigned place in the comstruct is the sole of the feet. I guess I was supposed to feel some sort of eldritch fear but mainly I was working out the how and why and couldn't focus on the scary parts. Just plain bizarre.

[whatcha-reading-today]

Summerween Day 2: Horror that's spooky (but not too spooky)

Part of the Summerween Recommendations. See the masterpost here.

Mileage will vary, but these are stories that have a scary factor but not something that should want to make you barf. Uncomfortable, yes, but that's the fun part!

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me | Jamison Shea: Think Black Swan and the new Suspiria. Yeah, that's what's going on. (This could count for the title longer than five words prompt).

Lakesedge | Lyndall Clipstone: Gothic horror of a monster that lives in a creepy castle, has a tragic past, and may be a bit sexy. Gross monster and body stuff.

The Eyes are the Best Part | Monika Kim: I didn't know becoming a serial killer had the prerequiste of chowing down on so many eyeballs!

Together We Rot | Skyla Arndt: A gothic and religious horror romance that while gross is beautifully written and has great summer vibes.

Rolling in the Deep | Mira Grant: A scientific exploration to make a very not scientific video on mermaids. But oh no, mermaids are real and their teeth are very sharp.

The Locked Tomb series | Tamsyn Muir: Gideon the Ninth is a locked room splatter horror comedy. If you needed an excuse to give TLT series a try, this is a great time to do it.

No Longer Human | Osamu Dazai: What even is identity? What does being alive mean? This isn't on page gross out horror, but the existential dread of being alive.