The First After - by Jasmeen A Siddiqui (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The First After is a perceptive and absorbing debut novel following a young woman living abroad in Portugal who finds herself caught between her old life and her hard-won new life when her ex-boyfriend and first love visits her in Lisbon for a dreamy and dizzying week.

"I feel like there are so many moving parts in me, all growing at their own pace, wanting different things at different times. But all equally me."

Anaa, a twenty-three-year-old aspiring poet, has fallen in love with her new life in Portugal. Walking cobblestone streets and talking about art with her new friends--this is what she's always dreamed of, and she feels she's on her way to becoming the person she wants to be. And it doesn't hurt that there's someone making Lisbon even more alluring: a magnetic poet and local celebrity, Tiago, with whom she's having the kinds of spirited, all-consuming conversations she's only ever seen in films she adores.

Just as Tiago wants to commit to Anaa, Anaa's ex-boyfriend and first love, Ben, visits from Canada, propelling her into a state of restlessness. Though she and Ben had planned his visit together, with Anaa moralizing about how outdated and reductive it would be to give up on their friendship just because they're exes, she can't quite reconcile Ben in Lisbon among her new friends. She'd purposely left behind a world that felt small, a future that was a fraction of what she wanted for herself, the future that included Ben. However, even while embarrassed by his simple tastes and dad jokes, she still recognizes he's someone who can make her feel so much joy and who brings out a side of herself she tends to hide. And there might be something else there between them, something still burning. But then what about Tiago and the part of her that comes alive with him? And more importantly, what about her new world?

Absorbing, insightful, cheeky, and charming, The First After explores identity, ambition, and the highs and lows and reverberation of first love.

Review Quotes

Praise for THE FIRST AFTER
"A tender, thoughtful, and beautifully rendered exploration of life in transition, filled with humour, brilliant conversations, and just the right amount of romance to make starting over feel like a battle between every version of you. With this banger debut, Jasmeen is saying: you are the love story. I was glad to read something that made me think of what I would do differently, if given the chance."
--Téa Mutonji, author of My Person

"Jasmeen A. Siddiqui just wrote my favourite love story. I want to jump into The First After and live in its beautiful, rich, complex world. I should've been studying for a final, but I chose to hang out with Anaa instead. I couldn't put it down."
--Anne T. Donahue, bestselling author of Nobody Cares

"Honest, vulnerable, and at times, quite funny, The First After is a restless, implosive novel about a young woman's journey towards self-actualization--as poet and person of colour--on the vibrant streets of Lisbon. Siddiqui takes the classic coming-of-age story and transforms it into a meditation on love, relationships, and expectations. Simply wonderful."
--Sofia Mostaghimi, author of Desperada

"The First After is an intelligent and wistful exploration of new adulthood and the formative heartbreaks along the way. With lyrical and discerning prose, Siddiqui takes us through this coming-of-age story with maturity and depth. A voice to watch!"
--Noreen Nanja, author of The Summers Between Us

"The First After is a quiet, sensitive, and moving depiction of a young couple coming together for one final week to find closure. Siddiqui's characters are vulnerable and open hearted. This is a novel about two people trying to be good, trying to not hurt one another, while they are breaking each other's hearts. It is a study of compassion and ethics wrapped up in the elusive beauty of first love."
--Arizona O'Neill, author of Opioids and Organs

"A tender depiction of that effervescent time in early adulthood where the gentle pull of the familiar tugs against the uncertain brightness of the future. These thoughtfully drawn characters articulate a yearning for freedom and independence, for passion and connection, for personal expression and growth, all while revealing how those necessary longings can unexpectedly--and painfully--collide. An ode to the beautiful messiness of being young and human, and a singular portrait of life, love, and creativity that will stay with readers for a very long time."
--Stacey May Fowles, author of The Lost Season

About the Author

JASMEEN A. SIDDIQUI is a writer from Mississauga, Ontario. Her work has appeared in places like The Windsor Review and The Quilliad. She currently lives in Lisbon, Portugal. The First After is her first novel.