First of all great thanks to NetGalley and Penguin for making this available to read. This book is brilliant, nuanced and realistic. Often times with these topics many feel that in order to be realistic we cannot have nuanced conversations. Sometimes adding nuance is seen as an idealistic approach. Nicola subverts this by the brutal honesty both Tom and Ming bring to the table. Both these characters are deeply insecure. There is a constant push and pull movement between both of them, one seeking to get to know their partner in an intimate way and another hiding keeping secrets.

The love that both Tom and Ming feel for each other is so raw and beautiful. As a cis woman while I have thoughts and struggles with my gender identity it will never be as close to what trans women experience. Many things Ming spoke about I could understand and relate to. I loved how Nicola hinted on the idea that regardless of cis or trans as women we all look to each other to check if we have similar experiences to affirm our personal conceptions of gender. We are similar but also different at the same time.

The dialogue between the characters was also very funny! I loved how Nicola made cultural references and connections without coming off weird or as if they took twitter topics and smacked it into a book. Nicola has done a wonderful job in detailing the trans experience and what it means for those in proximity to trans people. This is a brilliant debut, I cannot wait for the physical copies to be out!

NICOLA DINAN – BELLIES *****

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Her first novel is brilliantly written and already grabbed by the people behind the adaption of Normal People for TV. My only criticism is that as both main characters write the story in the first person without the chapter being labelled with their name, the reader has no way of knowing which character it is until sometimes a page or so in. Frustrating.

Otherwise, an astounding tour de force; Ming and Tom are boyfriends; Ming transitions and writes a play about their relationship, which upsets Tom, and all their friends take sides. But it’s so much more than that. Set in London, Kuala Lumpur, Cologne and New York, full of immaculate observations about life and relationships and breakups, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

A poignant exploration into gender and transitioning, unlike any book I’ve read before, Tom and Ming are both trying to find out who they really are both inside and out, and coming to terms with their discoveries.
Tom has spent many years coming to terms with his own sexuality, now to find himself in love with Ming who spent years living as a gay man, learning to accept that she's a in fact a straight woman.

It all starts with a meet cute: boy meets boy, when Tom buys Ming a drink. Shortly after they move to London to start their next chapter, Ming announces her intention to transition.
A tender, gentle and thought-provoking read. The transition means Ming, who's Malaysian, can no longer go home because there would be a backlash.
It's the first novel I've read about a romance where one of the couple decides to transition. We feel that we really understand the two main characters, their flaws and their strengths, and we're behind them all the way. A Must-Read for anyone seeking a complex story of love, self acceptance and challenge.

A beautiful, compelling read. It sucks you in and keeps you going, but might make you cry - but that’s because of your connection with the characters - it’s a good thing!

Must-read literary fiction for fans of A Little Life (me) and Normal People by Sally Rooney (not me, but I still loved this book)!

SYNOPSIS:
"Bellies" by Nicola Dinan is a compelling and emotionally charged novel that explores the complexities of identity, body image, self-acceptance, and personal growth. Through a diverse cast of characters, specifically Ming and Tom, Dinan weaves a thought-provoking tale that delves into the struggles, triumphs, and relationships of individuals navigating societal norms. It's a boy meet boy, then one boy confesses to their intention to transition...

MY THOUGHTS:

💜 After reading the synopsis of this book I felt compelled to read it and it didn't disappoint.

💜 Dinan writes two wonderfully complex main characters in Tom and Ming, and the book takes turns in telling the story from each of their points of view. And despite at times tending to like one character more than the other, in the end, I loved them both.

💜 I think this is the first book I've read about a boy meets boy relationship where one of the characters is struggling with their gender identity and wants to transition to a woman, which makes for such a powerful and heartbreaking read - we need more books like this.

💜 Dinan's writing style is vivid and immersive and I look forward to reading another of their books.

💜 The story unfolds at a steady pace, balancing moments of introspection with a captivating plot that made me enjoy every second of spending time with, not just the main, but all the characters.

💜 This book is a must-read for anyone seeking a complex, heartbreaking as well as hopeful story of identity, love (including self-love) and acceptance.

