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The Centre

By: Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi
Narrated by: Balvinder Sopal
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Publisher's summary

A darkly comic, speculative debut following an adrift Pakistani translator in London who attends a mysterious language school which boasts complete fluency in just ten days, but at a secret, sinister cost.

Anisa Ellahi dreams of being a translator of “great works of literature,” but instead mostly spends her days subtitling Bollywood movies, living off her parents’ generous allowance, and discussing the “underside of life” with her best friend, Naima. Anisa’s mediocre white boyfriend, Adam, only adds to her growing sense of inadequacy with his savant-level aptitude for languages, successfully leveraging his expansive knowledge into an enviable career.

But when Adam learns to speak Urdu with native fluency practically overnight, Anisa forces him to reveal his secret. Adam begrudgingly tells Anisa about The Centre, an elite, invite-only program that guarantees near-instant fluency in any language. Skeptical but intrigued, Anisa enrolls—stripped of her belongings, contact with the outside world, and bodily autonomy—and emerges ten days later fluent in German. As Anisa enmeshes herself further within The Centre, seduced by all that it’s made possible, she soon realizes the true cost of its services.

By turns dark, funny, and surreal, and with twists thrilling and shocking, The Centre takes the listener on a journey through Karachi, London, and New Delhi, interrogating the sticky politics of language, translation, and appropriation with biting specificity, and ultimately asking: what is success really worth?

©2023 Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi (P)2023 Zando
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What listeners say about The Centre

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

The personal insights were fascinating

The ending was very abrupt and seemed unfinished, I felt like the story ended at least some more

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great story! Could be so much more!

I loved this book, but I’d give a pinky, if not my life story, to have the learning mechanisms explained more thoroughly!

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Listen to this! If JUST for the narrator

Book is very good if a little repetitive (time at the Centre-I'm looking at you) but the narrator is amazing!! I hope she narrates more.

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19 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

If Secret history had a book baby with The vegetarian

This book is an icredible exploration of class, race and priviledge while being an incredibly tense literarry thriller (and language nerd porn). Outstanding and well paced narrative.
Without spoiling anything, I found the ending very well done, though if you like neatly packaged ends, it might not be for you.
I would say if you enjoy Yellowface, The subtweet, The vegetarian or if you just need to fill a dark academia shaped hole in your life, look no further.
Also the experence of listening to the story in audio format gives this book an added layer in my opinion.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unique and provoking

The plot was timely and sci- fi in the way of Babel, etc. but really explored themes of class, morality, sexuality in a brown girl world that was impactful for a white, middle aged reader who grew up with such girls. Really enjoyed and appreciated the authors approach to all themes and a solid, good story!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Mediocre book – Phenomenal Narrator!

I liked the premise of the book, it had great potential, but fell flat. If I had read it, I’m not sure I would have even finished it. What saved this book for me was the narration. The narrator’s voice was very emotive, pleasant to listen to, and each character was so distinct I could tell who was speaking just by the voice. Strange story, disappointing ending, but loved the narrator!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Deeply Unsettling & Absolutely Fantastic

I absolutely loved this book. It's a fantastic work of speculative fiction and horror. The ending is unsettling and leaves the reader wanting more. Personally, I'm glad the author doesn't tie everything up neatly.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

One of the very best

A captivating plot, well-crafted sentences, good dialogue and the whole of it read perfectly. I have listened to several hundred of books and this is one of the very best. Thank you!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Started out ok but not a fan by the end

Story started out slowly but had great narration, so I stuck with it. LOTS of telling and very little showing. Long minutes with no dialogue at all, and then mainly short bursts. Story got more exciting about 2/3 of the way, but the ending was totally unsatisfying. A huge letdown.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Impressive first book

I didn’t want it to end! I feel a sequel might be in the air.

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