Loved the premise of this! Writing and dialogue was perfect IMO! I felt the end was too rushed but that could just be because I was enjoying it so much.

Dark, twisty, and sexy. It’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole of this face paced and seductive tale. The protagonist is a privileged Pakistani women living a middle class life in England and working as a translator. This book was right up my alley, even if I didn’t care for some of the twists around the 2/3 mark. A divisive and discussable ending (and entire book!). I raced to finish my copy. Trigger warnings: While not gory, it’s definitely not for the squeamish. Contains some sexual content.

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy of The Centre. I did not love this as much as others. I do not usually read this genre and it is because i do not always feel it is done right.

What an incredible concept for a book! This book had me hooked from the very beginning and I could not put it down. 4.5 stars!

I'm not normally a horror person, but as someone perpetually haunted by the DuoLingo Owl, I had to read this book. A centre that GUARANTEES fluency? In ten days? I just couldn't envision what horrific turn this could take. I did find myself getting bored at times, and the main character was a pretty unlikable character, but I think that's intentional.

You know when you read something from Gillian Flynn's imprint that it's going to be a little dark, a little twisted, and compulsively readable! The Centre offers a new way to learn a language in only ten days and Anisa, a translator who wants more out of her life than just subtitling movies, decides to give the program a try. This book is best enjoyed not knowing much about the plot - it's unique, weird, and dark. A must read for those who enjoy literary fiction with a touch of horror mixed in.

Thank you to Zando Projects and NetGalley for this ARC.

The secrets reveal towards the end of the novel bumped the star rating up a bit for me. Interesting concept and plot. It just felt like a meandering journey to get there. The first half seems like a normal everyday novel, if not a bit slow.. and then things take a turn for the dark and gothic. Once we start to learn about The Centre, the pace of the novel does pick up. Overall it was an okay read for me. I think if the book focused on the gothic/horror part of the Centre and less on the imagery and prose I may have enjoyed it more.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read and review honestly an advanced digital copy.

New Release: The Centre, by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi 🖤🔐♻️🙀👯‍♀️

What did I just read?!?!

Thanks to @netgalley and @zandoprojects for the advance copy of this dark and propulsive book. It was outside my usual genres and I’m not even sure how to categorize it. I loved the cozy place descriptions, and the female friendships. Those descriptions are so warm and real that you really believe the weird, boundary-pushing stuff going on at The Centre. I thought the pacing was a little off, and there were some distracting mistakes in the early version I read. One interesting quote I’m still thinking about… “All patriotism, in the end, is patriarchal and deadly.”

This might be one of the most sophisticatedly structured books I’ve had the pleasure of reading this year! In all honesty, I didn’t think it would be, given the novel’s oddly unpolished first few pages. The voice of our narrator Anisa Ellahi comes across as both awkward and scattered, but as she relaxes into her story and the narrative unfolds, a meticulously built manuscript comes into focus, telling a tale at once audaciously unlikely and sickeningly plausible.

It helps that Anisa’s story is very much rooted in modern life, especially for first-generation Asian immigrants. The book begins, more or less, with Anisa’s dissatisfaction with her life in London. She came to the United Kingdom from Karachi to study, and decided to stay on after graduating. Over a decade later, she provides English subtitles for Bollywood films and chafes at her inability to break into the literary translation market.

She’s attending yet another translation studies conference when she meets Adam, a white Londoner whose native fluency in multiple languages astonishes her. They begin to date, despite her misgivings:

QUOTE
His reaction when I said I was from Pakistan spoke volumes–this vigorous “I’m so totally cool with that” kind of nod. And then he asked me whether I’d ever been pressured to wear a headscarf. When I responded by calling his question bizarre, he turned red and sputtered endless apologies. I thought of asking him in return whether he’d ever been pressured to divide and conquer, then realized that might imply that I thought the hijab was negative, and I got so caught up in this response loop in my own head that I just let it go.
END QUOTE

One thing she can’t let go of, however, is his prodigious mastery of languages. He finally confides in her that his abilities come from sessions at a highly secretive language institute called The Centre. For twenty thousand pounds, they guarantee native speaker fluency in one language per single ten-day session.