I loved this book. It is set over a few years and it really felt like enough time was given in the writing for it to feel like that time had passed. It is an obvious skill of the author to be able to do this without rushing.
Tom and Ming meet at university and start a relationship as two men. However, Ming decides to transition shortly after. The book explores their relationship. I liked that there wasn't a focus on the details of transitioning. It was more about the feelings and relationship.
There was also a wider cast of characters who I loved. There was a real sense of friendship, love and support.
It did make me cry but its also lovely. The reason for the title doesn't become clear until toward the end of the book and I love the idea.
I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for my free eARC!

I’m reaching for a lot of queer lit this year and let me tell you, the 2023 offerings I’ve read so far this year have been 😚 chef’s kiss 😚 Bellies is a wonderfully tender and intimate portrayal of messy queer love at its finest, the title is absolutely perfect - it really does make you reflect on your own vulnerabilities, how much you show and share with those you love, the courage it takes to show your belly, expose the soft, squishy parts usually kept to ourselves.

To sum up super briefly, Ming and Tom meet at uni and quickly become boyfriends, but just as they’re about to begin their ‘real lives’ together after graduation, Ming announces her transition. Cue, all the feelings. Nicola Dinan has done an exquisite job of capturing the messy glory of life. The plot, as it were, is basically just Tom and Ming navigating their way through their twenties, amid so much professional and personal shift. Half of the book is told through Tom’s eyes, half through Ming’s, and it’s always a wonderful thing when an author can make each voice as compelling as the other. Both Ming and Tom’s flaws are laid bare, and while I definitely felt frustrated at some of their choices, I’ve also not felt such tenderness towards fictional characters in a long time. They’re young and do dumb shit while figuring out who they are and what they mean to each other, something they find themselves doing over and over again (don’t we all). Dinan tackles gender, race, sexual orientation, mental illness, grief, and so much more without it ever feeling shoe-horned in.

The supporting characters are also bloody amazing, and honestly my heart was ripped in two at one point. I had to put down my iPad and take a breather lol, it’s been a while since I had such a dramatic reaction to an event in a book 👀 This is just exactly the type of book I adore but which has evaded me for a little bit - compelling and utterly engrossing, but being driven by nothing but people living out their little lives. Love it love it love it 🥰

Out on the 29th of June in the UK!

This was a stunning novel. I've seen it being compared to Normal People, which I understand on a relationship-level, however I found this was much more heartwarming and I found myself rooting for Tom and Ming and their friends so much.

A thoughtful, innovative novel that will stay with me for a long time. I experienced a whole rollercoaster of emotions while reading.

A bout of covid led to insomnia led to this beautiful debut novel. Read it in 2 sittings. It’s a story of instant interaction and how relationships really change and develop as we mature. How we are not all going to stay the sane and have the same needs as we mature and meet other people. Tom and Ming are real characters that you’ll love and root for and surely recognise your own traits and loves and fears within them. Absolutely fabulous.

4.5

A beautiful book. Thoroughly enjoyed it even if it did make me cry several times (I'm very emotional).

Bellies is the story of Tom and Ming. They are originally a couple until Ming realizes that the anxiety he is feeling is because what he really wants is to transition but where does that leave his and Tom's relationship?

The reference to bellies is that of showing your vulnerability (ie your belly) to them. There is certainly a lot of vulnerability and emotion shown in this beautifully crafted novel of one couple's journey after one of them decides to transition.

There's no real drama. The story is simply told but gives a lot of insight into the kinds of compromises and decisions that need to be made when a person decides to become someone else - the someone they are happier being.

Ming's journey is delicately and carefully handled. It was a pleasure to read but also made me think about things from the POV of a trans person eg Ming is Malaysian and cannot go home once she transition because of the backlash she would receive.

I really fell in love with the characters of Ming and Tom. It has heartbreaking parts but ones that make you smile with joy too. I hope we hear more from Nicola Dinan in the future.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

BELIES is a tender, detailed look at what it’s like to love someone in a time of growth, change, and figuring yourself out. Dinan approaches the subject of Ming’s gender identity, transition, and POC status with grace and care, while affording the same to the struggles of Tom and the rest of their group.
Each character is well-rounded, with as many flaws and moments of weakness as positive traits, and the way that their paths diverge and reconnect after they graduate university was full of truth and realism.
Overall, then, BELLIES is a stunning read, which is certain to hold truth for all who read it, no matter their personal experience.

Firstly, thank you to @netgalley for this ARC of this book.

