Bellies was a complicated book for me to read. When Dinan opens the novel, the narrative feels fresh and exciting and complex, but as everything unfolds—and subsequently falls apart—it begins to revel in its own misery while failing to pack the emotional punch it wants to. The characters were insufferable, but in a way that felt more irritating to read than engaging. The plot and the prose stretched itself thin and I felt the story didn’t know where exactly it was trying to go.

However, in final hundred pages or so, it all comes together. It was a pleasant surprise and completely unexpected. Everything that led up to this specific turning point felt earned, casting all of my previous criticisms in a different light. There was a specific passage in the latter half of the book, after a significant event in both Ming and Tom’s lives where one of them shares a meal with their roommate. The descriptions of sharing a meal that once would have once felt aimless and drawn-out nearly brought me to tears.

Bellies is a story about human connection and the complicated, messy, and often times overwhelmingly painful experience of it. Above all, though, it’s about no matter how much pain it may bring, there’s nothing more joyous and meaningful. DEFINITELY for anyone who has any love for Sally Rooney.

Dinan’s debut, Bellies takes the dual perspectives of Tom and Ming, a couple who fall deeply in love in college in London and whose foundation is rocked when Ming transitions.

It’s a novel whose heart lies mostly in small moments rather than melodramatic changes. Brief sentences about anxiety or insecurity are twists of the knife. Dinan is an incredibly astute observer of relational interiority, the little shifts in how people think of themselves and each other. Ming’s transition and Tom and Ming’s breakup are both quite gradual; more damaging than the breakup itself is when Ming writes a play about it.

The novel reminded me a bit of Brandon Taylor’s The Late Americans in its unrelenting character study, but much more focused and grounded in the first-person perspectives of two characters with a deep and complicated love for each other. There’s so much in here about both their body images, coming into identity, what counts as meaningful work. I loved scenes with Ming’s father and stepmother, both when Tom and Ming visit them in Kuala Lumpur and when Cindy, the stepmother, later visits Ming in New York (Ming feels that, having transitioned, she can no longer go home).

The novel took a while to get going for me, and was a touch long—the beginning, when Ming and Tom are more or less happy with each other and engaging in hijinks with their college friends, who weren’t yet fully realized characters, was quite slow. At the beginning, I also found Tom to be pretty boring. As Dinan’s exposition deepened, though, the novel picked up, and I enjoyed it more and more as it went on. She uses a plot device at the end that I’m normally not a fan of, but I think she pulled it off perfectly and stayed stunningly true to her characters. It brought tears to my eyes.

Solid 4.5/5

This book surprised me in a lot of ways. It's a story of self-discovery and heartbreak, and doesn't shy away from some of the less healthy coping mechanisms we employ to survive in the world. It's the queer story of a Malaysian trans woman and a gay British boy and their posse of friends from graduation to adulting.

My main critique is that some chapters would change narrators and/or involve a time skip, and this led to me needing to reread sections to make sure I was following.

Thanks to Harlequin, Hanover Square Press, NetGalley and Nicola Dinan for providing a copy of Bellies for review.

This is 4.5/5 rounded up book - available 1 August 2023

WOW. I don't like to think of myself as someone that reads for the sake of the literature and lord knows I am not highly critical! Call me basic but I am not really an intellectual book consumer - analyzing the choice of structure or even googling what sort of writing technique I am seeing is not something that I do. BUT I did for this. Lets just say that this book had me so engaged that I thought I could even pass as an intellectual for about 5 minutes.

I loved this story, an absolutely honest depiction of some heartbreaking scenarios that just made me so conflicted and sad. It is a story of standing up for yourself even when the person you love won't. Just hard decisions throughout this story that made me feel all over the shop.

I also felt that the dual POV was done really well here. I do wish that we saw some of Tom towards the end but the extended Ming conclusion reflected the extended Tom introduction which is nice - and see - INTELLECTUAL !

The cover and the title got me! But that was pretty much it. Very wordy for my liking. Hard to get into this one. Two stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

3/5

I'm a bit conflicted when it comes to Nicola Dinan's novel Bellies. On one hand, it's a tender and profound story filled with relatable and realistic characters. It's composed of beautiful writing and nuanced discussions on identity, gender, and attraction. Yet, on the other hand, it is simply too slow and mundane for my personal tastes. Not that slow and character-driven stories are a bad thing, but I simply felt like there was something missing from the book, something that would have made me care about the characters and their lives just a little more.

I would still recommend picking this up if the premise appeals to you—there is a definite audience for this type of novel, but I am just not it. I still enjoyed it though, I just didn't love it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers (Hanover Square Press) for the ARC!