Anisa is highly skeptical of this claim but also intrigued. While she’s fluent in Urdu, French and English, she knows that the most lucrative market for literary translators is in German. Armed with a recommendation from Adam, she begins the process of applying to The Centre in hopes of learning enough to further her career.

The Centre ends up being both deeply weird and strangely relaxing. The interview process is invasive, and the learning experience itself oddly tedious. But Anisa finds a kindred spirit in The Centre’s director, Shiba, who has taken over the day-to-day management of the retreat from its founders. As Shiba and Anisa grow closer, the secret at the heart of The Centre’s success slowly unfolds.

Is there a speculative element to the mystery that propels this novel? Absolutely. But more importantly, the activities of The Centre are a compelling and slippery metaphor, molded by everyone who knows its secret into philosophical arguments regarding human life, survival and power. As Anisa says to Shiba:

QUOTE
“But what you’re describing isn’t transformation, it’s…extension. You’ll just end up reproducing whatever [the Founders] come up with.”

“You know that’s not how it works. There’s choice involved. It would be like…like smuggling dynamite into the epicenter of power. We could remake the world in our own image,” she said. Her eyes lit up as she spoke.

“It’s too much,” I said. “To participate unknowingly was one thing, but to do it voluntarily? I’m not sure I’m cut out for that.”

“But you’re doing it anyway, Anisa. We all are. It’s how the cycle of life works, right? This is just a way to opt in consciously. To have more control. Listen, life is short. We have, what, another…fifty, sixty years left? We need to stuff more into our little lives. I know you think so too.”
END QUOTE

Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi broaches a breathtaking range of important social topics in her debut novel, grappling with colonialism, race and sexuality in this dazzlingly constructed novel. The tension and pacing are impeccable, with suspense and heartbreak a constant across the book’s final pages. As in real life, there are no easy answers, but as in real life, there is humor and lightness and hope to help alleviate the darkness.

This is one of those novels that will have you wanting to reread it immediately after you reach the end, to find those clues you might have missed the first time around, as well as to give you indications as to what Anisa might choose next. If you’re the kind of reader who prefers your fiction cut and dried, an escapist alternative to the vexing complexities of the everyday, then this may not be the book for you. I, however, absolutely loved it.

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
Publisher Gillian Flynn Books
Release Date July 11, 2023


Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Pace: 4/5
Overall Enjoyment: 5/5

Sometimes a book will leave an imprint that will last forever. It could be the topic, the writer’s ability to tell a story or just because it evoked tons of emotions from you the reader. This book has conquered all three of those for me. Outside of my genre, I had heard many great things about the writer as well as this particular book. So I requested it on NetGalley and was lucky enough to be approved. I never thought that a book about language would take me on the journey of a lifetime right from my bedroom.

Anisa Ellahi has had a pretty mundane life consisting of writing subtitles for B rated movies, enjoying the company of her friend Naima, having parents who still provide her with an allowance and a boyfriend, As a young Pakistani translator, she wants to translate a more expansive literature. Yet Adam, who speaks more languages than her has found a way to get paid for such knowledge. However, one day, Adam, tells Anisa about the Centre. It is a place where if you follow all of the rules, you too will be able to be fluent in other languages. It is by invite only and you must never tell of its existence. After a mere ten days Anisa is now able to converse in German. She soon learns there is a cost for learning and losing your identity might be on the top of the list.

The author has done an amazingly wonderful job of telling this story and throwing in a few different genres while doing so. The book touches on conformity and class while still showing the reader the darker side of bargaining. This is a slower pace read but gets quickly to the main story. It is like a budding rose. Each layer has something else to show you. The descriptive writing will take you away to a foreign land from wherever you are reading the book.

Overall I definitely give this book 5 huge stars


Thank you to NetGalley as well as the author and publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.

