Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Centre

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

56 reviews

thehannahclaire's review against another edition

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dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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stellahadz's review against another edition

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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? Yes

3.75

This book had an interesting premise, but I think either the execution didn't deliver as much as I expected or I'm not clever enough to understand the point of certain plot elements. It seems like translation is supposed to be a metaphor, I'm just not sure what for, and that's always frustrating for me as a reader. Still, I found the theme of translation and the commentary on language and privilege really interesting. I liked Anisa and Naima's friendship, as well as Anisa's musings on her family and other relationships. The plot felt like it was missing something, especially towards the end, and the reveal of the Centre's secrets felt extremely rushed and glossed over. I also found

the scene in Arjun's office

unnecessary. However, the actual ending of the book was kind of perfect in a chilling way.

This is definitely the kind of book you have to dive deep into, so it might be fun for a book club or reading group. At times it feels like there are just a few too many topics and themes being stuffed into a relatively short book, but Siddiqi's prose is excellent. I'd love to read more of her work.

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beanie_bob's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

To be clear, I don’t think I’d recommend this book to anyone. At least not lightly or casually. But I am giving it at least 4 stars (going back and forth between a 4 and 4.25). The themes, content, and characters of The Centre all require a willingness from the reader to just listen, even if they hate what they’re hearing.

Cannibalism. I knew it was coming - I spoiled it for myself when adding the book to my TBR, and again when I looked up the Jacques Derrida quote Shiba likes. But even knowing that there would be cannibalism didn’t desensitize me to the reveal - it was gross, made worse by how the founders of The Centre carry themselves with an air of enlightenment, sophistication, wisdom, elitism, etc.

I read Tender is the Flesh a couple of years ago and honestly, I don’t want to read another cannibalism book. I know as a theme and metaphor the girls are loving it (hello Ethel Caine, Bones and All, and Hannibal TV show) but I am not one of those girls.

Luckily, I think the cannibalism here is not a metaphor for an all consuming love (or whatever the girls are saying on Twitter). I think the characters delude themselves about their actions being justified or even morally superior because they obtained (dubious) consent. They convince themselves that they can live on forever this way. I think this is more or less an exercise in the extremes privelleged people go to not interact with the real problems of today (poverty, inequality, inaccessibility) in order to create a flimsy vision of the future. A future that seems to only benefit them and their circle.

Let’s talk characters

Anisa: if you need a main character to be likable

or redeemable

then do not pick up this book. She starts off pretty neutral, maybe a little lost in a general quarter life crisis way. But as the book goes on her anxieties, insecurities, preoccupations and judgements take center stage.

She is unwilling to confront her own class and wealth privilege despite being hyper critical of the world around her. She’s manipulative (especially to Adam, and later, heartbreakingly, to Naima) and she cares more about how people see her vs how she treats them. She seems more motivated by curiosity than goodness.

She’s interesting to read from but not exactly easy to empathize with (not that you always need to empathize with a character, anyway).

Naima: The realest one, ride or die, if Naima has 0 fans then I am dead. She is full of life and genuine emotion and reflection. Not academically fetishized enlightenment.

Adam:

Adam enters and leaves the narrative without much fanfare, but I was surprised to find myself rooting for him when he was fighting with Anisa. It’s easy to make fun of Adam , especially when Anisa picks him apart for most of their relationship. But he is the one to throw the first flag and tell her that she is selfish.

Shiba: Cool, mysterious, thoughtful. She seems representational of what Anisa feels like she lacks. But also, she has a life outside of Anisa.

Still fucked up. I’m sorry, joining your dad’s cannibalism cult is not the power move you think it is.

I think this book is messy and imperfect but I think that it gives a lot to ponder by the end. Not black and white moral ponderings (the things that are morally wrong in this book are self evident to me), but thoughts on class, race, gender, language, respect, dignity, consent and privilege.

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meg_thebrave'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? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What a ride this story is. This debut novel is crafted incredibly. I really enjoyed this book a lot.

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emilywemily6'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? It's complicated

3.75

I was underwhelmed by this book based on my expectations. In general I found a lot to like about it, but felt that it was neither comic nor a true horror novel, as this book was described. It felt much more like a literary fiction novel with a sprinkle of horror elements. There wasn’t much suspense throughout the story even though the truth was hinted at being mysterious the whole time. I wasn’t even phased when the truth came out. I didn’t like particularly like the main character and found that she became more hypocritical throughout the book, like she was trying so hard to appear woke but then failed to see her own classist/racist/etc. shortcomings. The narrative felt very intimate, but because my dislike increased throughout the book for the main character, that intimacy was not my favorite. I found the discussions on language/linguistics interesting, and also the basic premise of The Centre. I also like how the narrative showed that the main character was actually recording for The Centre. The novels she translated also sounded super interesting! The ending was anticlimactic though, and her decision in the end didn’t really fit with her character up until that point in the story. I think I was hoping for more suspense and horror throughout this book, and even the big reveal was lacking. If you love literary fiction and want to tread lightly into horror, this is for you.

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spess's review against another edition

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dark mysterious slow-paced

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

2.75

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samanthaleereads's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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urnee's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

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aed2655's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.75

This had a great idea behind it that was poorly executed. The social commentary was over-the-top and the thriller side of it didn't have much of a payoff. The descriptions of foreign language translation were interesting though.

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daepyonimst's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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