A review by izzyvb023
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I think more people need to be worried about prions diseases. 

I liked this book well enough. It was paced pretty slowly, but the reveal was good. The narrator was unreliable and oftentimes even unlikeable, but I still wanted her to succeed. 
There was also some very thoughtful commentary about translation, colonialism, and feminism. I was especially interested in the way the author described the act of translation and compared it to prayer. 
The ‘meta’ bit at the end was good. It definitely achieved its goal and had me questioning the author and her lived experiences. 

Overall, it was a good mild horror read. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for any of the following:

- dark academia 
- plot twists
- mild body horror
- unreliable narrator
- meta
- translation/linguistics/language learning

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