Thanks to Zando Projects for accepting me to read the eARC for The Centre, it was a ride and unexpected one for me to but I enjoyed this ominous and modern story. This book had me conscious and reflective of how varied or similiar the lifestyle of protagnist Anisa's , who is from Pakistan, is. It's often tied down by her selfish mentality and vaules that come from living in this case London and the unfamiliarity of her ethnicity there.The relationships she has are not stable in a country that is not completely hers and she therefore makes a lot of her proximity to anyone more distanced.

Anisa wants more when in comes to her job that she does translating Bollywood movies,which like almost everything has become a thing to improve upon or move on from. That is of course until she is a told about the highly exclusive language school The Centre which she is told about from this guy Adam. Its a place you can go to learn to speak fluently in ten days and is meant to be kept a seceret by those who know about it. Anyways while they have a complicated date relationship to each other she goes after receiving her invite. And along the way there discovers a whole lot and builds relationship with the very top person and manger Shiba . Its very obscure about what's happening until the very end and did so along the formation of them growing closer.

I definitely had no clue what to expect going into this mystery/ thriller because it was so unexpected but made the most sense to why everything around The Centre was so private. Definitely loved every second that was unpacked in the plotlines of this debut book from Ayesha Manazir Siddiq.

The Centre is totally unique and engrossing. The concept of a secret language learning institute which promises fluency in 10 days drew me in right away, and Siddiqi's smooth storytelling had me hooked from the first few pages. I enjoyed the thrill of finding out the secret of how the Centre really works as much as I enjoyed following intelligent and sincere protagonist Anisa's life. We follow along as she ascends to the translation career of her dreams, navigates her relationships with her awkward boyfriend Adam and her best friend Naima, reminisces about her childhood in Pakistan and poses questions inherent to language learning and translation around culture, privilege, and appropriation.

The story idea is really original and intriguing. Unfortunately, however, the book failed to win me over. The writing style is fluent and the story reads smoothly, even though deeper themes are being addressed from time to time. Also, the mysterious vibe of this book keeps you intrigued, but I kept waiting for the big suspenseful scenes that never happened. The ending was also a bit of an anti-climax in my opinion. On the one hand I had definitely seen it coming, yet on the other hand it left me with too much questions and loose ends that were never worked out.
3,25/5 ⭐
Thank you Netgalley for the eARC.

I was so excited for this book - as a pakistani muslim, how could I not be so excited? I was ready to champion this book. And keep in mind that I was prepared to let the usual liberal stuff regarding muslim rep slide because I didn't go into this expecting religious muslim rep. As long as there was nothing islamophobic or blasphemous, I was ready to just sit back and enjoy the ride. But boy was I wrong. It pains me to rip apart a fellow pakistani book. But man was this book BAD.

The first 30%-40% of this book was easy 4/5-5/5. The commentary about translation, about pakistani identity, colonialism, feminism, all the social commentary in conjunction with the unreliable narration was really well done. Don't get me wrong - you will NOT like this MC at all. She is the definition of privilege and screwing shit up around her and not having to work too hard in her life, and not knowing the true immigrant struggle of being poor and making ends meet - but somehow, through the commentary, you empathize with her regardless.

At times it felt like the author was having almost an identity crisis in this first half where she wasn't sure what to hone and focus her commentary on, so she tried to do it all, in a meandering manner. It almost worked, at least centrally in this first 30-40%. But nevertheless, still a very compelling read.

