The Eyes Are the Best Part Quotes

“By the time you’re done with him, he’ll be begging for mercy. Who is he if he can’t control you? Is he even a man anymore? It will seem like a relief when you give him a hand, even if that hand is holding a blade. And when you take everything from him, you can say what these men say about us: He was asking for it. He was begging for it. He must have wanted it, since he didn’t fight back.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“I’ve always been jealous of the kids who have never had to deal with this crushing pressure. They have no idea how good they have it, how lucky they are. Often, I find myself wondering: 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

“As later experiences would confirm, to deal with a man like that, a man like George, you have to pull the rug out from under him. Not all at once, of course; a small tug here, another one there. You don’t back down when he tries to wield his power. Instead, you trip him up by slipping him little lies. Correct him whenever you can. Confuse him. Make him feel foolish. Men like him hate being wrong, hate being embarrassed, hate not being in control. Men like him don’t know what to do when that happens, and they resort to childish displays of anger, temper tantrums, sulking. In spite of this, he won’t be able to do a single thing about it because in the end he’s the one who is weak. The only power he has is the power you are willing to give him, and you’ve given him nothing. Not a scrap.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“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

“Yeah, sorry, I ate a homeless guy’s eyeball last night, and I’m really struggling with it, so. . . .”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“I know that plant is pretty, but poison is everywhere, even in the places where you least expect it.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“We girls are taught from an early age that we are demonstrably inferior to our male counterparts. We are smaller, weaker, stupider. When we succeed, it’s only because men allow us to. And as Asian women, we are foreign and especially powerless, with our supposedly porcelain skin, delicate physiques, “slanted pussies,” and quiet, submissive natures.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“There was a delicate, tenuous thread tying us together. If I moved, would it break?”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“In the end, everyone leaves.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“I’m certain that blue eyes would taste amazing, much better than brown ones.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“And when you take everything from him, you can say what these men say about us: He was asking for it. He was begging for it. He must have wanted it, since he didn’t fight back.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Her tears dripped onto my hands, onto the carpet; I watched them fall and had the sudden realization that our roles had reversed. Somehow, I had become the mother and she the daughter.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“The only power he has is the power you are willing to give him, and you’ve given him nothing. Not a scrap. By the time you’re done with him, he’ll be begging for mercy. Who is he if he can’t control you? Is he even a man anymore?”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“George’s power doesn’t come only from the fact that he has a penis. It comes from his whiteness. For us, that kind of certainty and self-assuredness is an impossibility.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“You don’t back down when he tries to wield his power. Instead, you trip him up by slipping him little lies. Correct him whenever you can. Confuse him. Make him feel foolish. Men like him hate being wrong, hate being embarrassed, hate not being in control. Men like him don’t know what to do when that happens, and they resort to childish displays of anger, temper tantrums, sulking. In spite of this, he won’t be able to do a single thing about it because in the end he’s the one who is weak. The only power he has is the power you are willing to give him, and you’ve given him nothing. Not a scrap.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“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

“It must be nice to be so assured of your safety that you don’t have to worry about being alone at night or getting in the wrong car.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“The other night, she insisted that the moon landing had been faked. When Ji-hyun and I started arguing with her, she seemed almost happy, even when it resulted in an almost hour-long quarrel that left Ji-hyun in tears.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“I press my tongue against the white of his sclera. It’s salty. His tears. His sweat. I can taste it all.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“She’s sleeping on her side, huddled over in the corner, even though the rest of the bed is empty. Perhaps it’s because she’s used to making herself small. Perhaps it’s because she’s spent a lifetime making herself inconspicuous for men like my father and George.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“His wallet is flush with cash, the leather stretching around it. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that amount of money in my life. It looks like a thousand dollars, maybe two. Umma glances at it before turning away, but it’s too late. I’ve already seen the hungry gleam in her eyes.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“How do I explain to her that the home I miss isn't a place? It is a time when my life made sense.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“I knew the truth then—that our father was not going to return. But even in the dark, I could see my sister’s expression, the wrinkles across her forehead. It hurt me so badly that I found myself lying through my teeth.

“Of course he’ll come back.”

She turned onto her shoulder, facing me, and chewed her lower lip. “How can you be so sure?”

“I just am.”

Reassured, Ji-hyun curled up next to me like a cooked shrimp, her feet hanging off the bed. I stroked her silky dark hair until she fell asleep, watching as her chest rose and fell. She looked so peaceful and at ease that I almost didn’t feel guilty. Long after my mother grew quiet, I remained awake, listening to Ji-hyun snore beside me. Only then did the awfulness of our situation swim back into my heart.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“I don’t resent her for her grief. It comes from a place of weakness, of powerlessness.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Every time he tried to argue, to insult her, she looked him in the eye and laughed and was so perfectly pleasant that it was obvious she had the upper hand.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Hope is my sister curled in my arms, her head resting against my shoulder, asking, “Do you think he will come back?”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“The only power he has is the power you are willing to give him, and you’ve given him nothing. Not a scrap.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“Because it planted something deep within me, a seed of anger that grew, that made me watch and ponder and learn, until I was strong enough to release my own rage.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“The truth is that men like George seldom notice things unless they are directly involved in them. Men like him are stupid and oblivious, convinced of their own self-importance.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part

“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.”
― Monika Kim, The Eyes Are the Best Part