Anisa dreams of becoming a translator of 'great works of literature', but right now she is stuck writing subtitles for Bollywood films.
Then she is told about the Centre, an elite, invite-only programme that guarantees complete fluency in any language in just ten days. Anisa decides to jump at the chance but the Centre's services come at a disturbing hidden cost.

I loooooved the concept of this book! The idea of a place where you could fluently learn a language without years of practicing. I thought it sounded so dystopian and black mirror-esque. I felt like there wasn’t much about the school in terms of what it was like to be there. I would have liked more about the school and what was happening each day 🙈.

I also felt like there were so many themes thrown in and some of it felt a bit (sorry) preachy. I love when books highlight cultural differences and how these can be difficult but this book felt like quite an attack. I also found the main character quite annoying oops. The way the story unfolded and how it ended were quite confusing but I think it’s because I just didn’t look into it enough 🙈.

On the plus side, I like that it highlighted how people are treated differently when they are bilingual - those with English as an additional language are seen as inferior while westerners who can speak multiple languages are praised. I also liked that it highlighted how learning additional languages can open so many more doors for you and really help your career and day to day life! Language has so much power in the world and this book definitely shows this.

Overall, I think some people will definitely like this book but it depends what you’re after!

Very weird but very cool read!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest feedback.

The Centre is a marvellously dark satire about cultural appropriation and colonialism, and what people are willing to do to get what they want.
It's even better on second read, because you know what's happening, and you can marvel at the skilful writing and plotting.

Loved the discourse on language and culture throughout but I felt like the twist didn't make any sense at all and was super anti-climactic.

“The Centre” is a gripping thriller that delves into the complexities of language and identity. The main character, Anisa Ellahi, is a Pakistani translator living in London, who dreams of translating great literary works. Instead, she finds herself subtitling Bollywood films and yearning for more meaningful work. Her life takes a turn when she meets Adam, a man with an extraordinary aptitude for languages. Adam’s secret to mastering languages is a mysterious school known as the Centre, which promises fluency in any language within ten days.

Anisa’s intrigue leads her to enroll in the Centre, where she is stripped of her belongings and cut off from the outside world. The school’s rigorous and peculiar methods are designed to ensure optimal learning, but as Anisa digs deeper, she uncovers disturbing truths about the Centre’s practices.

This is a thought-provoking and fast-paced read. “The Centre” offers more than just thrills; it provides a mirror to our society’s complexities and the personal battles we face in our quest for belonging and achievement.

Wild and surreal in parts, I loved the tone of this book, the clever premise, the brilliantly-drawn characters, and the serious questions it asks about our world, the importance of language, and the price we pay for belonging.

Interesting novel. I really enjoyed the different characters and how they interacted. I didn't like the end, it was too open for me, I had to go back and reread the last page. But I guess this is what the author wanted. Overall a thought provoking novel on society, class, wealth and people.

This story started well, but I slowly lost interest. Really disappointed by the ending.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed this book. It was unlike anything I'd read before but found the descriptions of language very moving and beautiful.

An interesting premise, with some really intriguing characters. I will admit I found the writing style tricky at times and some sections felt like they could have been shorter. But overall an enjoyable read with a very clever and thought provoking storyline.

What a remarkable debut and what a good read! Sharply written and thought provoking, darkly sinister yet funny with a hint of satire. Will definitely seek out more from the author.

What a fascinating and surreal read! It was hard to tell which way it was going as one is drawn deeper into the story and life at The Centre. A fabulous debut and can't wait for more from this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

What a remarkable debut and what a good read! Sharply written and thought provoking, darkly sinister yet funny with a hint of satire. Will definitely seek out more from the author.

Dark, funny, unique. The Centre is a book that hooks you from the first page and draws you in and one you will not forget reading for a long time. A fantastic debut.

Blimey= that cover! Its the stuff of nightmares and absolutely brilliant. 'The Centre' was an intriguing dystopian look at the power of language, the struggle to understand one another, and how far people might go to get ahead. Sharp, smart writing with a mesmerising plot.

Felt a bit too disjointed to really engage me - interesting ideas but it just didn't feel like enough to fill a novel.

I really enjoyed this one, made even more relatable and fun to read because I also work in the translations industry (she like me fr 🤪)

The Centre, summed up very briefly, is about an extremely private and secretive language centre that claims in can make you completely fluent in any language within ten days.

This was such an interesting concept that was really effective in allowing the author to explore deeper ideas about appropriation of languages and its cultural significance to different ethnicities and identity.

It should be noted however that, whilst this was a very entertaining read, it is essentially an exploration of various serious topics, under the guise of a dystopian/ sci-fi plot.

I found the abrupt and dark tone of the story to be really reminiscent to ‘I’m a Fan’ by Sheena Patel, which is definitely another one to check out if you do read this and enjoy it.

Read this if you like sci-fi stories based in present day and/ or books with unique social commentary.

Sinisterly surreal with a wink of satire, this is a book that will burrow into your brain, colouring every conversation you have about language, privilege, consent and appropriation. The books brilliantly clever premise thrives under Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi’s deft hand, leaving just enough crumbs to keep the reader guessing until flipping the proverbial table completely. Utterly creepy, with an argument that both repulses and somehow almost convinces - this book is sheer brilliance.

I can’t wait to see what Siddiqi does next and have already recommended this one far and wide

I had no idea what to expect when I requested this ARC - the cover caught my eye and I had seen plenty of people talking about the book on Twitter/X. Creepy, dark, funny, interesting and everything in between those! I really enjoyed reading this book and I am glad I requested it. I would have picked this up in a shop as the cover is really eye-catching. I feel that this would make a great book club choice. Twists and turns throughout, would definitely recommend!
Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I had no idea what to expect when I read this novel, which is probably the best way to go into it! The author is not the first to explore the connections between language, translation and colonialism - R.F. Kuang's Babel is immensely successful in this - but it is a different, more darkly comedic take with contemporary implications. Anisa is a satisfyingly morally grey character - she obviously has money and privilege (class and wealth are also strong themes of this novel), but still feels as if she can't break into the superstar linguistics world she wishes to be a part of due to the inherent bias towards Western languages. The novel is very twisty and I challenge anyone who doesn't already know to figure out the mechanism by which The Centre works before it's made clear. The ending is abrupt but presumably meant to be thought-provoking.