After Care
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Verve Books
Published:22nd Oct '26
Should be back in stock very soon
Grace is no longer famous. She sits alone in her New York apartment, endlessly watching reruns of herself on the reality TV show Speed Daters. Then, one evening, a man breaks in through her window. A rare, still-obsessed fan or raging incel - Grace is unsure. Before she can find out, he disappears.
That same night, the world is rocked by the news that Anoushka, Grace's onscreen rival, has taken her own life. Suddenly thrust back into the public eye, Grace is thrilled to be relevant again. Driven by a familiar desperation for love and attention, she clings to the dregs of her old life: her followers; her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Cal; and her unstable influencer income.
But fame is fickle, and Grace's image is fragile. When the fans begin to turn on her, Grace escapes with Cal to his isolated cabin. In the woods with nothing but each other, can they mend what's broken without destroying what little is left?
A piercing debut exposing the toxicities of reality TV and influencer culture, After Care is a disconcertingly recognisable portrait of reckless consumerism, spectatorship and the attention economy.
Super weird, juicily surreal, super timely & gripping, looking at how sense of self is both fed and eroded by perception -- Nathalie Kernot, GQ writer
A compelling and perceptive exploration of the dangers of seeking validation in a society that increasingly mistakes a carefully constructed existence for reality. Maniar has crafted a story I did not know I needed, but one I was deeply grateful to uncover. A wholly absorbing read -- Oyinkan Braithwaite, author of Cursed Daughters
Maniar... plumbs the depths of modern-day celebrity for this punchy debut about a former dating show contestant plunged into depression by post-fame anonymity. Maniar revels in her subject's potential for satire, yet her concerns - about truth and ethics - are serious, even earnest. * Daily Mail *
Bold and haunting, After Care dissects the delusions of fame, parasocialism and the attention economy. Who do we become when we're being watched? And what happens when people stop? Maniar has written a taut and intricate study that refuses easy answers -- Stacey Yu, author of Kitten
A triumph of a debut. After Care is unflinching and brilliantly drawn in its portrayal of performance versus feeling, the loneliness of reality (tv), and how easily we consume young women and discard them -- Celia Silvani, author of Just Between Mothers
ISBN: 9780857309600
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
288 pages