This one was a little hard for me to get into. It felt slow at the start, and felt different than what I would normally read. The audio helped me to get into it though, the narrator did really well with the voice and accent of the mc.

I was intriged by the language learning center as there was clearly some kind of dark secret behind it, and I wanted to keep going to find out what it was. But instead of developing that plot line and keeping my interest, it kept getting bogged down in details about side relationships of the mc and fights and disagreements she was having with them. It didn't help the story along at all. There was also a lot of portions that just felt like soapboxes that were shoehorned in, that, again, didn't add anything to the plot, especially as it's a relatively short book and those segments seemed to take up a great majority of the pages.

The twist in this story was definitely quite shocking but then the book ended very vaguely, so we're left not really knowing what happened to the mc or the Centre.

I think that ultimately this book was just not for me, it seems I am a minority among reviewers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for both the earc and the audiobook copy of this title.
All opinions are my own.

Ten days. Learn a new language and become completely fluent in just 10 days. That's exactly what The Centre promises and delivers on. You can only go to The Centre, an elite language school, if you are invited, accepted and have the means to pay $20,000 for each language. Anisa's (a translator) boyfriend, Adam is fluent in many languages and Anisa wants to know how he learned all of them, so well and so quickly. Adam tells her about and extends his one invite to The Centre. She wants to understand how it works, the method behind it. The further into her investigation she gets the more sinister it all becomes.

This book hits on race, class, and gender privilege and has elements of mystery and fantasy. It was a unique story that you won't soon forget.

I will say that when it took a turn toward cannibalism, I almost stopped reading - that pushed it a little too far for me, but that's just me and my opinion!

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for an advanced copy of this audiobook, which I received in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars. This was an engrossing and enjoyable read but I felt the pacing was off and it ultimately left me feeling unsatisfied.

Before I get into the content, I want to mention the audiobook narrator was excellent. She really nailed the inner voice of the main character, and performed the other character's voices well too. It was easy to distinguish between who was speaking and her narration set the tone of the book.

The first half of the book was great, I loved the idea of the centre and reading this felt like reading a literary thriller-- exactly what I'd expected. The character building was really well done, and I loved the exploration of race and class within the main character's relationships and within the context of the centre.

However, after the main character's second stay at the centre, the pacing was off for me. I didn't really understand why the book ended where it did and it felt like the whole thing slowed down significantly. The big reveal was a bit predictable to me, which I didn't mind as there were some heavy hints about what might be happening from the beginning. But I felt like everything built up to the reveal and then nothing really happened. I usually don't mind (and in fact enjoy) ambiguous endings, but this one felt a little empty.

Overall I enjoyed listening to this and I think the writing was great. Despite not loving where this book went, I am excited to read whatever this author writes next.

The Centre has an intriguing premise: being able to become native-fluent in another language in 10 days. I remain unclear how this happens hypothetically excluding that one disturbing factor.

I flew through this book like it was nothing, thanks to the author’s wit and well-written passages. It was easy to be immersed into the story-line, constantly anticipating what is gonna happen next. I would say it’s more horror than thrilling, with a constant lingering feeling of being weary for what’s to come. The first half of the book started off pretty slow, and was basically a more through description of the synopsis of the book. The second half, however, is where things start picking up the pace and things start happening– quite gruesome and sinister things.

All in all, this was a great fast paced story with bits of literary fiction and speculative fiction sprinkled in there. I think it would make for good discussion.

This review will have spoilers.

First off, fantastic narration. It kept my interested even at the points in the story that were a little boring at times.

The things I didn't like: the tarot cards and spiritistic things. Mostly the stuff related to her friend. But even the friend knew that the centre was bad news so I appreciated that. I just skipped over the parts that bothered me, and I skimmed over the love scenes in the beginning.

I love stories with weird settings like asylums or weird retreat things and this seemed to be right up my alley. And I was definitely weirded out, grossed out and just felt all around uneasy throughout the whole book. Bravo! That is definitely the vibe I was hoping for and it was executed very well. It gave me the same unease as "im thinking of ending things" but with the gory traits of "the menu". The twist was given so well, and the ending a little ambiguous which I can't complain about, cause it was a really good ending. Not 100% perfect but pretty close. All in all, it wasn't as suspenseful as I was hoping, there were a lot of other heavy topics that it discussed which were also well done. I will definitely read more from this author and listen to anything from this narrator. I just hope there won't be too many more spiritistic themes in her work going forward.
3.5 Stars!

