{"product_id":"the-centre-9781638930549","title":"The Centre","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of the Year \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e- \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e Editors' Choice \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e- \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn Amazon Editors' Pick for Best Mystery, Thriller \u0026amp; Suspense\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"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, \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eWhalefall\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Shape of Water \u003c\/i\u003e(with Guillermo del Toro)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A gripping, surreal mystery about language, identity, and greed.\" --Peng Shepherd, bestselling author of\u003ci\u003e The Cartographers\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Centre\u003c\/i\u003e draws you in with a gentle hand until it throws the mallet down.\" --Chelsea G. Summers, author of \u003ci\u003eA Certain Hunger\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eThe Centre\u003c\/i\u003e is as haunting as it is tempting; this book devoured me back.\" --Sarah Gailey, author of \u003ci\u003eJust Like Home \u003c\/i\u003eand\u003ci\u003e Eat the Rich\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn this \"dazzling\" speculative debut, a London-based Pakistani translator furthers her stalled career by attending a mysterious language school that boasts near-instant fluency--but at a secret, sinister cost (Gillian Flynn)\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAnisa Ellahi dreams of being a translator of \"great works of literature,\" but mostly spends her days subtitling Bollywood movies and living off her parents' generous allowance. Adding to her growing sense of inadequacy, her mediocre white boyfriend, Adam, has successfully leveraged his savant-level aptitude for languages into an enviable career. But when Adam learns to speak Urdu practically overnight, Anisa forces him to reveal his secret. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAdam begrudgingly tells her about The Centre, an elite, invite-only program that guarantees complete fluency in any language, in just ten days. This sounds, to Anisa, like a step toward the life she's always wanted. Stripped of her belongings and all contact with the outside world, she enrolls and undergoes The Centre's strange and rigorous processes. But as Anisa enmeshes herself further within the organization, seduced by all that it's made possible, she soon realizes the hidden cost of its services. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBy turns darkly comic and surreal, and with twists as page-turning as they are shocking, \u003ci\u003eThe Centre\u003c\/i\u003e journeys through Karachi, London, and New Delhi, interrogating the sticky politics of language, translation, and appropriation along the way. Through Anisa's addictive tale of striving and self-actualization, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi ultimately asks the reader: What is the real price we pay in our scramble to the center?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAyesha Manazir Siddiqi\u003c\/b\u003e has previously published short stories, reviews, translations, essays, monologues, and poetry. She has also worked as an editor and a playwright. Ayesha was contributing editor for the Serial Productions podcast \u003ci\u003eThe Trojan Horse Affair\u003c\/i\u003e, and has been anthologized by Tilted Axis Press, Peepal Tree Press, Influx Press, EMC, and Oberon Books, and published in \u003ci\u003eThe Independent\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCeasefire\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Theatre Times, Wasafiri, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eMedia Diversified\u003c\/i\u003e. Her plays and monologues have had rehearsed readings and stagings at venues including the Rich Mix, Theatre503, and the Tristan Bates Theatre in London, and the Impact Hub in Birmingham, and she's also written for BBC Radio 4. Ayesha is from Karachi and lives in London.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Zando - Gillian Flynn Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50599089570066,"sku":"9781638930549","price":20.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_2ed73f69-88c5-48f9-b4ad-bf02a6f5221f.jpg?v=1732196456","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-centre-9781638930549","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}