Set in Karachi, London, Delhi. An invite only language school that promises fluency in ten days (cultish, no contact with mainland during the language course) catches the eye of Anisa. This might be her way to make her dream of working as a translator come true.

Pros:
-I really enjoyed the commentary on micro racial aggressions. There's a scene where Anisa is bothered by her white boyfriend Adam's actions and comments when they visit Pakistan. How he exoticizes her own city, how he praises the hospitality (doesn't he understand that a non-white person would not have received the same treatment, she wonders), how he puts his plate in the sink after dinner (PS: personally I didn't understand why this was a big issue in Anisa's mind. It's just courteous behaviour) etc. There's a scene later in the book when Adam talks about his side of things. How he tries to be worthy of her love. And he also talks about why he puts his plate in the kitchen sink by himself.
-I also enjoyed how Anisa also puts into perspective how her own version of her city has changed. How she seems to feel home in the stereotyped motifs of the city and culture, and how important they are to her. I enjoyed reading these multitudes in the same person.
- The blurb was a killer one, and that's what attracted me to the book. The book was very readable, making it a fast read.

Cons:
- The biggest positive thing about the book should've been its shocking premise and the kind of dystopian hues of the secret invite only language school. BUT the blurb gives away everything about this school. There was little development to the blurb (for 50% of the book). The climax, though shocking, is predictable.
- The pacing could've been better. More developments to what's mentioned in the blurb come very late.
- I would've liked to see more of the actual language dynamics and how they affect those who sign up in the school. The book mostly focussed on the hidden secrets.
- Adam seemed to exist only for the racism discourse and to introduce Anisa to the secret school. I would've loved to see a more fleshed out relationship, what worked, what didn't etc.

I enjoyed this book and found it to be an easy read and an interesting and absorbing story. I found Anisa to be a sympathetic character and felt that she makes some excellent points about the patriarchy and the lives of women. She also said interesting things about what it is like to move alone as a young adult to a new country.

The book seems uneven, the bit with Adam who introduces Anisa to the Centre seems unduly detailed as if the book was going to be about a cross cultural relationship rather than about the Centre and the start of the book is very wordy - for example it takes nearly 3 pages to say "I want to be a better translator and linguist so I decided to go to the Centre". Also, the ending feels rather rushed ( I don't mind the unlikeliness of it all and it does make you think). I am also not entirely convinced with Shiba and Anisa taking over the centre but maybe this is a hint at a sequel and i would definitely read such a sequel.

The bit about the Centre and the friendship with Shiba is really very good though and when you finish the book you see how clever the cover is.

So all in all it is a worthwhile and enjoyable, slightly thought-provoking read but just somehow with something lacking to make a really great, stand out book.

I spotted a couple of small errors - when Anisa goes to the Centre at first it says she leaves Billee with Naima but then a few pages later it says the cat was left with Adam; at the wedding when Anisa is supporting Naima's heavy dress Anisa calls Naima Shiba not Naima. It might be worth noting that pepper spray is illegal in the UK, and , as far as I know ayahuasca is illegal too. And what on earth was in Naima's relaxing truth brew? People need to know lol!

Wow this book was so good, I DEVOURED it. Language has always fascinated me and the process of learning language is so different for each individual, so this concept hooked me straight away. Learning a language to the point of native fluency in 10 days? Can you imagine? But like all things that sound too good to be true, what the Centre offers its customers absolutely is. Not only does this book discuss the politics of language, but the idea of language being appropriated by non-native speakers for their own gain. The moral dilemma does not stop there as both Anisa and the reader are shown what is behind the curtain and the inner workings of the Centre are revealed. This book was a little slow in the beginning but when it got going, I was hooked. I was on edge, desperate to know what was going on and honestly did not see the reveal coming. This book was great and I think this would be a great book for a book club to discuss its content. I highly recommend. Also, this cover is incredible, I’m obsessed.

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi ⭐️⭐️⭐️

•

Anisa, a Pakistani translator living in London, discovers a language school where you spend 10 days after signing a NDA and suddenly you are fluent in whatever language you wish. It’s expensive, exclusive, and nothing short of miraculous...

