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A review by applesodaperson
Bellies by Nicola Dinan
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Despite this book being pretty popular online, I unfortunately thought that it was just okay. I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I read it in 2020, when I was more new to the queer world. But reading this in 2024, it struck me as a bit cringe.
I had a hard time understanding what the book was wanting the readers to think about the characters. Because sometimes it seemed like we were supposed to side with Ming over Tim, or vice versa. And if the point was to have complex, morally gray characters, unfortunately it just led to me not liking anyone in this book. I thought they were all pretty unlikeable.
It also just struck me as unrealistic overall. And I do understand that this book is ultimately a commentary, but having every character's life resolve solely around being queer just did not feel real to me. Because out of every person I have met in my life, I know that people have more going on in their lives than just their gender and sexuality. And obviously I am not saying this cannot be important to people, but in order for a character to feel realistic, their life needs to be more complex and varied than what was shown in this book.
Also this book felt way too long for what it was. Overall enjoyable though.
Listened to on Libby.
I had a hard time understanding what the book was wanting the readers to think about the characters. Because sometimes it seemed like we were supposed to side with Ming over Tim, or vice versa. And if the point was to have complex, morally gray characters, unfortunately it just led to me not liking anyone in this book. I thought they were all pretty unlikeable.
It also just struck me as unrealistic overall. And I do understand that this book is ultimately a commentary, but having every character's life resolve solely around being queer just did not feel real to me. Because out of every person I have met in my life, I know that people have more going on in their lives than just their gender and sexuality. And obviously I am not saying this cannot be important to people, but in order for a character to feel realistic, their life needs to be more complex and varied than what was shown in this book.
Also this book felt way too long for what it was. Overall enjoyable though.
Listened to on Libby.
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Sexual content