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blueberrysubmarine 's review for:
The Centre
by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
An incredibly entertaining but still thought-provoking read! I had it as an audiobook and the narrator (Balvinder Sopal) delivered it fantastically. I really liked here the mix of a dark academia-ish story, with dialogical reflections of patriarchy, power and gender, often quite funny but still serious, never making it oversimplistic. I think the book promises maybe something else than it actually is, but it really worked for me. The different and partially obscure relationships, the centre as an interesting idea and metaphor as well as the great humor, made it really enjoyable for me. Also the self-referentiality gives the book a different turn. (minor story spoiler implied)
Some minor things bugged me - basically finding some reactions unrealistic, some plot points questionable and some themes a bit underexplored. But overall, the book does a great job at being both deep and literary and still easily entertaining.
Some minor things bugged me - basically finding some reactions unrealistic, some plot points questionable and some themes a bit underexplored. But overall, the book does a great job at being both deep and literary and still easily entertaining.