The Centre

February 1, 2023

Anisa Ellahi survives by subtitling Bollywood movies, but she wants to translate great literature. So she's thrilled to learn about an invitation-only school for translators in language that assures complete fluency in any language in just 10 days. She's able to wangle an invite--and discovers that there's a dangerous price to pay for her attendance. The first book in Gillian Flynn's imprint for Zando, and Flynn herself will be promoting; with a 150,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 22, 2023
Manazir Siddiqi’s ambitious debut packs insightful observations about racism, classism, and colonialism into a dark mystery involving translator Anisa Ellahi. Born into a wealthy family in Karachi, Pakistan, 35-year-old Anisa now lives in London and augments her lavish allowance by subtitling Bollywood films, though she dreams of a career translating literary works. At a translation conference, she meets Adam, a man who, despite his poor university marks, has parlayed his fluency in 10 languages into a well-paid career. The two begin dating, and after some badgering, Adam admits that “a super elite, super-secret” (and super expensive) language school called the Centre is responsible for his linguistic prowess. Seeing the school as her chance to make her dreams come true, Anisa signs a nondisclosure agreement and settles in for a 10-day stay at the Centre. As she learns more about the school’s methodology and its employees, however, she fears she’s made a terrible mistake. Anisa’s perceptive narration propels the novel, and Manazir Siddiqi’s sharp cultural analysis of England, Pakistan, and India deepens her devilish plot, though the ending is a bit of a letdown. Still, this marks Manazir Siddiqi as a writer to watch. Agent: Stephanie Delman, Trellis Literary.

June 1, 2023
An aspiring literary translator attends a mysterious language school in the hopes of advancing her career only to discover the institution harbors a dark secret. Londoner Anisa Ellahi was born and raised in Pakistan but moved to England for college. Nearly two decades on, she subtitles Bollywood films for a living but dreams of parlaying her linguistic skills into more stimulating, meaningful work. When she meets future boyfriend Adam at a translation studies conference, she is captivated by his savantlike ability to speak nearly a dozen languages, including Mandarin, Italian, Russian, and Japanese. They soon move in together, adopt a kitten, and begin considering marriage. Despite Anisa's best attempts, however, Adam is strangely incapable of mastering even basic phrases in her mother tongue, Urdu. During a trip to Anisa's home city of Karachi, a dispute forces Adam to come clean. He's no wunderkind. He has taken courses at an elite, enigmatic school known as the Centre that promises total fluency in any language within 10 days, for a hefty fee, of course: $20,000. More than willing to cough up the money for a chance at realizing her ambitions, Anisa persuades Adam to recommend her for the program. When Anisa arrives at the Centre after an exhaustive application process, she finds a secluded retreat that follows a strict schedule and forbids almost all social contact in the service of achieving optimal results. Her efforts to find out more about the school eventually turn up disturbing truths about the Centre's methodology and jeopardize her close relationship with a staff member. Filled with astute insights into life as a brown person in a predominantly White country and how differences of class, religion, and nationality can bring about rifts in solidarity between people who share a racial or ethnic background, the novel offers a mystery rife with social critique, though it could have done more to scrutinize Anisa's own sources of privilege, particularly in relation to Adam. A fast-paced thriller with its finger firmly on the pulse of contemporary social discourse.

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May 1, 2023

DEBUT Siddiqi's cleverly written debut is atmospheric and unsettling. Anisa Ellahi is a Pakistani woman in London with dreams of being a great translator of important literature. In the meantime, she is just scraping by, subtitling Bollywood films and living off a generous allowance from her parents. She finds out about the Centre, a secret language-learning program, from Adam, her rather dull boyfriend, after he becomes fluent in Urdu in only 10 days. She joins the program and soon learns a new language herself. Only later, when questioning the methods and real costs associated with the program, does Anisa discover the shocking and horrifying truth. The unlikable characters and narrative voice will leave readers feeling uneasy and uncomfortable, while the suspense builds quietly toward the final startling reveal and many interconnected social issues--immigration, language, class, privilege, gender roles--are carefully exposed. VERDICT The questions raised by this heady story and its abrupt ending are perfect for book club discussions.--Sarah Sullivan

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 12, 2024
In her debut novel, Siddiqi tackles the politics of language through her protagonist, Anisa. A thirtysomething freelance translator, Anisa feels unsatisfied with life, stifled by an underwhelming romance and her shaky grasp of Urdu. Seeking direction, she enrolls in the Centre, an exclusive language-immersion program that promises fluency in a mere 10 days. She falls into an easy friendship with Shiba, the Centre's fearless leader. But as the women's bond deepens, Anisa struggles to reconcile her desire for excellence with the Centre's unsettling history. Anisa spends a considerable chunk of the novel musing on the nature of language itself: how does it shape identity and the ways in which we move through the world? Siddiqi clearly draws on her own background as a translator, and these are the most compelling parts of the book. The surrealist elements are much less considered, and plot twists that edge toward sf feel more out of place than sinister. There is a mystery at the heart of The Centre, but it's Anisa's work and musings that move the novel.

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