A review by thecriticalreader
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

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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