•

This book has a fascinating premise and a strong central character. Anisa has a clear sense of who she is and doesn’t need anyone else to help her define herself. Throughout her story she explores themes of identity, immigration, feminism, language and privilege/class. She’s an interesting character to follow as she doesn’t fit the mould a lot of contemporary main characters fall into - she’s in her late thirties and is single but not bothered, she works as a translator as a passion but is rich enough to not have to work, her best friend is a self declared witch, English is her second language, she is culturally Muslim, and she is not a lost soul. Even as the story unfolds, things don’t fall into the classic thriller structure - twists are not that twisty, the main character doesn’t overreact or try to save the world, nothing is presented as being that dramatic. This was a refreshing and snappy read.

•

The two main flaws with this book are the blurb and the length. The blurb gives you so much information that it actually reveals elements that don’t appear until 60% of the way through, which has the potentially to completely ruin the reading experience as this book relies on an underlying suspense. Additionally, the book flows really nicely until the last 10%: the last piece of the puzzle falls into place and then the book abruptly ends. This definitely lost a star because I was so jarred by the sudden ending - things crash to a close without resolution or warning.

•

An enjoyable read that needed an extra chapter at least (I would’ve taken another 100 pages to allow the final events some breathing space). Thanks to NetGalley & Pan Macmillan for the ARC!

•

“It’s always been like that, I thought, so much gratitude and admiration when a white person speaks a non-white language and only contempt and indignation for non-white people who don’t speak English.”

Creepy and unsettling in the best way. This was such an absorbing read. I loved delving into what language means to users and how powerful this is. Thanks NetGalley!

This is a really weird novel. I say that in a good way. Let's talk about the quality of the narrative first: the writing is excellent, and hooks the reader immediately. There are some really engaging turns of phrase and you have to hand it to the writer - she can write. The premise of the novel is a curious one in that it's about a woman who finds out there is a very special 'centre' where an intensive language courses are taught. I say 'intensive', because for a long time, both the protagonist and the reader have no idea how anyone can become 100% proficient in any language in two weeks, but Anisa, the protagonist is a translator, so takes full advantage of it, learning German and Russian as if she's a native speaker. All fine so far, with the lingering narrative element of the secret of how this comes to pass. How *does* a centre like this really work, and why does it ask its students to keep it a secret? That's the hook, really. BUT, about maybe half way through, the plot takes a swerve, with Anisa cultivating a close friendship with Shiba, the manager (and daughter of the founder) of the centre. Here's where she finds out how it all works. To say how would be a proper spoiler. I won't do that, but I notice here that someone giving a meagre and unfair one star review suggests there ought to be a 'trigger' warning. Grow up. There's no need for that. Ridiculous suggestion. We're supposed to be reviewing the novel, not being childish. So, let's just say there's a narrative element here that is a weird one. The reason the Centre is successful is a surprise rather than a need to call your therapist. I'm not altogether sure it's such a successful element of the narrative, though it's certainly interesting from a reader's point of view. What really makes this novel sing is the ending. Again, I won't say what that is, because, well, spoiler, but I think it makes for a compelling ending to a strangely readable novel. Highly recommended for grown ups. My grateful thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.
This was one of the books I was most excited to be approved for and whilst it isn't one of my new favourites I did really enjoy the ride.

The premise of this book is that The Centre is an elite, invite-only language school that promises fluency within 10 days.

Firstly, the writing was incredibly easy to digest and the author packed a lot of important issues into the story.
I did feel that she perhaps went a little far with these issues as it ended up being more about those than the actual story and it is marketed as a mystery thriller so I was expecting more mystery thriller than personal agenda.
However, a lot of the personal agenda was tied very well into the story itself and was thought provoking enough that this was still a 4 star read for me.

As someone who (obviously) loves literature myself, is incredibly interested in languages and is actively trying to teach myself other languages, I loved this premise.
Who wouldn't want to attend The Centre if they knew about it?
There has to be a downside though, right?
So obviously, the cost is a downside as it is quite a pricey experience which reinforces it's elite status, making sure only the wealthy or truly dedicated can attend but honestly, if that was the only downside I'd find the money somehow.
So I was very intrigued to find out the true cost of The Centre.
What sinister goings on were really behind the fluency? Honestly, I was a little disappointed.
I do read a fair amount of books and so the big reveal was honestly just not that shocking to me.
Someone who doesn't read a lot of sci-fi-esque mystery thrillers may feel differently but either way I will still be recommending this book and I can see it being very popular when it comes out. I also won't be surprised if it is picked up by Amazon Prime for a show.

