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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
reflective
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:
Complicated
I like this concept but it just all feels a bit underbaked and the "twist" feels well forecasted and ultimately has little consequence and is unexplored. This book digs up a lot of social topics as well with out really exploring them - either to make a point or to challenge the reader to think for themselves - they just kind of are mentioned and forgotten. All that said, it was still a fairly quick and easy read and the voice and personality shine through the book in a fairly unique way.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is very stream of consciousness, in the sense that the main character sort of hopscotches around between memories of the past, current events, and inner speculation on both past and present. If you're into that kind of thing, you might enjoy the book.
I did not, because I found the main character to be incredibly miserable and boring. Anisa, a rich Pakistani-born woman now living in England, constantly wonders at how much of her world seems to be built by or filtered through the lens of patriarchy, racism, classism, colorism, and sexism, but lacks the nuance and depth to do much more than alert the audience that she's pondering these issues before returning to the main action. The informal "blah blah blah" is used more than once, which I suppose you could read as a character realistically trying to steer the conversation back to safer waters.
Except that beyond these internal musings, none of these issues or inequalities are addressed or even seem to factor into the story in any meaningful capacity. Maybe Anisa and Adam's relationship broke apart because of significant cultural, class, and racial differences, or maybe they're both miserable people and fundamentally incompatible bordering on not at a place where they can maintain a meaningful adult relationship with *anyone.* Anisa comes across as a young woman who is simultaneously dissatisfied with her own life while also not having the faintest clue about what would actually make her happy. Each new achievement she reaches only results in the goalposts being moved, alongside a few paragraphs about why this milestone doesn't really make her happy. It's like being trapped at a coffee meeting with an old acquaintance in desperate need of venting about how sad they are, and you lack the excuses or nerves to leave the conversation in the middle of their rant.
All of this I wouldn't have minded as much if the horror elements of the story were strong, but they're weak enough to be almost nonexistent. The Centre is meant to be some secret establishment with exclusive clientele under a mountain of NDA agreements, but Anisa tells her best friend all about it right off the bat and meets with zero repercussions. At one point someone threatens her if she goes public, but the threat never comes to fruition. When the dark truth at the heart of the Centre is revealed, the worst fallout that occurs is making things slightly awkward between Anisa and her friend Shiba on the final few days of their trip together. Spoilers going forward, but a conversation about real-life cannibalism between Anisa and Naima merits a few short sentences, and then the ladies' focus drifts to wedding planning. That's it. That's the extent of an in-universe reaction to the horror.
You cannot expect me to care about a horror story that seems so genuinely disinterested in its own horror. The cannibalism is rendered toothless by the assurance to the audience that all participants were financially compensated while alive, passed on peacefully, and did not have their remains processed until after death. The revelation of cannibalism is met not with genuine disgust or fright, but rather with a general attitude of, "how dare this thing interrupt my plans I'd scheduled before this," like your parents had called with news of an old neighbor dying right before you were going out for a night on the town. The secret of the Centre is never made public, Anisa never sees any consequences for revealing its secrets to someone else, and the ending of the book seems to imply that Anisa will eventually join up with the Centre's upper echelon in the hopes of maybe this time, reaching the goal will actually make her satisfied. The ending is open-ended and ambiguous, yes, but not in the way that leaves you wondering or guessing. More like the writer got up and wandered off from the keyboard and some poor editor had to cobble together an ending in a few short lines. None of the horror elements are developed in any meaningful capacity, and concerns about the various -isms I mentioned earlier do little more than pay lip service to these issues. The Centre feels like a first draft of something that needed to be better developed. I did not care for this book.
I did not, because I found the main character to be incredibly miserable and boring. Anisa, a rich Pakistani-born woman now living in England, constantly wonders at how much of her world seems to be built by or filtered through the lens of patriarchy, racism, classism, colorism, and sexism, but lacks the nuance and depth to do much more than alert the audience that she's pondering these issues before returning to the main action. The informal "blah blah blah" is used more than once, which I suppose you could read as a character realistically trying to steer the conversation back to safer waters.
Except that beyond these internal musings, none of these issues or inequalities are addressed or even seem to factor into the story in any meaningful capacity. Maybe Anisa and Adam's relationship broke apart because of significant cultural, class, and racial differences, or maybe they're both miserable people and fundamentally incompatible bordering on not at a place where they can maintain a meaningful adult relationship with *anyone.* Anisa comes across as a young woman who is simultaneously dissatisfied with her own life while also not having the faintest clue about what would actually make her happy. Each new achievement she reaches only results in the goalposts being moved, alongside a few paragraphs about why this milestone doesn't really make her happy. It's like being trapped at a coffee meeting with an old acquaintance in desperate need of venting about how sad they are, and you lack the excuses or nerves to leave the conversation in the middle of their rant.
All of this I wouldn't have minded as much if the horror elements of the story were strong, but they're weak enough to be almost nonexistent. The Centre is meant to be some secret establishment with exclusive clientele under a mountain of NDA agreements, but Anisa tells her best friend all about it right off the bat and meets with zero repercussions. At one point someone threatens her if she goes public, but the threat never comes to fruition. When the dark truth at the heart of the Centre is revealed, the worst fallout that occurs is making things slightly awkward between Anisa and her friend Shiba on the final few days of their trip together. Spoilers going forward, but a conversation about real-life cannibalism between Anisa and Naima merits a few short sentences, and then the ladies' focus drifts to wedding planning. That's it. That's the extent of an in-universe reaction to the horror.
You cannot expect me to care about a horror story that seems so genuinely disinterested in its own horror. The cannibalism is rendered toothless by the assurance to the audience that all participants were financially compensated while alive, passed on peacefully, and did not have their remains processed until after death. The revelation of cannibalism is met not with genuine disgust or fright, but rather with a general attitude of, "how dare this thing interrupt my plans I'd scheduled before this," like your parents had called with news of an old neighbor dying right before you were going out for a night on the town. The secret of the Centre is never made public, Anisa never sees any consequences for revealing its secrets to someone else, and the ending of the book seems to imply that Anisa will eventually join up with the Centre's upper echelon in the hopes of maybe this time, reaching the goal will actually make her satisfied. The ending is open-ended and ambiguous, yes, but not in the way that leaves you wondering or guessing. More like the writer got up and wandered off from the keyboard and some poor editor had to cobble together an ending in a few short lines. None of the horror elements are developed in any meaningful capacity, and concerns about the various -isms I mentioned earlier do little more than pay lip service to these issues. The Centre feels like a first draft of something that needed to be better developed. I did not care for this book.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes