The Centre

Critics Review

• Fantastic . . . This Black Mirror take on the world of language opens up questions of cultural appropriation, the power of language, memory and privilege . . . Siddiqi’s easy storytelling and her heroine Anisa’s sweet narrative voice slip down like summer rosé. Siddiqi has the gift of maintaining propulsion and mystery, while keeping things human and realistic . . . compelling . . . wonderful

  The Observer

• An absolutely stunning and unique novel . . . A book that is not only thrilling but deeply thought provoking, a combination that is truly rare

  Gillian Flynn, author of Gone Girl

• Siddiqi . . . has the gift of maintaining propulsion and mystery, while keeping things human and realistic . . . a wonderful novel

  The Guardian

• Creepy, provocative and wildly entertaining . . . I was gripped

  Emma Stonex, author of The Lamplighters

• Ingenious . . . This is a book whose many delights and horrors are unlikely to be lost in translation

  New York Times

• The Centre is a banger! . . . A book that feels both cheery and terrifying, The Centre draws you in with a gentle hand until it throws the mallet down in the last thirty pages. A terrific meditation on language, diaspora, alienation, and culture, it will stay with you long after you read

  Chelsea G Summers, author of A Certain Hunger

• Propulsive and profound. I was gripped by the mystery haunting the core of the book — and equally gripped by Siddiqi’s exploration of the power of language . . . a debut of dazzling wit and insight

  Helen Phillips, author of The Need

• A twisting mystery and nuanced exploration of identity and assimilation, The Centre cuts deep . . . A compelling, witty, sometimes gruesome tale of how we use language to connect and to sever, appropriate and explore

  Julia Fine, author of Maddalena and the Dark and The Upstairs House

• I am obsessed with this book and you will be too! A brilliant meditation on language and translation and the most gripping novel I’ve read in forever . . . I’m in awe

  Jennifer Croft, author of Homesick

• As haunting as it is tempting; this book devoured me back

  Sarah Gailey, author of Just Like Home and Eat the Rich

• A gripping, surreal mystery about language, identity, and greed. The Centre explores impossible success at an equally impossible price—and the difference between merely paying for something and truly understanding its dark cost

  Peng Shepherd, bestselling author of The Cartographers

• The most fascinating debut I’ve read in years—enigmatic, biting, absurd, and right when you think you’ve got it figured out, utterly horrifying

  Daniel Kraus, New York Times bestselling author of The Shape of Water (with Guillermo del Toro)

• Incredible . . . it’s creepy AF, in the best way possible. Highly recommend!

  Lamya H, author of Hijab Butch Blues

• Filled with astute insights into life as a brown person in a predominantly white country . . . A fast-paced thriller with its finger firmly on the pulse of contemporary social discourse

  Kirkus

• Manazir Siddiqi’s ambitious debut packs insightful observations about racism, classism, and colonialism into a dark mystery . . . a writer to watch

  Publishers Weekly

• [An] inventive debut… The Centre informs the current social discourse by offering wry, shrewd insights into colonialism, appropriation and classism, resonant of Elaine Hsieh Chou’s Disorientation and RF Kuang’s Yellowface

  Rabeea Saleem, The Irish Times

• Truly fascinating . . . a dialogue-rich drama with comic undertones and a creepy thriller nestled within

  Shelf Awareness

• One of the most original books published this year

  Eastern Eye, Best books of 2023

• The novel explores friendship, purpose, and power

  New Yorker, The Best Books of 2023