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The Centre
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
23 posts | 20 read | 25 to read
'Thrilling but deeply thought provoking, a combination that is truly rare' - Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl A darkly comic, boundary-pushing debut following an adrift Pakistani translator in London who attends a mysterious language school which boasts complete fluency in just ten days, but at a secret, sinister cost. Anisa Ellahi dreams of being a translator of 'great works of literature,' but instead mostly spends her days subtitling Bollywood movies, living off her parents generous allowance, and discussing the 'underside of life' with her best friend, Naima. Anisas mediocre white boyfriend, Adam, only adds to her growing sense of inadequacy with his savant-level aptitude for languages, successfully leveraging his expansive knowledge into an enviable career. But when Adam learns to speak Urdu with native fluency practically overnight, Anisa forces him to reveal his secret. Adam begrudgingly tells Anisa about the Centre, an elite, invite-only program that guarantees near-instant fluency in any language. Skeptical but intrigued, Anisa enrollsstripped of her belongings and contact with the outside worldand emerges ten days later fluent in German. As Anisa enmeshes herself further within the Centre, seduced by all that its made possible, she soon realizes the true cost of its services. By turns dark, funny, and surreal, and with twists page-turning and shocking, The Centre takes the reader on a journey through Karachi, London, and New Delhi, interrogating the sticky politics of language, translation, and appropriation with biting specificity, and ultimately asking: what is success really worth? A remarkable debut from Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, announcing the arrival of an extraordinary new talent.
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ChaoticMissAdventures
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

Goodness this book has a lot of vitriol on Goodreads. Which might be skewing my views in it because I don't get it? The book is good. It is interesting, the MC is fine? People just hate her over there and I don't get it. Yes she is from a rich family which causes her to be blind and a bit unsympathetic I thought it was very realistic, and I didn't hate her.
It is interesting how others opinions can influence my views on a book

DogMomIrene I go back and forth on how many reviews I‘ll read about a book. Definitely avoiding spoilers, but I also appreciate warnings about a dog dying or being abused. If a book is super popular I‘ve tried to avoid being swayed, but I‘ve ended up with genres that are not my thing. Like I thought Fourth Wing was fantasy, not romantasy. I think it‘s another reason I like Litsy more. I get a better feel for books here and whether they‘ll be my thing. 2w
ChaoticMissAdventures @DogMomIrene oh! Have you tried Does The Dog Die website? I also do not read books where the animals die - I usually can tell from the cover but this website lists all sorts of triggers which is so helpful. Usually the reviews on GR don't mean much to me but for this one it was paragraphs of people just ranting about the most random things in the book - one lady ranted for 3 paragraphs about one line in the book! 2w
DogMomIrene I have not heard of that site, so I‘ll be adding that to my bookish bookmarks. And yes, sometimes people get fixated. That‘s when I usually go see how active they appear on Goodreads. My most popular review is a negative one and I got some troll comments a few years ago. These commenters have accounts that are barely used. Litsy is just such a better space for getting a feel for a book. 2w
30 likes3 comments
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Hooked_on_books
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

Anisa longs for recognition as a translator, so when she meets a man who seems to learn languages effortlessly, she wants to know his secret. Then she learns about The Centre, which has more secrets than she first knows. I thoroughly enjoyed this, including the true horror ending. Excellent debut.

50 likes4 stack adds
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Zuhkeeyah
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

The Centre is complicated. There were a lot of important topics integrated into one book.

A recommend for those who like slow burn thrillers.

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CaitlinR
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

This is a slow burn of a novel that, while beautifully written, does not follow familiar narrative arcs. As a result it is, at times, a challenging read.

Anisa dreams of being a famous translator but she struggles with language acquisition. Her boy friend has learned languages with incredible speed. He introduces her to The Centre, an extremely exclusive and secretive school. There is a horrific truth behind their successes.

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Beachesnbooks
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Belated March TBR!

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rachelsbrittain
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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I have a few picks included on this list of the year's best covers by my fellow Rioter Kelly, but I also loved seeing what covers other people thought stood out. Cover design is so fun and fascinating!

bookriot.com/the-best-book-covers-of-2023/

marleed Oh fun. I love reading the why of best book art selections! 12mo
37 likes1 comment
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DHill
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Twainy
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

Anisa meets Adam & is enthralled by his ability to speak 10 languages. HOW?! She‘s a 35 yo translator for Bollywood who envies his abilities.

So she meets & befriends him.

She gets Adam to share his secret. A secret language school that allows one referral per student. Anisa is skeptical but soon finds out the price that‘s exacted for learning a language in 10 days. Oh it‘s good!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/3

Twainy I have joined the #31by31 Readathon hosted by @Catsandbooks 16/31 13mo
GondorGirl That's such a great cover, too! 😍 13mo
Twainy @GondorGirl agree! This one is even better than the paperback version that attracted me to the book … 13mo
Catsandbooks 🙌🏼🎃💚 13mo
24 likes1 stack add4 comments
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bookandbedandtea
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Panpan

Billed as mystery, thriller, suspense, & humor, there is not one humorous, mysterious, thrilling, or suspenseful thing about this book. It's all tell & very little show which is incredibly tedious. The MC is utterly self absorbed & spends all 278 pages on endless monologue.The mystery of what is happening at the Centre isn't surprising & is revealed at about the 2/3 point, leaving a lot more time for the MC to ramble endlessly. 👎👎

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bookandbedandtea
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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#CurrentRead
I 💜 weekends 😊

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squirrelbrain
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

I hadn‘t heard of this at all (although now I see that @Megabooks read it recently) but I was simultaneously attracted to and repelled by the cover on BorrowBox.

Firstly - how can covers for the same book be so different?