The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, narrated by Balvinder Sopal - 3.5/5

Mystery & Thrillers - General Fiction - Humor & Satire
Audiobook- 8 Hours, 37 Minutes

The Centre is a dark and funny read with twists and turns at every corner keeping your waiting for what is to come next.
A Pakistani translator living in London writes captions for films and always looking to improve her skills trying to learn a new method, which can prove to be more than she can handle.

This was a good listen, I enjoyed all the twists and turns, the usage of linguistics and cults. I enjoyed the story but I was not in love with it.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audio eARC.

I thought this was unbelievably disappointing. Yeah, that twist was surprising, but that’s the only thing I found interesting about this story. I (regretfully) saw it through because I wanted to know what was really up with The Centre, but I accidentally spoiled the book for myself when I sought motivation to continue by reading positive reviews. One person had a tag on their review that revealed the twist and she hadn’t marked her review as a spoiler. Fortunately, I’d finished almost 70% of the audiobook at that point and the twist was revealed within the next 10%. Honestly, despite the spoiler, I did briefly get excited about what was to come. I thought, “Oh, okay! Things are going to be intriguing now that I know this!” Unfortunately, it remained lackluster, just as it had been from the start. There were few tidbits of meaningful social commentary in the book, but that was not enough to ignite my brain with satisfaction.

I am immensely grateful to Gillian Flynn Books and NetGalley for my copy. All opinions are my own.

This is one of the most beautifully narrated books I have listened to all year. I was completely in love with it.

A Pakistani translator living in London who writes Urdu captions for Bollywood films, finds out about a way that she can learn a new language in only 10 days. She thinks this will improve her marketability and job future, but at what price does this new skill come?

This is Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi's debut novel. It is well-written and thought out. How the process at The Centre works is wonderful (until it's NOT!). The characters are very well-developed. The life and culture of Pakistan and India are brought to life for the reader. I will definitely be looking forward to Ms. Siddiqi's next work.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media/Gillian Flynn Books and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 20%

Thank you to the publisher for an advanced listener copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Centre follows Anisa Ellahi as she finds herself in an invite-only group filled with elite members promising fluency in any language of her choosing within days. Anisa soon finds out that The Centre is far from what it seems to be.

On the surface, this story is everything I could possibly want, using linguistics and cults to explore interesting themes. Unfortunately, this story is not for me (at least not right now). While promising, I found myself struggling to invest in the story due to its slow setup.

I will likely try this one again in the future, but thus far, the Gillian Flynn imprint has been a little disappointing.

“It all began with Adam. Doesn’t it always? We met at a literary translation studies conference at Senate House, and it was through him that I first learned of the Centre.”

My thanks to Dreamscape Media Gillian Flynn Books for a review copy via NetGalley of the unabridged audiobook edition of ‘The Centre’ by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi. The audiobook is narrated by Balvinder Sopal.

This debut novel is difficult to classify to a single genre as alongside psychological horror it also has aspects of speculative/science fiction and is a contemporary exploration of identity and observations about the power of language and cultural appropriation.

The novel’s protagonist is Anisa Ellahi, a Pakistani woman in her mid-thirties living in London. She dreams of being a translator of ‘great works of literature’ though in actuality spends her days providing subtitles for Bollywood movies living off a generous allowance provided by her parents. She feels unsatisfied and adrift in her life.

Currently she is dating Adam, a rather mediocre English bloke, though he does appear to have a remarkable aptitude for languages that he has successfully applied to his career. Anisa decides that it’s time to introduce Adam to her parents and when they travel to Karachi, she is surprised that Adam has learned to speak Urdu with native fluency practically overnight. Under pressure Adam reveals to Anisa that he attends The Centre, an elite, invite-only language school that guarantees fluency in any language over an intense 10-day program.

