A review by hannahdotmay
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The Centre was a book made to be devoured. An odd, offbeat story following a young Pakistani woman unsure of her self in more ways than one. When offered the chance to transform her professional life from translator of Urdu, working on Bollywood film subtitles from bed, to a translator of great works of literature, in less than 2 weeks, she jumps at the chance. 

At the centre, the language acquisition process is kept under close wraps, and the immersive program is run by an enigmatic woman, Shiba. The two grow close, a complicated friendship & a little bit more, starts to emerge. 

The reveal in this book was impeccable, I had an inkling but I still wasn’t disappointed. The chatty authorial voice made dialogue easy to read but the depth of questioning our characters contemplated regarding the politics of translation, inequalities between European and Global south translated works, class systems in Pakistan and India, misogyny in startup culture - all were well integrated. 

Really, this book was  lesson in subtlety when conveying complex socio political themes - many current new releases could take note.  

One for your beach bag or weekend in bed, either way - easy to devour ❤️‍🔥
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