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Bellies cover art

Bellies

By: Nicola Dinan
Narrated by: Nathaniel Curtis, Octavia Nyombi
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

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

©2023 Nicola Dinan (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"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)

"Smart, hilarious and deeply moving." (Elliot Page, author of Pageboy)

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What listeners say about Bellies

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A good story, but....

I did briefly read reviews before getting this book myself, and thought that maybe the opinions about some of the voice acting were subjective and it wouldn't bother me. It's happened plenty of times before, after all. Sadly, it really wasn't the case this time; whilst I thought the narration of Tom's sections were great, whenever Ming's sections came on I was just waiting for them to be over. I completely agree with the comments about the inflection - nearly every single sentence is said like a question, which might not sound that bad, but trust me, it really gets on your nerves and takes you out of the story completely.

The story itself is good and interesting, though I can't say I ever really the characters lovable - though it is a refreshing change to have characters that do just feel more like real, flawed people instead of one dimensional and 'perfect'. I think I'd have enjoyed the story a lot more if it wasn't for the narration.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant story and voice acting!

Such a brilliant book and so easy to listen to with the talented voice acting for both characters.  Especially with the voice work of Octavia Nyombi as the character Ming, which was wonderful, such a lovely voice and lots of great moments of real emotion coming through the acting.  Would definitely recommend this audio book to anyone wanting a gripping, modern day romance from the perspective of two compelling and relatable characters.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic story that’s gorgeously performed

A wonderful story with two equally wonderful voice actors bringing it to life. Download it!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

I loved every second, except when my heart broke

I love this story, I think the production is brilliant and would recommend it to anyone. Complex characters, such shallowness and depth, tackling complex relationships. I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook.

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Highly recommend!

A story, a journey, a triumph. Characters bop in and out but this is a story about Tom & Ming. It’s raw in as much as it’s sad, but also uplifting. I’d love to see this as a film.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good story but annoying narration

Great story but seriously thinking about stopping the audiobook because can’t stand the narration by the person representing Ming! Why the heck does every sentence sound like a question?? It’s so annoying.

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    3 out of 5 stars

Almost unlistenable

I listened to this for my book club and honestly couldn’t have been more disappointed. Friends had read and recommended and on the face of it I should have really enjoyed this. But the voice actor who played Ming was truly terrible. There was weird pronunciations and intonations and they raised their voice at random moments so that every sentence sounded like a question? It really stopped me from connecting with the characters and 100% ruined the book for me.

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