I really loved this book. This book is about an elite language school which claims to be able to make you fluent in any language in just two weeks but you are sworn to absolute secrecy regarding the process.

It’s one of those novels which keeps you absolutely addicted because you’re desperate to know what is going on. I found the writing and plot simplistic at first but it really starts to suck you in and I finished the second half of it so fast because of how obsessed I was. I loved the metafiction aspect and how unreliable the narrator turned out to be. I will say as well this is a book where the reveal/twist is just so worth it. It ruminates so well on the human condition, our need to absorb knowledge, colonialism, sexism and lust for power. It was so well done and I really recommend this.

Promising More Than It Delivers

Anisha, originally from Pakistan, now living in London, making a living as an occasional translator and subtitle writer for Bollywood films, is the sharp, central character of Manazir Saddiqi’s novel. She has certain dissatisfactions in her relationship with her sophisticated mother, and a wonderful relationship with her best friend Naima, a somewhat new age therapist. Both women have much to share with each other – and us, - about the challenges between the ‘back home’ expectations for daughters, and the tensions, for women, in any culture, between inhabiting a successful professional space, and what biology and a patriarchal worldview, everywhere might be imposing. Both women have a sense of wanting more, without always being sure of what that missing more might be.

Embarking on a relationship with a new man, a fellow translator, takes Anisha into darker territory. Adam effortlessly speaks, translates and understands a whole raft of hugely diverse languages from across continents and linguistic roots. Somewhat reluctantly, he reveals he learned these skills in a rather mysterious total immersion environment, called The Centre, where, paradoxically, no one is ever encouraged to apply to, no advertising of the expensive method happens, and things seem a little like a super secret intelligence network.

Yes this is most definitely a thriller, but it is also a platform for much that is interesting for many issues (perhaps too many) to be discussed – class, race, gender, sexuality, religion, cultural appropriation, language itself (this was the most interesting issue for me)

This was an absorbing, page turning and thought provoking read, which began to unravel for me, about half way through, after a tension building first half

Unfortunately too many plot driven devices began to happen as Anisha’s questioning about the Centre, plus her not always believeable friendship with the Centre’s manager deepened. My immersion in character and therefore story began to falter, and I began to see too many plot, rather than believable character driven incidents, pile up

The perhaps over complex, too many things, too many polemics bursting to be aired, began to disappoint me when the first shock! Shlock! reveal happened. I’d kind of cracked, very early in the book that this was probably (but I did hope not) going to be the big secret, though I’d hoped it wouldn’t be, simply because it seemed a bit obvious

My final draining away of interest happened during the visit to India, where something so completely crass occurs that it seems like an absolutely over-egged cliché illustrating a point that has repeatedly been made, over and over.

There was a lot I liked in here, a central character who is engaging if not necessarily likeable, some vivd writing and worthwhile messages. But ultimately when a book is sold on having an amazing mystery and a great twist, then it had better deliver on those promises and this didn’t for me. I’d love to have been blown away by the revelations, but it was more of a shrug. Enjoyable but inessential.

This book immediately pulled me in, I appreciated the writing style and opening chapters. The blurb gives a lot of the initial chapters away, meaning you know something is wrong which for me, meant I worked out what was going on within the centre before we got to the big reveal near the end.
Another thing I enjoyed about the novel was that it contained a lot of other ideas such as: thoughts about translation, privilege, race and class, but I felt that these dwindled in the second half of the book, I noticed this because I stopped annotating as much.

Anisa is one of my favourite types of narrator- complex, a bit selfish and unaware - her comments and relationship with naima and Adam allowed me to see these things about her. I believe these traits of anisa made for comedic commentary, especially as anisa was a character who was "woke" but then would make excuses for her needs.

