The First After
Jasmeen A. Siddiqui
Apr 2026 · Penguin Random House Audio · Narrated by Asha Vijayasingham
star
1 review
headphones
Audiobook
12 hr 4 min
Unabridged
family_home
Eligible
info
Want a free 10 min sample? Listen anytime, even offline.
Add
About this audiobook
“Tender, thoughtful, and beautifully rendered. . . . A banger debut.” Téa Mutonji, author of My Person
“Jasmeen A. Siddiqui just wrote my favourite love story. . . . I couldn’t put it down.” Anne T. Donahue, bestselling author of Nobody Cares
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 Though she and Ben had planned his visit together, with Anaa moralizing about how outdated and reductive it would be to give up on their friendship just because they’re exes, she can’t quite reconcile Ben in Lisbon among her new friends.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.
“Jasmeen A. Siddiqui just wrote my favourite love story. . . . I couldn’t put it down.” Anne T. Donahue, bestselling author of Nobody Cares
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.
“Tender, thoughtful, and beautifully rendered. . . . A banger debut.” Téa Mutonji, author of My Person
“Jasmeen A. Siddiqui just wrote my favourite love story. . . . I couldn’t put it down.” Anne T. Donahue, bestselling author of Nobody Cares
The First After is a perceptive and absorbing debut ...
Discover more
Ratings and reviews
1 review
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.
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.
Rate this audiobook
Tell us what you think.
Listening information
Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can read books purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