What really pissed me off in this first part of the book and made me drop a whole star just from the scene is the extremely blasphemy regarding Islam. Now look, this MC is NOT practicing at all. she drinks and dates and has sex, etc, which I did NOT CARE about. I was FINE with it. I did not go into this expecting anything religious, as long as it wasn't blasphemous. But for the scene I'll be talking about-how the HELL did the publisher not catch this? I don't care how religious you are or not as a muslim. Even non practicing muslims know not to do this. Essentially what happened is that the best friend of the MC is into divination and scrying and weird manifestation shit. She has the MC partake in some candle lit circle of real manifestation. Now I was side eyeing this but willing to let it slide as long as Islam was not mixed in it. But then the MC and the best friend who is apparently also Muslim, said "inshallah" aka "By Allah's will" in the ritual. She also says "ameen". That is blasphemy because we consider manifestation rituals & anything with divination, Black Magic. Black Magic is among the most forbidden disgusting things in the lens of Islam because it is seeking help through supernatural means which is automatically "shirk" aka associating partners with Allah/God. It is the MOST unforgiveable sin. So every muslim, even the least knowledgeable ones stay away from it because we were told spooky stories about it growing up & know how grave it is. It's blasphemy and I promise you, NO muslim or pakistani reader asked for this rep. Don't mix islam into your weird western dumb divination shit. You could have your character do it WITHOUT any Islam. Like I just want to shake the author and ask why? What drove her to do this? did she not have a single sensitivity reader? keep inshallah out of your goddamn mouth.

Now despite this bullshit, I was willing to just drop 0.5-1 stars, and read on and just focus on the content of the story and enjoy it because I loved the commentary and story itself so far. But no. The story itself went to crap. It's hard to believe Gillian Flynn, my favourite author of all time, acquired something this horribly plotted, with such a bad identity crisis.

The Centre, stopped being the focus of the story. In fact, the main plot twist of the Centre and the big secret, was so damn predictable I just wanted to stop reading the second it happened. But what sucked even more was that even though I guessed the plot twist, it was such a sickening weird dumb plot twist, I PRAYED it wouldn't be it. Of course it was. And after the MC finds out the plot twist, you'd think she'd react more or DO something. But no. This bitch did NOTHING. she had such zero agency I was baffled. So all the tension in the book just poofed, disappeared. All we got was some shallow romantic relationship that was so poorly done it made me want to claw my eyes out, and we got a major identity crisis with this book.

That's how I would summarize this book: an identity crisis. After that 40% mark, all we get is thrown in colonialism and feminism commentary but then it contradicts itself a lot too. Some of the commentary made me side eye the author like crazy from how offensive it was. For example. she gave us good commentary about islamophobia and bollywood. At the same time, the MC visits Delhi, India, and comments how she feels so much safer here than in Karachi Pakistan, and goes on about how unsafe karachi is. In the same breath she remarks how she feels for her muslim brothers and sisters for facing genocidal state-sanctioned violence by the Modi-Indian government. Bitch??? so YOU feel safe in Delhi because you're with a rich ass family & not a hijabi, but use one brush to paint delhi out to be this paradise of safety using YOUR own experience, while describing how horrible karachi is? But then you say that oh but the muslims here face hell because of the genocidal policies like ?? how does that make Delhi safer or better than Karachi then?! Man I wanted to slap this MC and shred this book. Anyone even remotely informed on indian & south asian politics would know what I'm talking about & how backwards/contradictory this commentary was. Again, where was the sensitivity reader?

And something big happens to the MC - something which was entirely unnecessary for this book. I'm all for sexual assault being normalized in books, but it was so poorly done and rushed and forced into this one, I just hated how it was handled. It was so crassly thrown in and moved on from and done such injustice. The commentary was not even real commentary - it was an identity crisis in itself because the author decides to keep it vague where she quite literally comments saying "oh but did it actually happen? maybe it didn't. you'll never know" as a creative choice but really it was the literary equivalent of trying to be edgy and quirky and different. Do survivors justice and make up your damn mind. Sexual assault is not a light subject to just broach for some damn artistic narrative choices. Not to mention, the way it played out felt like complete character assassination. At this point, you just forget The Centre is even a thing because again this was so crassly thrown in and diverted any plot and reaction to The Centre & its plot twist. It was like reading a different book at this point. It felt like the author was trying to do EVERYTHING but only scraping the surface level of everything. I wish it was intertwined with the book and its themes and plots but it wasn't. Instead, it made me hate the characters and the book even more.

