“Fantastic… This Black Mirror take on the world of language opens up questions of cultural appropriation, the power of language, memory and privilege.” Observer
What is The Centre? In this clever and fun novel by debut novelist Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, the protagonist Anisa is bored in her career as a translator. But all that changes when she meets new boyfriend Adam, who introduces her to a place that can change her life and bring the success that she craves. It’s an isolated, invitation-only programme that promises fluency in any language in just ten days. But at what cost? The book explores themes ranging from race, identity and cultural appropriation to secrecy and unfettered ambition, and goes from the comic to the very dark. It’s very much a page-turner with hugely satisfying results!

Tell us about the bookshelves in your home.

I have books piled up in various corners of my flat, but I only have two bookshelves, one of which is very narrow, as you can see from the photos. And so I try to keep a rotation going. I rely quite a lot on the library, and I also frequently give away books. The books I keep are either ones that I turn to again and again, or that have sentimental value, or that I’ve not yet got around to reading. I also sometimes get books in order to critique or review them, and so I don’t love all of the books on my bookshelf.

Which books are your most recent bookshelf additions?

I bought Maggie Nelson’s Like Love recently, and I adored it. So much so that it sent me down various rabbit holes and I ended up getting some of the books she writes about in Like Love, such as Ben Lerner’s 10:04 and Judith Butler’s Precarious Life, both of which I also enjoyed, and also Spinoza’s Ethics, which I only got yesterday and haven’t read yet.

Do you judge people by their bookshelves?

Many people I know don’t read much, and so their bookshelves would possibly be fairly generic or non-existent. I wouldn’t judge this. I think the idea that reading or the ownership of books bestows superiority on a person is an elitist, colonialist and also somewhat white supremacist idea. But yes, in the case of more avid readers, I do presume a bookshelf can reflect something about its possessor’s psyche, their politics, the things that they are interested in, and therefore I find it can, at times, be a reflection of how aligned we are likely to be.

Which is your most treasured book?

That’s a tough one. My father recently passed away, and I am exploring the idea of death, and of not clinging on too firmly to anything or anyone and certainly not to possessions. I hope that’s not a boring answer.

What do your bookshelves say about you?

I have several books in my shelves by the writers I like: Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Sara Ahmed, Elena Ferrante, James Baldwin, Frantz Fanon. I think this reflects the lines my curiosity travels down, the things I am trying to understand about myself and the world. About how to live more consciously, with more awareness and political and spiritual integrity; how to do meaningful work in a world that often pulls me towards fear and passivity. And how to transform pain and resist what needs to be resisted. I also have quite a few books on race, gender, and on literary theory. Then I see that there are some books that I bought in recent years to help process my father’s cancer: books on illness by Lorde, Sontag, Woolf and Simone de Beauvoir. And I have some decorative objects on the shelves too: the stones with some verses from the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz I picked up only last week while I was in Karachi. Oh, and the Urdu books on the narrow shelf were also a recent acquisition: I have been taking a brilliant class on the Urdu ghazal by the teacher Pasha M. Khan, and got really into the poet Ahmed Faraz as a result, and so my uncle Navedi Mamoo sweetly gave me his old Ahmed Faraz books.

I have several books in my shelves by Adrienne Rich, Audre Lorde, Sara Ahmed, James Baldwin… I think this reflects the lines my curiosity travels down, the things I am trying to understand about myself and the world.”

What’s the oldest book on your shelf?

It could be a book given to me by my parents that my dad’s brother gave to him, Muraqqa-e-Chughtai. It is meticulously and beautifully made, and contains a collection of poems by the poet Ghalib (the full text of Diwan-e-Ghalib), with accompanying illustrations by the artist A.R. Chughtai, published in 1928. I suppose this is my most precious book. So much for not having a ‘most precious’!

Do you rearrange your bookshelves often – and where do your replaced books go?

Very often; even in taking the photos for this piece, I’ve removed ten books, seven of which I’ll give to the John Harvard Library on Borough High Street. That library is one of my favourite spaces, with the best coffee, the loveliest librarians, and a wonderful collection of books.

Do you have any books from your childhood on your shelf?

I moved from Pakistan to England at eighteen, and have moved around many times since, living in several countries during my twenties, and so it was not possible for me to keep old books, but we do have some childhood books in Karachi still. I sort of have one though, which may count! It is a book I wrote myself. With my best friend at the time, Ayesha Pervez. It’s called ‘Best Friend’s’! Ayesha P. did the illustrations. Even then and even now, she is a person of extraordinary talent and the hugest heart.

Book lender, book giver or book borrower?

Giver, I guess. I don’t often get books I lend back, and sadly I think I fail to return ones I borrow, and so the best way is simply to give.

Whose bookshelves are you most curious about?

Nobody’s at the moment.

Compiled and introduced by Sonia Weir
Photos courtesy of the author

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Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi has written plays, essays, book reviews and short stories. Her work has appeared in various anthologies, and her plays have been staged widely. She also works as an editor and occasional translator, and was a contributing editor for The Trojan Horse Affair, a podcast by The New York Times. Ayesha is from Karachi and lives in London. The Centre is out now from Picador in paperback, eBook and audio download.
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Author photo by Andrew Mason

Sonia Weir is a contributing editor to Bookanista. She started the Ultimate Reads and Recommendations Facebook group in December 2018, which now has over 700 members from all over the world. The group is inclusive and aimed at every reader, no matter the books, authors or genre.
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