Reviews with content warning for Classism - The Centre

I was really excited by this read, but it was honestly disappointing. Very well written by all means, but it fell flat, often lacked stakes, and overall just didn't give me the scare I was hoping for. Definitely an interesting story, just a bit meh.

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courtney_scott1025's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I really enjoyed this book. I had it on hold for ever at the library, so I just bought it instead. As a debut, this was great! I enjoyed the writing, the interesting world of literary translation, of which I knew nothing. My only gripe is that, I wish the book would have gone more into Anisa translating these famous works. I wanted to see more of the workings of that. It was a huge feat for her, and we really didn't get to share in that reward I guess? We were just told she translated it and that it was a hit. I cannot wait for other novels by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi.

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crgrace's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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raisinreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

I genuinely don't know how this isn't rated way higher. I can't wait to read more of her work. The plot was incredible, and I enjoyed the writing style and the commentary immensely. Everything about this was so interesting. I did want more from the ending and I do think some of the content could've have definitely used a sensitivity reader.

I think the critiques of the main character in some reviews lack an understanding of what a character has to be.. like characters do not have to be perfect ppl that always do what you want? They can exist to serve a stories purpose, further add to the commentary and idk have flaws like ppl do

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americattt's review

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“We spoke then of soft and tender things, damaged and frightened things. I’ll keep our exchange between us for now, as I continue to learn how to care for these very fragile things, and how to translate into words that which has not been spoken.”

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Centre falls outside my wheelhouse genre-wise but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Anisa is a Pakistani translator who dreams of translating great works of literature but spends her days subtitling Bollywood movies instead. When her boyfriend Adam becomes fluent in Urdu, seemingly overnight, she convinces him to share his secret. The answer is The Centre, a secretive institution that guarantees fluency in any language during a two week residential course. Anisa applies, learns German, later returns to learn Russian, and develops a relationship with the manager which, combined with her curiosity, helps her uncover the shocking secret behind The Centre’s success. I really enjoyed the discussion about translation early in the novel and liked the slow build up of tension, the increasingly ominous feeling that something wasn’t right but not being able to quite put a finger on what. In terms of the reveal there was one particularly memorable image that will stay with me. I also enjoyed mulling over some of the philosophical and ethical implications of The Centre’s methods. Finally, I appreciated the way The Centre’s methods functioned as a startlingly effective metaphor for cultural appropriation.

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thecriticalreader's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqui is not what it appears to be based on its description, which makes it sound like a horror or thriller novel. Instead, it’s a quiet, almost slice-of-life, story and a self-aware philosophical musing on power. The writing style is clear, casual, and familiar, which works in the book’s favor, both in terms of readability and in terms of how it interacts with the story’s plot and thematic elements.

The strongest part of the book for me is the relationships between the main character Anisa and her friends. Anisa is so well-realized, she feels like a real person—outwardly likable and relatable but also destructive in her selfish, casual wielding of privilege for her own benefit. Her relationship with her best friend particularly fascinating. It was these complicated relationship dynamics that I enjoyed most about the book.

The Centre broaches a lot of philosophical questions, most of which relate to the theme of power and how people wield it—who has it, who deserves it, how it takes shape in interpersonal relationships where the parties have different and unequal privileges, and whether it can be wielded for moral purposes. The book fails to answer the questions it broaches, but I still found them interesting.

I believe this book will be deeply polarizing. It doesn’t provide answers to its questions, it doesn’t provide resolution to its story, the main character holds deeply questionable morals, and it appears to (unwittingly?) reflect a degree of self-hatred/internalized oppression on the author’s part. Nevertheless, its willingness to ask uncomfortable questions, its creative premise, and well-written and fascinating relationship dynamics outweighed the drawbacks for me.

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sangsmiles's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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