The Centre

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

Auteur
Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi has published essays, reviews, short stories, poetry, monologues, and translations, and has also written for radio and for the stage. She was also contributing editor for the Serial podcast the Trojan Horse Affair. Ayesha is from Karachi and lives in London. She’s on twitter @tweetingayesha.

Texte du rabat

Welcome to The Centre. You'll never be the same . . . Anisa Ellahi spends her days writing subtitles for Bollywood films in her London flat, all the while longing to be a translator of ?great works of literature'. Her boyfriend Adam's extraordinary aptitude for languages only makes her feel worse, but when Adam learns to speak Urdu practically overnight, Anisa forces him to reveal his secret. Adam tells Anisa about the Centre, an elite, invite-only programme that guarantees total fluency in any language in just ten days. Sceptical but intrigued, Anisa enrols. Stripped of her belongings and contact with the outside world, she undergoes the Centre's strange and rigorous processes. But as she enmeshes herself further within the organization, seduced by all that it's made possible, she soon realizes the disturbing, hidden cost of its services. By turns dark, funny and surreal, The Centre takes the reader 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 price would you be willing to pay for success? A remarkable debut from Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, announcing the arrival of an extraordinary new talent.

Résumé

**Shortlisted for the Nota Bene Prize

'Absolutely stunning . . . thrilling and unique' - Gillian Flynn
'Creepy, provocative and wildly entertaining' - Emma Stonex
'A thrillingly ambitious literary chiller' - The Guardian

Welcome to The Centre. The cost may be high, but you'll never be the same . . .

Anisa Ellahi longs to become a translator of 'great works of literature', but right now she is stuck in her London flat writing subtitles for Bollywood films.

Then she is told about the Centre, an elite, invite-only programme that guarantees complete fluency in any language in just ten days. Seduced by all that it could make possible, Anisa enrols. But the Centre's services come at a disturbing hidden cost. Still - it's worth it, right? After all, success comes at a price . . .

*By turns dark, funny and surreal, *The Centre by Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi takes the reader on a journey through Karachi, London and New Delhi. Throughout it interrogates the sticky politics of language, translation and appropriation and asks: what price would you be willing to pay for success?

'Fantastic . . . This Black Mirror take on the world of language opens up questions of cultural appropriation, the power of language, memory and privilege' The Observer