There is a good twist and it was written in a way that it is easy to guess but it also suits the dark undertone with bursts of comedy-at times, which I think added a bit of realism to the novel. At times, it would remind me of the black mirror tv series-theres clearly a message in the writing itself but it's entertaining, so the reader is almost set up with a guilty pleasure themselves (a bit like anisa hunting for answers at the centre).
Overall, I was entertained by the book but felt it didn't really give us any answers, especially as it ended randomly, in my opinion.

If you were given the chance to become fluent in a new language in a couple of weeks, would you go for it? With the very high cost of the course, you'd need to be sure of what you're getting. The narrator is a Pakistani living in England. She never quite feels at home wherever she is. When she decides to visit the Centre to learn German, then Russian things take a sinister turn - definitely not one that you'd anticipate!

This was a strange one, unsettling yet fascinating and it left me desperate to find out the secret behind the Centre but I was not prepared at all and did not see the reveal happening. The writing did feel slightly convoluted with a lot of tough and dark themes trying to be introduced but in a slightly rushed way, because it is a very quick read making it miss the mark a bit with the ending. It also seemed to end very abruptly, however generally I did enjoy this it was a shocking and unique, easy read good for anyone who wants to read a new thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

I have mixed feelings about this title, as it was a very quick read with an interesting premise, but I did not enjoy the writing style. I think it alternated between being too simplistic and 'young' (very colloquial, including sentences beginning with "Like,") to going into complex themes of structures of oppression. It was a constant back and forth.

As a person with a degree in Translation, I very quickly shifted from excitement when the novel opens with references to a well known essay from the New Yorker, to almost disappointment at how the author was presenting translators as self-important and how she was creating a scale of "good" and "bad" projects to translate, at the bottom of which the author put the MC's main job of translating subtitles, suggesting that the only way to get fulfillment from this profession was to work on "great works of literature". I suppose this was all part of creating an unlikeable protagonist in Anisa. We are reminded at various points throughout the book and by other characters that Anisa is extremely judgmental and blind to her own privilege. She is constantly arguing with all the secondary characters, regardless of their race or background.

Anisa is introduced by her ex=boyfriend Adam to an elite 'school' where people can learn any language of their choice over a period of just 10 days. The majority of the book is spent in anticipation of the big reveal around how this language mastery is achieved. I was expecting a pseudo-scientific explanation, e.g. something that although far fetched, could happen in reality. However, the author went in a very different direction, explaining the focal point of the book with spiritualism/tribalism.

I rated 4 stars because it was a very quick read, due to the writing style, it kept me very engaged in finding out what happens next, and I did learn some new things about cultures that I'm not familiar with, however, I can't say that anything about it left a lasting impression on me and the ending was also quite abrupt and vague.

Provocative and fresh. This is a fascinating, well written story you’ll lose yourself in. I loved this one.

This was a fascinating read. The Centre is an intriguing read, just starting by the cover, following Anisa and her ambition to be a remembered translator, she gets involved in a dark business that will make her dreams come true? Covering topics like class, post colonialism and linguistics, The Centre covers it all!

A very tense, extremely unsettling book about learning foreign languages. I LOVED it.

👄 'The Centre' by Anesha Manazir Siddiqi is about a Pakistani translator called Anisa. She's living in London, not entirely satisfied with her life or her boring boyfriend. He recommends her to a highly secretive, highly exclusive language learning centre which claims it can make anyone fluent in any language in only 10 days... But at a cost.

📖 It's impossible to place this book into a specific genre. It starts out quite normal, a normal woman with normal concerns like dating and her career. However, the tension and weirdness gradually ramps up, making you question more and more of what you're reading.

🔊 My favourite thing about this book was the theme of language learning. I would recommend this book especially to anyone who has studied a new language - the frustrations of mastering a foreign language were so accurately depicted. I could completely empathise with the main character - at various points during my undergraduate degree, I would have definitely sold my soul for native-speaker fluency!!

✍️ All the characters were so well developed - they felt realistic & everything about them was so detailed. Anisa's voice as a whole felt really vivid, like the character was in the room talking to me (I bet this would be great as an audio book).

🌍 The issue of cultural & linguistic differences was expertly handled. The way Anisa felt conflicted at living in a different country to her family was very well-written. The things she found frustrating or difficult about living in the UK were really sharply observed.