Anisa is skeptical but intrigued and has Adam secure her an invite as she wishes to learn German to further her desire to be a translator. What happens next? Well, I won’t head into spoiler territory though I will say that things start to become quite surreal.

I found Anisa a very relatable character. While the premise at the heart of ‘The Centre’ is undoubtedly high concept, I felt that the novel could easily have just focused on an exploration of Anisa’s experiences in London as a single woman approaching middle age seeking a more fulfilling life while wrestling with the differences in culture. Still, I definitely liked the weird SF aspects.

I also warmed to her best friend, Naima, who after obtaining a degree in psychology had transitioned into a ‘modern day witch’ holding alternative therapy sessions and Tarot readings for women of colour. Despite being rather New Age, Naima was often the voice of reason in Anisa’s life.

With respect to the audiobook, this appears to be Eastenders actor Balvinder Sopal first foray into narration. As the story is told from Anisa’s viewpoint, Balvinder Sopal’s elegant voice and gentle accent was ideal as she charted Anisa’s journey. The audiobook concludes with a Q&A with the author about the genesis of the novel.

Overall, as I said above ‘The Centre’ is an unusual novel and I found it an engaging read and was quite interested in seeing how things resolved not only for Anisa but its other characters.

‘The Centre’ is a multilayered, thought provoking novel that also asks questions about why certain languages are more valued than others. Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi is herself a translator as well as a writer and thus in an ideal position to explore these topics.

I loved The Centre. This book was just what I needed in the moment. I loved the atmosphere this book has settled.

I feel like I've been in a book slump, but I genuinely enjoyed this book! It was an interesting story with a concept I haven't seen in other novels. As an avid language learner myself, I could completely relate to the main character's ambitions and motivations.

The only thing keeping this story from being 5 stars for me was the ending. I'm not sure if my audiobook file was missing a chapter or something, but it just abruptly cut off. I even replayed that section to see if I just missed some major line and was disappointed in that aspect.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an advanced audiobook download in exchange for my honest review!

You've never wanted to be part of something more than The Centre.
Such intrigue, suspense, and such beautiful writing is captured in this novel.

I know I'll find myself listening and reading this one again and again for years to come.
LOVED.

Also, I wanted to acknowledge how beautiful the cover is, and let it be known this is the reason why I was drawn to this book! Amazing read, with a beautiful cover!

THE CENTRE by Ayesha Manazir Saddiqi and read by Balvinder Sopal is a gorgeously written philosophical horror-lite. That sounds weird. It was a bit, but wow!
⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Anisa Ellahi is a Pakistani Londoner, struggling with her jobs as a translator. Dreaming of translating meaningful stories, she is mostly dubbing for films when her boyfriend gives a display of language learning that captivates her. Invited in to The Centre, Anisa experiences the odd process of the 10 day immersion and comes out with fluent German. As time goes on, the pull to the Centre becomes stronger and when she discovers the secret to their success, Anisa must decide what lines can be crossed and what must stay sacred.

I really want to share more about this slightly horrifying and incredibly thought-provoking story, but it would really do a disservice to you as a reader. I loved this mix of mystery and all the deeper concepts of the power of language and who holds that power. There are issues of race, class, sexism, elitism, and more in this story, but rest assured, it is extremely entertaining. And at times darkly funny!

I absolutely loved the audio version of this story. The narration captured all the gorgeous nuanced accents and it gave the story a grounding in Anisa's character to hear her voice. I felt the narrator did a beautiful job changing her voice for the various characters and it was easy to follow along at 2x speed. I also loved the author chat at the end!

Thank you so much to @NetGalley @dreamscape_media for the opportunity to listen to this ALC and share my thoughts! This will be available July 11, so all my slightly unhinged friends need to get this so we can talk about about it!

How amazing would it be if you could become perfectly fluent in any language in only 10 days?
What would you give for this to be possible? What would you be okay with in order to accomplish something this impressive?

These are some questions that bounced around my mind as I listened to the audiobook of The Centre, which is about a literary translator who joins a secret exclusive linguistic school that promises a quick turn around and guaranteed mastery of a chosen language…as long as you follow their rules, of course.

This story is unique, thought provoking, and feels current. I think a lot of Millennials will relate to the main character and some of her feelings, although she was unlikable at times (which is realistic).

