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A review by maketeaa
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.0
im typically not one to leave 1 star unless a book was completely unreadable. and honestly, there was a very strong start to this one. but i think that's what made the nosedive from the midpoint even worse
there are a lot of interesting themes introduced at the beginning. spirituality, the idea of being present in the state that which you want to be reality, at what point can this presence go too far, etc etc. but also, what i was most drawn to at first, discussions around what language is and whether there is an exploitative, colonial nature to learning a language in ten days as the centre advertises. the scene that stood out to me most in respect of this was anisa getting angry at adam for learning urdu for her like that, then enjoying all the benefits in pakistan that a white person would. i thought with such a strong start, the conclusion would be like a firework show.
it was not.
we spend a total of maybe 15% of the book actually in the centre. the rest is anisa frolicking with shiba in delhi and being a shitty best friend to naima with quite literally zero consequences. not to mention that the only extent to which the languages actually played a role in her life was the way they expanded her career, but as soon as she mastered one she just got bored and moved onto something else. which, id like to clarify, would be something VERY commentary-worthy. and while this book certainly did not lack in commentary, the commentary seemed to be about whatever the fuck seemed to pop into siddiqui's mind rather than anything that's actually connected through the book.
and that's the difficult and disappointinf thing for me. siddiqui makes some really interesting points about colonisation, about diaspora, about the memories our bodies hold and our connection with our ancestral lineage. lines exploring things like how 'unwelcoming' english grandeur feels, or how while our body can take a plane to a different country our souls must walk -- they are SO profound, but the rest of the book is so nonsensically organised that it feels like they just sit in a void. which lowkey makes me more mad. siddiqui clearly has the capacity to think deeply about the symbolism of what she's writing but just refuses to put the effort into synthesising it into an actual, structured, focused book.
also, on a more surface level, the whole concept of the centre is just. not. convincing. i buddy read this with a friend and we have frequently discussed the mastery of mona awad's metaphorical writing, and that's what we were expecting in this. some kind of justification for the horror -- not to bring up mona awad again, but, for example, the idea of 'plot bunnies' becoming deformed if not created out of genuine creative love. but like, why on earth would you need to learn a language through listening to a native speaker talk for 24/7 and then. fucken. CANNIBALISING THEM?? it makes zero sense. or, rather, there is definitely something in there that COULD'VE made sense if given the necessary analytical treatment, but it was not. so it all just felt a bit overdramatic and unbelievable.
anyway. 1 star bcs i feel cheated and betrayed by what seemed like such an interesting premise
there are a lot of interesting themes introduced at the beginning. spirituality, the idea of being present in the state that which you want to be reality, at what point can this presence go too far, etc etc. but also, what i was most drawn to at first, discussions around what language is and whether there is an exploitative, colonial nature to learning a language in ten days as the centre advertises. the scene that stood out to me most in respect of this was anisa getting angry at adam for learning urdu for her like that, then enjoying all the benefits in pakistan that a white person would. i thought with such a strong start, the conclusion would be like a firework show.
it was not.
we spend a total of maybe 15% of the book actually in the centre. the rest is anisa frolicking with shiba in delhi and being a shitty best friend to naima with quite literally zero consequences. not to mention that the only extent to which the languages actually played a role in her life was the way they expanded her career, but as soon as she mastered one she just got bored and moved onto something else. which, id like to clarify, would be something VERY commentary-worthy. and while this book certainly did not lack in commentary, the commentary seemed to be about whatever the fuck seemed to pop into siddiqui's mind rather than anything that's actually connected through the book.
and that's the difficult and disappointinf thing for me. siddiqui makes some really interesting points about colonisation, about diaspora, about the memories our bodies hold and our connection with our ancestral lineage. lines exploring things like how 'unwelcoming' english grandeur feels, or how while our body can take a plane to a different country our souls must walk -- they are SO profound, but the rest of the book is so nonsensically organised that it feels like they just sit in a void. which lowkey makes me more mad. siddiqui clearly has the capacity to think deeply about the symbolism of what she's writing but just refuses to put the effort into synthesising it into an actual, structured, focused book.
also, on a more surface level, the whole concept of the centre is just. not. convincing. i buddy read this with a friend and we have frequently discussed the mastery of mona awad's metaphorical writing, and that's what we were expecting in this. some kind of justification for the horror -- not to bring up mona awad again, but, for example, the idea of 'plot bunnies' becoming deformed if not created out of genuine creative love. but like, why on earth would you need to learn a language through listening to a native speaker talk for 24/7 and then. fucken. CANNIBALISING THEM?? it makes zero sense. or, rather, there is definitely something in there that COULD'VE made sense if given the necessary analytical treatment, but it was not. so it all just felt a bit overdramatic and unbelievable.
anyway. 1 star bcs i feel cheated and betrayed by what seemed like such an interesting premise