{"product_id":"the-centre-9781638930549","title":"The Centre","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\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\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\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.\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, interro-gating 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?\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Gillian Flynn Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/11\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781638930549\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 288\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.15lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.06h x 5.98w x 1.10d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal Prepub Alert\u003c\/i\u003e 02\/01\/2023 pg. 6\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/01\/2023 pg. 72\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42870605938869,"sku":"9781638930549","price":23.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_b5ac0edc-532a-4899-b9fe-165b6197c42f.jpg?v=1684270483","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/the-centre-9781638930549","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}