Bellies: ‘A beautiful love story’ Irish Times
£12.50£14.20 (-12%)
‘Smart, hilarious and deeply moving’ Elliot Page, author Pageboy
‘Bellies announces Nicola Dinan as a genuine literary talent, a gimlet-eyed cartographer of the human heart’ Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti
‘Thoughtful, seductive, and entirely engrossing – Bellies is already a classic’ Bryan Washington, author of Memorial and Lot
It begins as your typical boy meets boy. While out with friends at a university drag night, Tom buys Ming a drink. Confident and witty, a charming young playwright, Ming is the perfect antidote to Tom’s awkward energy, and their connection is instant. Tom finds himself deeply and desperately drawn into Ming’s orbit, and on the cusp of graduation, he’s already mapped out their future together. But, shortly after they move to London to start their next chapter, Ming announces her intention to transition.
From London to Kuala Lumpur, New York to Cologne, we follow Tom and Ming as they face shifts in their relationship in the wake of Ming’s transition. Through a spiral of unforeseen crises – some personal, some professional, some life-altering – Tom and Ming are forced to confront the vastly different shapes their lives have taken since graduating, and each must answer the essential question: is it worth losing a part of yourself to become who you are?
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Additional information
| Publisher | Doubleday (29 Jun. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 336 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0857529234 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0857529237 |
| Dimensions | 14.3 x 3 x 22.4 cm |
by Maria S
Really liked this book, and the hard cover edition looks great
by Mikeyb
This was a one big journey capturing the little mundane moments of love, vulnerabilities, identity, grief and experiences of transformation. It’s your typical boy meets boy at the beginning as we get a realistic insight into Tom and Ming’s relationship but with a more depth into their individual identity through their POVs. It’s a story of love with conversations on individual identity, mental health, sexuality and belonging.
I love reading books about flawed, complex and misunderstood characters with relatable bits. And Nicola Dinan does a brilliant job in portraying Ming and Tom with their big personalities. This is book about flawed characters which deeply connects you to their life, makes it a relatable read with a honest portrayal of queer relationships, love and life. An emotional read with a comforting ending. Highly recommend ????????
Thankyou @pridebooks for a spot on a blog tour and for sending a copy of this masterpiece ✨
by Emma Power
Totally engrossing start to finish. Never thought I’d read a novel like this in my lifetime. Felt all the feels, what a ride!
by Willi J
Too much swearing
by Maria S
(I bought my own copy, not sponsored)
Beautifully written. It’s easy to read and fall in love with these characters. Everyone has a story, they’re all there for a reason – the writing makes justice for these characters. Love the intrinsic details that were never boring. The fact I learnt that Ming paid for her laser through her dead mum’s fund, or that Bunting felt the need to tell everyone about how she managed to get a flat on the Upper West Side… every step taken has a motive and the author very clearly outlines this, allowing the reader to fully immerse in the story, but without pointing at too many pointless details. I could tell of the deep relationship the author developed with each of these characters, they’re so incredibly well rounded.
Another reviewer pointed some confusion about the chapters being written from two of the character’s POV and it getting muddled – I read that review before reading the book so I was wary, but really didn’t find it confusing. Whereas the voice sometimes feels the same, within the first lines of a new chapter’s there would always be a detail that identified which character this was – a mention of Tom’s job, a phone call from family in Malaysia. You can easily get who’s what in each chapter.
Now, as a trans girlie myself, I feel that the transness of this book is nicely approached, obviously coming from a thought leader in the field. Very aware of Ming’s privilege and always respectful to the community, but without becoming too PC. It’s so satisfying to read about a girl like me having a 3D live, with ups and downs and anything in between! This book changed me in so many ways (despite sprinting for 3 days as I couldn’t get enough of the story).
And agree with another review: Dinan is way better than Rooney!! Even the politics never felt imposed. Characters and story flow effortlessly, we can barely notice the author’s own take, apart from a few well-managed remarks.
I wish I was one of those people who highlight sentences in books, but if so, this one would be practically turned into yellow marker! The prose is just so nicely crafted.
I’ve followed Nicola Dinan and cannot wait to read another of her novels soon.
by Stanley
Perhaps I’m too old to relate to popular culture (I was certainly in the dark about ‘names’ I clearly am expected to recognise) but this book was all on the same level of angst throughout and I was finding it quite tedious as we all went along the paths of introspection (though I was determined to finish it). I had little sympathy for the characters spouting cod psychology every five minutes and the endless descriptions of food/meals was really just padding along with much else. Also, totally unnecessary characters…..Jason? There must be a story to be told here but this just wasn’t it.
by Arisanova
Loved this book so much, I’ve recommended it to everyone. So well written, I laughed, I cried and when it was over I wanted to read again which almost never happens.
by Book Vogue
Really enjoyed this well written