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A review by frances_frances
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
2.0
My feelings about this book have mostly been expressed by other reviewers but these are my biggest complaints:
• The publisher really stretched in the marketing and summaries for this book. It's not a psychological thriller, it's not tense or unsettling, and the Centre ends up being a mere plot device to develop the MC's story (which was thin to begin with).
• The plotting of this book is awkward and feels slapdash. Genre mixing can be interesting and uneven pacing can add to a book's atmosphere and themes. That's not the case with this book. It doesn't feel intentional, it feels directionless.
• While some of the content about colonialism, misogyny, and classism was interesting, it too felt directionless and confused. These topics are huge and complex and while I don't expect the author to "solve" global systems of oppression, I do expect her to have a point of view or clear reason for including such topics. Much of it goes nowhere and/or contradicts itself. For example, one of the Centre founders was in the IDF. I assumed this would be relevant later, but nope. It's just an incidental aspect of his past with no meaning or relevance to the story.
• The sexual assault that maybe takes place near the end was so unnecessary and off putting. The fact that it may or may not have actually happened is problematic in itself. Survivors of SA are often made to question themselves and their own experiences. If the author was trying to comment on this phenomenon, she failed majorly. It played into harmful stereotypes rather than challenging them. Also SA never needs to be a plot device or way for the author to merely "beg the question". That minimizes its severity and lasting impact on survivors and their communities.
• I truly wonder whether the author knew what she wanted to write before starting this book. I think she had a lot of interesting ideas but kind of wasted all of them by shoving them all into a 270 page book.
• The publisher really stretched in the marketing and summaries for this book. It's not a psychological thriller, it's not tense or unsettling, and the Centre ends up being a mere plot device to develop the MC's story (which was thin to begin with).
• The plotting of this book is awkward and feels slapdash. Genre mixing can be interesting and uneven pacing can add to a book's atmosphere and themes. That's not the case with this book. It doesn't feel intentional, it feels directionless.
• While some of the content about colonialism, misogyny, and classism was interesting, it too felt directionless and confused. These topics are huge and complex and while I don't expect the author to "solve" global systems of oppression, I do expect her to have a point of view or clear reason for including such topics. Much of it goes nowhere and/or contradicts itself. For example, one of the Centre founders was in the IDF. I assumed this would be relevant later, but nope. It's just an incidental aspect of his past with no meaning or relevance to the story.
• The sexual assault that maybe takes place near the end was so unnecessary and off putting. The fact that it may or may not have actually happened is problematic in itself. Survivors of SA are often made to question themselves and their own experiences. If the author was trying to comment on this phenomenon, she failed majorly. It played into harmful stereotypes rather than challenging them. Also SA never needs to be a plot device or way for the author to merely "beg the question". That minimizes its severity and lasting impact on survivors and their communities.
• I truly wonder whether the author knew what she wanted to write before starting this book. I think she had a lot of interesting ideas but kind of wasted all of them by shoving them all into a 270 page book.