Bellies

A coming-of-age story about falling in and out of love, brimming with humour and heartbreak, Bellies asks- is it worth losing a part of yourself to become who you are?

Discover the beautiful coming-of-age story about falling in-and-out of love, brimming with humour and heartbreak.

'Smart, hilarious and deeply moving' Elliot Page, author of Pageboy

'Thoughtful, seductive, and entirely engrossing - Bellies is already a classic' Bryan Washington, author of Memorial and Lot

'Bellies announces Nicola Dinan as a genuine literary talent, a gimlet-eyed cartographer of the human heart' Sharlene Teo, author of Ponti

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It begins as your typical boy meets boy.

Tom and Ming meet on a night out at university and fall hard for each other. It's not long before they are planning a future and building a life.

Then Ming announces her intention to transition.

As Tom and Ming both face shifts in their relationship and confront the vastly different shapes their lives have taken, they must both ask if it is worth losing a part of themselves - or each other - to become the people they want to be.

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Praise for Bellies-

'Dinan's gift as a writer is her ability to make us feel - when her characters cry, we cry; when they laugh, we laugh; and everybody is changed by the end of this novel, including the reader. A beautiful love story and an exceptional debut.' - Irish Times

'The most hotly anticipated novel of the summer' - Harper's Bazaar

'A tender, emotional exploration of gender and sexual identity' - Marie Claire

'Dizzyingly beautiful' - Grazia

'A poignant tale that explores the messy complexities of relationships, with recognisably imperfect characters at its core' - Sunday Times Style

'Both deeply touching and wickedly witty' - Daily Mail

About the Author

Nicola Dinan grew up in Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur and now lives in London. Bellies, her debut, was longlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize and Polari First Book Prize, shortlisted for the Mo Siewcharran Prize, and a finalist for a Lambda Literary Award. Her second novel, Disappoint Me, releases in 2025.