Bellies is a story that follows the lives of Tom and Ming as they navigate through the struggles of adolescence, identity, sexuality and love. You cannot help but feel invested in them both as a couple and as individuals. I wish there were more Tom’s in this world!

Other people have compared this story to ‘Normal People’ by Sally Rooney and I can see the comparisons whereby you are rooting for a couple but at the same time, you can see all the reasons why it would not work. This book had me wanting to keep reading just to see how it ended. I could imagine this on the screen and was delighted to see when I researched the story and author, it is indeed set to be made into an eight part tv series which I think will be a massive hit and I for one, cannot wait to watch.

It’s a raw and honest read showing that love sometimes is not enough despite how much you may want it to be.

It’s been a while since a book has moved me as Bellies has. It has the unwavering honesty of Sally Rooney’s Normal People (I know so many people compare novels to Sally Rooney’s, but this time it’s for real) and the heartache of Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life, yet it shines as a unique and profound novel in its own right.

Bellies follow the interweaving lives of Tom and Ming as they each struggle with belonging and identity. We watch them through an unbiased lens and come to know them as if they were our friends too. Set firmly in a landscape I know so well, and with central and side characters who are so dynamic, Bellies truly feels like a story I lived through. What’s more telling of an impactful story than when you close the book but the characters live on?

A truly wonderful exploration of gender, sexuality, mental illness and human connection that gives each of these elements the space it deserves. It’s hard to think of other titles that do all these things quite as right. If there’s any book to add to your bookshelf this year, it’s Bellies.

When I started to read this I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy it but the relationship between Tom and Ming was endearing. I particularly liked how each chapter was alternately narrated by Tom and Ming, giving perspectives and insights from both sides. There were some funny moments, such as when Cindy weighed in with her two-pence but it explored the trans journey for Ming and for Tom as he grappled to come to terms with loss in different forms.

When Tom met Ming, it was instant attraction. And not just because of their beauty, but something magnetic that drew him in. As their lives start to intertwine, and their future starts to form in front of them; Ming tells Tom she's transitioning, that she's finally ready to tell people she's a woman.

As their journey through life spans continents, years and troubles - we find them years later as very different people to the ones that met and fell in love all those years ago. But they need to ask themselves - Can they really know the people they'll become if they don't let go of the past? Are they the same people anymore? And what's next if they aren't?

"I've been thinking about how the trunks of trees bend and curve when they grow next to each other. Their closeness reads on the shape in front of them, and you can infer the shape of one from the shape of another. When you know someone and you grow together, your shape and form become theirs."

A stunning story that holds a mirror up to our very nature, incisively looking into the many changes we go through in our lives and the many identities we try on until we find our true self.

Tom and Ming are both testaments to the fact that people are complicated. We are made up of so many nuanced parts that are ever-changing. Sexuality, gender, passion, confidence, relationship, heritage, health - all these little facets that fit together to create our sense of identity. Both of them are still figuring out all the little details, and it's equally beautiful and painful to watch.

The story moves at a leisurely pace, almost like a conversation - but with poetic, songlike prose in places. Art imitates life, and their story gets complicated; they deal with body image, identity, love - both giving us their perspective with their own distinctly beautiful voices.

Despite their differences, they are sides of one coin - Tom has spent many years coming to terms with his own sexuality, now to find himself in love with a woman. Ming has spent years living as a gay man, only to accept she's a straight woman. Their world is unfamiliar and frightening - but their relationship was a shining example of two people in crisis - trying to support each other through difficulty and dark times, but also showing the conflict and confusion. Their relationship shows that people are ever changing and growing, and that every person we meet leaves something behind in our lives.

This is an amazing and tender exploration into identity and human connection.

I went into this with no expectations and I am completely blown away. Tender and thoughtful, BELLIES is the lovechild of DETRANSITION BABY and A LITTLE LIFE, a queer love story that transcends boundaries. But underneath, there’s friendship, growing pains and the reality of growing up and moving on. I really enjoyed it.

Wow what a poignant exploration into gender, transitioning, finding yourself and navigating relationships.

Incredibly interesting and insightful read and loved the dual perspectives!

A truly wonderful book. All the characters were so beautifully written & the pitch was absolutely perfect. I loved it so much & will recommend to everyone.

Also: as someone who loves descriptions of food, this book really ticked all my boxes.

Congratulations to Nicola Dinan on an exceptional debut & thank you for letting me read!