✨ Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone... Except perhaps those with a squeamish disposition!

🗓️ 'The Centre' is out on 11th July 2023. Thank you to @netgalley for my advance reader copy!

- Katie

[Review posted to Instagram at @katiespencebooks, review to be posted to Twitter on Friday at @katiespencey]

The Centre starts well with the narrator, Anisa, pondering the direction of her life and her reflections on translation - how words have cultural resonances beyond their literal meanings, and the challenge of echoing that for a different audience. But the story never really takes off and the mystery of the Centre, when it's resolved, isn't satisfying or enlightening.

The Centre could have been an interesting allegory about the nature of identity, oppression and appropriation, but instead, there are heavy doses of exposition on these themes, as if Manazir Siddiqi isn't confident we'll get it.

It's a shame because there is some nice writing in the novel, such as the way Anisa and her mother dance around each other, struggling for intimacy and somehow falling short.
*
I received a copy of The Centre from the publisher via NetGalley.

3.5*

‘Translation…is highly mathematical. It’s about retaining the feeling, the thing underneath.’

Anisa spends her days adding subtitles to Bollywood movies, when what she really wants to be doing is translating great works of literature. Her Urdu – her mother tongue – isn’t quite good enough, and other than English, she doesn’t speak other languages. That is, until she meets Adam, a polyglot who can converse a dazzling array of tongues like a native speaker. He’s also a white guy, making this particularly unusual.

He’s mediocre in most other ways, poor Adam, but his aptitude for languages is certainly quite the draw for Anisa. After they begin dating, he reveals that his impressive skills weren’t exactly acquired by years of dedicated study. Rather, he tells her, there’s a cutting-edge retreat that promises fluency in a couple of weeks – with a hefty price tag, and a scary-looking NDA that promises jail time for anyone who discloses a word about their experience to anyone else, ever.

It’s a bizarre, cultish experience – the details of which I won’t spoil – but, sure enough, Anisa emerges a fluent speaker of German, suddenly able to digest Goethe and Freud and Nietzsche in the original with ease. The critical acclaim and profile she’s always longed for begins to fall into her lap.

‘Being taken seriously felt nice. I felt that people were listening to me the way they listened to men, carefully, attentively, as if something of great value might drop out of my mouth at any moment.’

But once the novelty wears off, she’s back to feeling a general malaise. And she finds herself increasingly worrying about what really goes on at The Center, and how exactly she was able to absorb a new language at such rapid speed.

I loved the punchy writing and the darkly comedic moments, like when Anisa contemplates how best to protect herself when returning to The Centre: ‘I considered arming myself with pepper spray and a penknife but only thought of it the day before leaving and by then, even off Amazon Prime, they wouldn’t arrive in time.’

This is a deliciously moreish novel. It explores race, privilege and colonialism, the acts of assimilation and appropriation, and takes us on a journey from London to Karachi and New Delhi, noting the rifts between developed and developing worlds.

‘A sense of utility seeps in when you’re exposed, so closely, to the way the world is. In the West, they keep it all at a distance. The old, the poor, the dead – outsourced, deported and dismissed, hospitalized and imprisoned, or else bombed via remote control.’

This book started off as a solid four stars, but there were a couple of things that ultimately held it back for me: the pacing is a little uneven, veering from recounting play-by-play conversations in detail to broad brush strokes where months or years pass. I felt this could have been slightly better controlled so as not to throw the reader off. The next problem is that it overall feels like a brilliant premise that hasn’t been fully developed: we’re left with a lot of unanswered questions and ambiguity, with the sense of the ending having been wrapped up in a hurry and leaving a question mark over what it was really saying. It was trying to do a lot, particularly in the second half, which meant it lost some of the focus and zest it had started with, and wasn’t able to reconcile and tie the themes up in a satisfying way by the end. Nevertheless, it was still a fun and read-in-one-sitting kind of book.

With thanks to Picador via Netgalley for the advanced copy. The Centre will be published in the UK on 6th July 2023. Quoted material subject to change prior to publication.

Just brilliant. An easy-read literary thriller with a creeping sense of dread. It's clever, profound and has real insight into issues such as identity, language and living between cultures. I ripped through this one in just a day.