Advertisement
Books

Bellies by Nicola Dinan review: Compelling and compassionate trans romance

Nicola Dinan’s debut novel suggests a refreshing and exciting direction for romantic fiction

Bellies, the debut novel from Nicola Dinan, is a fresh and compelling literary romance that hopefully signposts exactly where the much-saturated genre is heading in the future.

It begins when Tom meets Ming at a university drag night and the two boys fall in love on the dancefloor. Through interlocking chapters from both Tom’s and Ming’s perspectives, the novel presents its tropes: the awkward and introverted Tom is drawn to the popular and outgoing Ming, rapt in his confidence and aura, he is a projection of everything Tom wishes he could be. Their romance is sweet and wholesome. They travel the world together. All seems well.

Until it isn’t. After a while, Ming starts being distant from Tom and reveals that he is considering transitioning. Suddenly, the novel turns from boy-meets-boy romance to something much more interesting. Traversing the pitfalls of the gender transition novel, Dinan, who herself is trans, deftly weaves a compelling and compassionate narrative that feels totally unique in this year’s literary calendar. 

Refreshing too is Dinan’s refusal to make her characters into saints; oftentimes, Ming is portrayed as immensely selfish and dislikeable. Dinan isn’t here to make the case for trans characters in fiction or to win over the hearts of bigots, instead she is focused on creating real characters in real situations. This isn’t to say it’s perfect, as the narrative continues Dinan does fall back a bit too much on some familiar tropes, but it is still so incredibly exciting to read a debut novel like Bellies. The fact this is Dinan’s first foray into novel writing is almost unbelievable.

Barry Pierce is a journalist and cultural commentator

Bellies by Nicola Dinan book cover

Bellies by Nicola Dinan is out now (Doubleday, £14.99). You can buy it from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

Advertisement
Advertisement

This article is taken from The Big Issue magazine, which exists to give homeless, long-term unemployed and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income.To support our work buy a copy!

If you cannot reach your local vendor, you can still click HERE to subscribe to The Big Issue today or give a gift subscription to a friend or family member. You can also purchase one-off issues from The Big Issue Shop or The Big Issue app, available now from the App Store or Google Play.

Advertisement

Change a vendor's life this Christmas

This Christmas, 3.8 million people across the UK will be facing extreme poverty. Thousands of those struggling will turn to selling the Big Issue as a vital source of income - they need your support to earn and lift themselves out of poverty.

Recommended for you

Read All
Every family has a secret. By uncovering mine, I liberated my grandmother's sorrowful story
Family secrets

Every family has a secret. By uncovering mine, I liberated my grandmother's sorrowful story

Top 5 revolutionary books, chosen by historian and author Alice Hunt
Books

Top 5 revolutionary books, chosen by historian and author Alice Hunt

The Most by Jessica Anthony review – cracks just beneath the surface of an all-American family
Books

The Most by Jessica Anthony review – cracks just beneath the surface of an all-American family

An interstellar, alien meteor collided with Earth. This is what happened
Science

An interstellar, alien meteor collided with Earth. This is what happened

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Cost of living payment 2024: Where to get help now the scheme is over

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue