Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Centre

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

54 reviews

lttlfl's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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kay_chan's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

My only thoughts at the end of this book is that I just wish it was more. Either darker to make it eerie, or more psychological to make it interesting.

Disappointed that it just kind of fell flat and I had to keep going back each time I picked up the book to get reoriented. Themes were incredible!

LGBTQ FMC
Pakistani FMC
Women in STEAM

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dianadelacruisin's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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seventhswan's review

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dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I borrowed this book from the library knowing absolutely nothing about it, and I was pleasantly surprised! I often find it difficult to suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy speculative fiction, but the horror/sci-fi element of The Centre was simple and internally consistent enough for me to almost believe it could happen in real life. I understand how that could turn some readers off - it's not a concept that felt super new or out-there, nor was it the be-all-end-all of the story - but for me it added to the horror and got me thinking more than I expected once I finished reading.

It took a little while for the plot to properly get going, but once it did I was captivated. Few of the characters are people I'd like to spend time with but they felt very real, and I found myself caring what happened to them despite this. I also found myself sympathising with characters' actions more than I would have liked and asking myself questions I hadn't considered before.

I could buy the

dubiously-consensual-cannibalism,

but I couldn't buy that the main characters were 35. They all behaved like they were in their mid 20s at most. This and a few other strange details took me out of the story in places. But overall I really enjoyed The Centre, and I'd love to read more work from this author.

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melliedm's review

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A dark, messy look at legacy, language, colonialism, and patriarchy, and what it means to consume and be consumed.

A part of me wanted to stay in this narrative for another 200 pages, but it truly does end in a powerful place, leaving us with the questions of what Anisa has observed vs what she has learned.

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hannahyorkey's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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millie's review

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

hesitated between 2 or 3 stars because there's some part of the book that i feel were really good but a lot of also were not good. i would put it at a 2.25.

my main problem with this book is that the author just doesn't know what it want to be : a thriller? contemporary? scifi? horror? they try to sprinkle a little bit of everything but just ends up not sticking to the wall at all or very clumsily.

i understand the metanarrative of it all and i think it was done very well and effectively, the idea of absorption and consumption pushed to the limits was sort of interesting? however i will say that being in anissa (the mc)'s head was an annoying and pitiful experience and i did not like her which is probably the point but yeah, for a 30-something woman i do find her quite gullible and influencable, doing all of this because of a crush? no thanks.

i just... i am sort of disappointed in a way that i can't seems to explain, except that this book didn't work for me, it may work for other people.

also ... and this is never addressed properly at the end of the book or at any point in the story ever but we never learn for what language does anissa become a storyteller. is it english? is it urdu? literally never adressed ! like you are agreeing to donate your body to be literally consumed for ... language purpose? and we don't even know what language you're helping with. great.

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gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The definition of an unlikable main character: she is frustrating because she oscillates between hyper-analytical and appallingly narcissistic. She was fun to listen to in audiobook form, but it was also frustrating because I disagreed with some of the major choices she made.

I think this was fascinating look at (some kinds of) translation as a product of colonization and capitalism versus for love of other people. But also, I think that it was fairy predictable based on the themes and dialogue from one of the side characters. I enjoyed it mostly but did drop it down a bit because it meandered quite a bit and the story again, was a bit predictable once I thought about it more.

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thehannahclaire's review

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dark informative mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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stellahadz's review

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book had an interesting premise, but I think either the execution didn't deliver as much as I expected or I'm not clever enough to understand the point of certain plot elements. It seems like translation is supposed to be a metaphor, I'm just not sure what for, and that's always frustrating for me as a reader. Still, I found the theme of translation and the commentary on language and privilege really interesting. I liked Anisa and Naima's friendship, as well as Anisa's musings on her family and other relationships. The plot felt like it was missing something, especially towards the end, and the reveal of the Centre's secrets felt extremely rushed and glossed over. I also found

the scene in Arjun's office

unnecessary. However, the actual ending of the book was kind of perfect in a chilling way.

This is definitely the kind of book you have to dive deep into, so it might be fun for a book club or reading group. At times it feels like there are just a few too many topics and themes being stuffed into a relatively short book, but Siddiqi's prose is excellent. I'd love to read more of her work.

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