This story touches on topics of racism, classism, colonialism, and various other isms that are important to examine through literature. From the start, I was invested and think it would make for a great bookclub read and something that you’ll want to discuss with others.

It was marketed as “funny,” which it wasn’t? It’s also not a technically a thriller, but it does have some “dark” aspects, so I think the synopsis got that part right. Overall, I enjoyed it and think lovers of literary fiction with science fiction elements will like it. The narrator of the audiobook was pleasant and I would recommend this route. Also, it has the best cover I’ve seen this month and I’m going to get one for my shelves. 😍

I listened to the audio of The Centre and the narration was really phenomenal. I requested this from NetGalley because I kept hearing about it on booktok and I'm so glad I did. I don't typically love horror, but this is more dark literary fiction with horror elements. I think on NetGalley it was also listed as humor/satire, which I'm not sure about (but I'd love to hear what other people think!).

The concept wasn't really anything new, Anisa joins a secret language school and realizes something sinister is going on. I didn't think the twist was really all that surprising, but I still really enjoyed the story and I didn't want to stop reading. I am really happy I went with the audio on this one because I think it helped with the suspense, Balvinder Sopal did a great job with the narration. I definitely recommend going with the audio on this one, I think I would have still enjoyed reading this but the audio just added a lot to the experience.

Thank you NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Gillian Flynn Books for the ARC of The Centre.

The blurb made this sound so interesting but unfortunately, the book did not deliver. It starts out interesting enough but neither Anissa's story nor the Centre's processes hooked me and made me want to know more. When the big reveal happens, it would have been shocking had I been invested in the story but even that was a real let down. Had there been more emphasis on the action related to the big reveal, it might have been more horrifying but it's only mentioned, it seems, in passing so it's underwhelming. I think if this had been written with more emphasis on the Centre, the thriller aspect would have been more attention grabbing.

Holy crap - This one started slow and a bit strangely, but I was quickly hooked.

I really don't want to say too much about it, because it was an absolute delight to just go along with it and enjoy the ride, learning the info at the same time MC does.

I'll be thinking about this one for quite a while, and hopefully you will too if you pick it up!

Title: A Disappointing Exploration of Language: A Review of "The Centre"

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ (2/5)

"The Centre" presents an intriguing premise that initially piqued my curiosity and raised expectations for a captivating read. However, despite its potential, the book ultimately left me disappointed, failing to live up to the intrigue it promised.

Regrettably, "The Centre" struggles to engage the reader from the start, and the character of Anisa fails to elicit any significant interest or empathy. As the narrative progresses, it becomes increasingly challenging to invest in her journey, leading to a disconnect between the reader and the protagonist. This lack of emotional connection weakens the impact of the story, hindering its potential for genuine engagement.

While the book attempts to infuse dark humor and surreal elements, the execution often falls flat. The comedic aspects lack the sharp wit needed to elicit genuine laughter, resulting in missed opportunities for genuine entertainment. The promised twists and turns fail to deliver the anticipated thrills, further contributing to the overall disappointment.

Additionally, the exploration of language, translation, and appropriation—a promising concept in the book—lacks the depth and thought-provoking examination it initially hints at. The political nuances surrounding these themes are briefly touched upon but are never fully developed or expanded upon, leaving the reader craving a more comprehensive exploration of their societal implications.

Furthermore, the pacing of the story feels sluggish, lacking the necessary momentum to sustain the reader's interest. The plot meanders without building sufficient tension or suspense, making the narrative predictable and preventing it from reaching its full potential. The occasional plot twists, when they do occur, fail to deliver the intended impact, further dampening the reading experience.

The richness of the settings, cannot fully compensate for the book's lackluster plot and underdeveloped characters.

In conclusion, "The Centre" presents an intriguing premise that initially sparked anticipation, making the ultimate disappointment even more disheartening. The lack of a compelling protagonist, the unfulfilled promises of dark comedy, and a narrative that fails to delve deeply into its thematic exploration leave the reader yearning for a more engaging and thought-provoking experience. While the book exhibits glimpses of descriptive prowess, it falls short of delivering a truly memorable and fulfilling reading journey.