A review by voxvenati
The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi

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

4.25

Dreamy and very self aware.

This was more literary than I expected, and I wish it had skewed harder into thriller or horror elements, but I ended up loving this book anyway. Anisa and all of the supporting characters were flawed and deeply human. The food all sounded delicious, and I’m craving a cup of chai now. The humor tickled me.

The thriller elements:
It wasn’t that much of a twist that cannibalism was involved. I was hoping for something really novel, but it didn’t detract from the rest of the book in the end. I was really expecting Shiba’s mom to be a plot twist! She died when she was young…maybe she had been the first test subject. But no. I wish the thriller aspect had been pushed further.


Despite the cover, the dark themes aren’t pushed that far, and I would say it’s more literary than anything else. Great read, but go in for the plot and not the twist.