The Centre

A darkly comic, boundary-pushing debut following an adrift Pakistani translator in London who attends a mysterious language school which boasts complete fluency in just ten days, but at a secret, sinister cost.

Shortlisted for the Nota Bene Prize.

A dark and surreal literary thriller following an adrift Pakistani translator in London who attends a mysterious language school. It boasts complete fluency in just ten days, but at a secret, sinister cost .

'Black Mirror take on the world of language' – The Observer
'Absolutely stunning . thrilling and unique' - Gillian Flynn
'Creepy, provocative and wildly entertaining' - Emma Stonex
'A thrillingly ambitious literary chiller' - The Guardian

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 you 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?

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