Oh and don't get me started on the Israel shit! Basically, the Centre is founded by an Indian, a British man, an American, and an Israeli. I was excited because I assumed she'd make good use of this symbolism of four genocidal states and link it to ongoing colonialism. But no - not ONCE did she make ANY COMMENTARY ABOUT THIS! Like HUH!? you make random meandering commentary about the fucking clothes and shit but now the literal colonial superpowers?! In fact, you have Israel in there, it should be so easy! But no - instead she EMPATHIZES WITH THE ISRAELI! I hate it here! I literally wanted to scream. Basically something happens to the Israeli that I won't spoil and then MC decides to make "dua" aka islamic prayer for him. I was like EXCUSE ME!?? In case you guys didn't know, Pakistan is one of the only countries in the world where Israeli's are banned from entering and vice versa - we are illegal in each others countries because pakistan's entire personality is shitting on Israel for their genocide/occupation of Palestine. But no - not once did she ever say a bad word against this dude. Just praises him, says how she sympathizes with him and recites an islamic prayer for him. I was so angry and offended. where the FUCK was the sensitivity reader? I was raging when I read that. Makes me ashamed and embarrassed to see a pakistani book, sympathize with israel this way. someone revoke this book's pakistani card please.

As for the rest of the book, there is none because the book, I shit you not, ends smack dab in the middle of a scene without any resolution. There will NOT be a sequel - this is advertised as standalone before someone tries to come at me. It just ended, the end. No closure, no nothing. It was clearly an "artistic" choice where once again she was trying to be quirky and different and edgy.

Anyways I would not recommend this book to anyone. If you do somehow pick it up, please DNF right when the "secret" of the centre happens because after that, it's a total trainwreck and you will hate yourself for reading on. Definitely one of the worst books of this year. And shame on the publisher for not prioritizing any sensitivity readers.

This one was a little hard for me to get into. It felt slow at the start, and felt different than what I would normally read. The audio helped me to get into it though, the narrator did really well with the voice and accent of the mc.

I was intriged by the language learning center as there was clearly some kind of dark secret behind it, and I wanted to keep going to find out what it was. But instead of developing that plot line and keeping my interest, it kept getting bogged down in details about side relationships of the mc and fights and disagreements she was having with them. It didn't help the story along at all. There was also a lot of portions that just felt like soapboxes that were shoehorned in, that, again, didn't add anything to the plot, especially as it's a relatively short book and those segments seemed to take up a great majority of the pages.

The twist in this story was definitely quite shocking but then the book ended very vaguely, so we're left not really knowing what happened to the mc or the Centre.

I think that ultimately this book was just not for me, it seems I am a minority among reviewers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for both the earc and the audiobook copy of this title.
All opinions are my own.

The Centre is an incredibly strong debut! This book is going to sit with me for some time. I found the writing to be exquisite, the plot was delicious and twisty, and the social commentary was deep and thoughtful. This book was intricate in the best ways. Expect speculative fiction with gothic elements and deliberate writing in this fantastic novel.

Of all the beautiful elements in this book, I am most impressed with Siddiqi’s writing. She seems to have a mastery over the craft resulting in a book that is both coherent and interesting while also having a multilayered depth to it. There are moments of comedic meta narration, there is a darkly suspenseful undercurrent throughout, the plot slowly builds to something that is altogether fascinating, and underlying it all is a critical conversation about power and voice in our world that encourages deep thought in the reader. There were a few moments of informality in the writing that took me out of the narration for a second, but the plot circled around to explain this later in the novel, so I no longer found that to be an issue.

The novel places readers in the same mental quandary that our narrator Anisa finds herself in, as she tries to decipher the complicated and conflicting morality at play within the power dynamics that shape our history and our present. The Centre is set up in opposition to the work that Anisa’s friend Naima does. It is clear at the beginning of the book that Naima puts a lot of effort into being culturally sensitive and the work she does is intended to heal generational trauma. At the same time, Anisa is invited to attend the Centre, a super-exclusive institution that promises to teach anyone to be entirely fluent in a previously unknown language within two weeks. Anisa is invited by her boyfriend Adam, a name which I think is highly symbolic; Adam -- generic human (man). Adam is written as a mediocre yet wildly successful white man, and his success is clearly due to his time at the Centre. This is an institution created to pass on power to an elite group of people, and Anisa is eager to receive it.

