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A review by chibigraph
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
3.75
The Centre is an interesting premise; a secret organisation that grants customers almost immediate fluency in a language of their choosing by some mysterious process.
This book explores racism, classicism, colonialism and the politics of language and translation, examining the themes through a multicultural lens that leaves no country guiltless.
The two main female characters are likeable, flawed and relatable, exploring the effects of partriarchy and the degree to which women are complicit in their own subjugation.
The writing is brisk, carrying your along to what you feel must surely be a Philip K. Dick type horrific reveal, how are they learning so fast?,only to disappoint the reader. For an author who seems so attuned to the differences in acceptable behaviour across cutlures, she seems to have mistaken something as mildly polarising as organ donation as universally horrific. After the reveal the story suddenly lags.
Overall an intriguing read that explores old themes in a new and balanced way, but lets the reader down at the end.
This book explores racism, classicism, colonialism and the politics of language and translation, examining the themes through a multicultural lens that leaves no country guiltless.
The two main female characters are likeable, flawed and relatable, exploring the effects of partriarchy and the degree to which women are complicit in their own subjugation.
The writing is brisk, carrying your along to what you feel must surely be a Philip K. Dick type horrific reveal, how are they learning so fast?,
Overall an intriguing read that explores old themes in a new and balanced way, but lets the reader down at the end.