Anita is a translator who gets introduced to The Centre by her boyfriend, where one can supposedly learn a language fluently in 2 weeks, but how does it work?

You can kind of see it all coming, but it‘s still a great read. ⬇️

squirrelbrain It appears that some readers have issues with Muslim representation and Pakistani rep; perhaps not as rabid as those decrying Everything‘s Fine or Hijab Butch Blues but still… 1y
IndoorDame Wow, yeah, how are those the covers for the same book?! 1y
ChaoticMissAdventures Different covers fascinate me. I don't think I like that one on the left..... This book I keep seeing on Booktok, it sounds super interesting, glad you found, and liked it! 1y
Megabooks I think both covers make sense, but I much prefer the US one. Mouths freak me out! 😬🤷🏻‍♀️ glad you liked this too. It‘s stuck in my memory a lot more than I thought it would. (edited) 1y
72 likes2 stack adds4 comments
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she.hearts.horror
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

🛟💀🤰🏾🥗🥀📞 All the things in a perfect package.

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AnnRaz
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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“There can be something quite devastating in feeling a comfort you can barely remember. It can make you grieve, if I‘m honest, for something that you‘d always felt a vague sense of loss over but never known for certain you were missing. At the same time, there is a sense of relief at having finally found it, the warmth.”

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sebrittainclark
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Clwojick Woohoo! Way to go! 💜 1y
TheAromaofBooks Yay!! Fabulous progress!! 1y
32 likes2 comments
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Megabooks
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

While I knew where this speculative horror book was going all along, that didn‘t make it any less horrifying!

What if you could gain language fluency in a matter to days? Anisa meets a guy who speaks on the phone in a several languages. Yet when she tries to teach him Urdu, he consistently fails…until he returns from a two week trip speaking perfect Urdu. She gets his secret then falls deeper in the web of this mysterious Centre.

Kimberlone The cover already had me intrigued but your review sounds like it‘s right up my alley. Stacked! 1y
Cinfhen It‘s definitely a #CoverCrush situation! But a #BorrowNotBuy 1y
Cinfhen Just saw the email!!! I‘ll answer later today but it was great hearing from you 🩷 1y
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BarbaraBB What a strange book this seems. Intriguing! So glad with your email too 🩷 1y
Megabooks @Kimberlone I hope you enjoy it! 1y
Megabooks @Cinfhen yeah, I have no idea what you‘d think of this. 🤔🤔 but the cover is great! 1y
Megabooks @BarbaraBB it is odd, but I enjoyed it. 1y
she.hearts.horror I loved the cover. Chose this book like I would a bottle of wine. 😭 #iregretnothing 1y
she.hearts.horror @Cinfhen I didn‘t know that was a thing. I love this term #covercrush 1y
79 likes2 stack adds9 comments
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rachelsbrittain
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

A translator learns about a highly secretive program where you can attain fluency in any new language in just two weeks. But something is strange about The Centre and as Anisa grows closer to the manager, she discovers its for more sinister than she ever could've imagined. A slow paced thriller that doesn't give up its secrets until the end but kept me invested nonetheless.

pr.alm What a beautiful cover! 👌🏼 1y
Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Great cover 💀 🖤 1y
rachelsbrittain @pr.alm @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks right? That cover really catches the attention! 1y
47 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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rachelsbrittain
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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All black book covers this weekend 🖤 #WeekendReads

Soscha Jealous! 1y
Soscha Tusks of Extinction isn‘t out yet I don‘t think. ARC lady! 1y
rachelsbrittain @Soscha haha yep I snagged a netgalley arc! 1y
40 likes3 comments
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rachelsbrittain
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Love few things more than reading and simultaneously getting puppy snuggles

dabbe Sleep puppy snuggles are the best! Reading too, of course! 😂 😂 😂 1y
Gissy 🐶🐾🐾❤️❤️❤️ 1y
50 likes2 comments
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rachelsbrittain
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Excited to be doing some work writing (and hopefully reading) at my favorite coffee shop today. I started The Centre recently and want to dive back into it as well as Ray Nayler's new book since I just finished The Mountain in the Sea.

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sebrittainclark
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Pickpick

4/5

Anisa's boyfriend tells her about the Centre, a place where in 10 days you can become fluent in a new language. She goes to learn German and becomes close with the manager. The more she learns about the Centre the more she wants to understand its secrets. It's a suspenseful book that has a lot to say about colonialism and language. The ending left me with more questions than answer, but it was a thought-provoking and slightly horrifying read.

sebrittainclark This is a weird book. I was somewhere between a pick and so-so. 1y
55 likes5 stack adds1 comment
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kezzlou85
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Panpan

This was an interesting premise but sadly didn't deliver for me. I found the story slow and it didn't hook me in like I expected. Of all the characters Naima is probably the most likeable but its a stretch. The ending was a bit of let down for me. I wanted more, that being said it did fit with the flow of the story. The writing is good and descriptive. I'm sure others will enjoy the truth of how the centre works but it just wasn't for me.

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Breanne1
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Mehso-so

The premise of this novel is definitely one that will hook you. I did figure out the twist pretty early on, which makes me wonder what that says about me. The MC is what ultimately made me dislike this book, she was So incredibly judgmental and yet when her judgement would have been warranted...
well...I don't want to ruin it.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Zando
Projects, Gillian Flynn Books for an ARC in return for my review.

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Sarahreadstoomuch
The Centre | Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
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Finished this for LJ review - if will pub in July. A woman with dreams of being a great translator, but currently subtitling Bollywood films, is invited to a super secret language program that promises fluency in any language in 10 days. It sounds too good to be true… but it works. Until she starts digging and discovers how it all REALLY works, and what the cost truly is.