A review by kalypsowolf
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

3.5

Look, the main character is a little bit insufferable. That's just something youre gonna have to accept if you want to read and enjoy this book. She also doesn't really get much better by the end so dont expect that either.

What really is driving the story is a mystery surrounding The Centre that the book is named after. We don't actually spend that much time there, most of the book is very much in our main characters head during her day-to-day. Which is a shame because The Centre is the most compelling part. Pacing is pretty slow for the most part, which isn't a bad thing, but it also makes it feel like a lot could have been cut out as not all of the slow parts feel like they contribute to the story. 

But here's the thing: I didn't hate reading it. Yeah I recognized all of that while I was reading, but it never made me want to just stop reading. Something kept me going. And the mystery that was in this was genuinely so intriguing to me that I NEEDED to know what the fuck was going on. And oh, boy, did we learn how things worked. That alone carried this whole thing. The bits about language and translation were also very interesting, though I wish there were more.