As the novel progresses, a question of complicity and worthiness arises. When power has been attained through the exploitation of those who are disenfranchised, can anyone — even someone who is not from the dominant race or class — take over that seat of power and change it so it is no longer problematic? Or will they be consumed in the process, to simply repeat the oppression? If good people don’t take over those seats of power, who will? Whose voices are worth listening to and what are the consequences of speaking personal stories? And what gives us power? Those who have had a role in paving the way to give us outward-facing power, or a history of people—women—who have done the work of caring and toiling and shaping the person we have become?

These are the themes that the novel tackles and they are profound and worth reflection.

These themes feel like they become even more true to our real-world experience in how the author concludes the novel, ambiguous though it was. It was brilliant, actually.

This book feels like it has already rooted itself deep within me, which in itself is ironic. I loved the experience of reading this book and I love how it has left me.

I want anyone reading this review to understand something: This isn’t a bad book. It’s actually a really good book. It’s just not a good book for me. Art is entirely a subjective thing. That’s the entire point of it. Everyone gets something different out of it. I can see how much so many people love this novel. Believe it or not, I was extremely excited to read this because I thought I’d adore it; but in the end, it just wasn’t a book that resonated with me in any way. Furthermore, it wasn’t a book I really enjoyed that much, in the end.

Siddiqi is obviously a force to be reckoned with and I hope they continue to write more books. I’ll be watching for the next one and be waiting to read it because she has a distinct and strong writing voice that I feel probably has a lot of brilliant stories to tell. Her prose so easily moves between the dreamy and ethereal to the present and stark reality it’s truly a gift. I greatly enjoyed and appreciated the amount of research that had to have gone into this book, as well as the worldbuilding. I feel her dialogue could use some work, but no author starts out perfect.

The plot was definitely interesting, I just think the satirical aspect of the book and how it was done felt rather cliche in some aspects. It also felt just a little too beaten into the reader, like dough that’s been kneaded so much it can no longer rise. If you beat the reader over the head with something constantly throughout the book they have nothing to rise and discover alongside with as they read the novel.

I absolutely don’t want to discourage anyone from reading this book, though. I feel this book is a matter of personal decision. I encourage you to read it and make up your own mind.

I was provided a copy of this title by NetGalley and the author. All opinions, thoughts, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

As per personal policy, this review will not appear on any social media or bookseller websites due to receiving a rating of three stars or under.

File Under: Just Not For Me/Literary Fiction/Satire/Suspense Fiction

THE CENTRE follows Anisa, a Pakistani film translator in London. Anisa wants to transition from translating films to translating literature. To do so, she attends The Centre, a highly secretive, elite, invite-only language school that claims to grant you fluency in another language in only ten days. All you have to do is show up, cease all contact during your stay, and never speak a word of your time at The Centre. Anisa is amazed by the results and digs deeper into the inner mechanics of the miraculous process to find the ominous truth.

This was a great debut! It was not as sinister as I wanted it to be but I loved it. I really liked how it reads like a thriller lit fic mixture. I kind of guessed the twist but it didn’t ruin the fun of this story. It was quite dark at times but also humorous and the way the story ends made me feel like I was reading an origin story. Anisa’s origin story.

Really interesting background and context about translation and language. The story and plot were well crafted and the characters were solid, if not particularly deep. The ideas and implications of the mystery were compelling and left me mulling over them for a while after finishing.

This is a strange and interesting book! I wouldn't put it in the hand of just any reader and would encourage a reader who is interested to read it all the way through! I wasn't sure I liked the story at the beginning, but the more I read the weirder it got and the more I liked it. I'm not sure that it's a full 4 star read, but it is more than a three... so... four it is. Read it if you like weird. The writing is worth it, the story develops as you go - you just have to trust the process.