Oh, I just loved this book so much! Such wonderful writing, characters are so vivid and you care about everyone in this story. It was beautiful and real and heartbreaking. I wanted Ming and Tom to somehow make it and the ending was so realistic as well as the entire story. Highly recommended and one I will think about for a long time.

This seems like a really beautiful novel, however, I don't think I will be in the headspace to finish this one for quite some time, as it takes me a harder time to get through more literary/contemporary fiction-type books.

4.5 stars rounded up.

OOOOOOF this book. I didn't know what to expect because it's published by Harlequin but the blurb did NOT read like a romance?????

This book was so intensely vulnerable and full of people trying really hard and not doing great, people being scared to try hard and being stuck, people figuring out what is worth trying and what is worth letting fall away. It's a queer and trans story that is like a lot of love stories--of self, of partners, of friends, of art--and a lot of coming of age (i would say it's new adult?).

It was both devastating and hopeful. I want better for everyone and i can almost believe they are going to get it just around the next corner.

NetGalley ARC that i cannot wait for you to read also.

I would best describe Bellies as a slice of life literary fiction. Praise on the cover labels it a love story, but don’t go into this hoping for a romance. If you enjoyed Normal People by Sally Rooney, I think you’ll enjoy Bellies as well.

Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this book (or Normal People). While this book will be enjoyable if you like slice of life pieces, for me, the pacing felt confusing, the writing a bit flashy at times, and for other unknown reasons, I just didn’t enjoy it.

This novel is written in first person switching between Ming and Tom’s pov, however at this point in time, there are no labels showing whose pov it is, so sometimes it takes a page to figure it out.

I nearly dnfed this on the first page (but I’m kinda nice and don’t do that). The writing felt weirdly flashy: “A tightness seized my brain, a vacuum-packed seal over its folds.” When the writing is in past tense, dialogue is also not in quotes nor italicized, making it difficult to follow. Also “The tips of our tongues shook hands” is the weirdest way to describe a kiss.

Onto the pacing, about 10% in, it felt that the novel would be a pretty quick read. Nothing was really happening plot wise, so it felt like I’d just breeze through it. But that wasn’t the case. Very quickly, the story just started to drag along and it felt like the book would never end. In high contrast, the last 20% of the novel was a rushed ending.

Despite all of this, I can still see how many people would enjoy this, which is why I’m giving it three stars and not lower. I did really enjoy the way the title plays into the story, as well as a few quotes: “I’m just trying to do the things a person would do if they loved themselves as much as they loved other people”

Thank you NetGalley, Hanover Square Press, and the author for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Nicola Dinan's BELLIES is a tender novel, full of found community and love. Although the center of the story is Tom and Ming, their friends and community are a beautiful, complex example of LGBTQIAP+ community; in this case, the community also includes strong allies.

I especially appreciate how much of Ming's perspective we get in BELLIES. Too often the story of a person who transitions is told solely through the POV of the cisgender partner. Ming's story here is such an sensitive, heartfelt exploration of the complexities she faces: to stay the Ming who first met Tom is to suffer great pain, yet when Ming is her true self, it causes great pain in her relationship with Tom. The author did not hold back in creating a couple to root for, even when Tom and Ming hurt one another.

One quibble I have with BELLIES is an event that brings the college friends together again; it feels a bit contrived. However, I can forgive it because it could also be read as subverting the awful "bury your gays" trope.

Overall, I enjoyed BELLIES and look forward to following Nicola Dinan's writing career.

BELLIES is the story of Tom and Ming, a (mostly) happy young gay couple, out and in love, until Ming comes out as a trans woman. The second half of the book follows their diverging lives after they graduate and pursue careers in modeling, finance, and playwriting. The novel is meant to be a portrait of coupledom, friendship, and intimacy.

Unfortunately, this book doesn't live up to its hype. It's meant to be a relationship study, powered by characterization and voice, but the voice at its center isn't incisive, sharp, heartbreaking or compelling the way that Torrey Peters and Raven Leilani's are (and to whom this book is compared). Without that driving the book, little remains to compel a reader through. The sentences are oft-clumsy. Rob, who becomes a significant character especially later on in the novel, is so sparsely characterized he might as well be a stick figure. Characters' thoughts are repetitive. The two halves of narration feel unbalanced. As it stands, the book could have been pared down by a hundred pages and retained the same feeling and plot.

Ultimately, BELLIES feels like it was written to be adapted into a TV series. Perhaps it might even be a good one--all the plot points are there. Unfortunately, however, this book doesn't stand on its own as literature.

Placeholder. Will update when the Harper Collins union new contract is finalized. Thank you again to the publisher for the copy.

Thank you, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press, for allowing me to read Bellies early.

Wow, this book was such an innovative and incredible literary journey. I adored it from start to finish.