What an enjoyable downer of a story "Lump" was! I would be cautious calling this novel a satire, though, as it doesn't shine through, despite author's attempts (or publisher's who provided the blurb for this matter).

Taken at a face value, "Lump" is indeed a dark story that offers multiple characters' perspectives on what's going on in the lives of people who are connected either by familial, professional or acquainted bonds. However, some accounts, for example Ravi's or the dog's felt a bit random and in my opinion served more to showcase author's literary talent, rather than moving the plot forward.

That being said, Nathan Whitlock managed to skilfully weave many social issues to this story. From reality of immigrant workers, through clueless white men who are clueless about consent and sexual misconduct they commit, to alternative cancer treatments, he takes the readers on a very emotional ride.

Cat has just found out that she’s pregnant and has cancer. Her husband as it turns out is a pervert. As a result of everything building up on top of each other, Cat runs away from what seems like a perfect life on the outside. Throughout the story there’s a series of characters to be met who share more to the story as it progresses.

Lump is suggested by publishers as a “dark satirical comedy”. This is the second book I’ve of this description and I’ve now learnt from reading this one (and swiftly DNF the other book described like this) are not my thing. I struggled strongly with the perverted fantasies and behaviours explored in scenes narrated by Cat’s husband Donovan and overall found myself feeling in the end I heard more from the other characters than I really did Cat in regards to getting to know her. In saying that, this may still be up others alley if you are interested in darker comedies.

A wonderful and deep look into the lives of one family, and how completely messy it can get. Great writing, and perfect for fans of family dramas looking for a dark comedic twist

I'm giving this a rounded 2.5*, mostly for how much this made me chuckle at the beginning. The characters were vivid, and their plights were real - including that of poor Louis the dog. However, the pacing of this book (and how quickly we jumped in the future, even in a few sentences alone!) really threw me off. I also really loathed the majority of the characters here. Some of them, clearly, you're meant to, but... let's just say I wasn't expecting to dislike a 4 year old child so intensely.

I thoroughly enjoyed the idea of different characters' viewpoints being used, but I think there was perhaps a little too much left to the imagination; I'd have preferred a bit more of Claudia's opinion/hot takes (her sister does disappear, and then she seems to be v v flirty with icky Donovan) and even Meredith's (erm, this crazy lady shows up in her house? and just moves in with her? while ACTIVELY DYING?). There's quite a lot left unresolved as well - it almost feels like this book could've been expanded a bit more beyond it's 300-odd pages. And it's quite rare of me to say that.

This book did not live up to what I thought it would be given its synopsis. "Lump" is a book about a woman in a boring marriage who finds out she's pregnant and has cancer simultaneously. And that's pretty much it.. nothing exciting happens. The chapters are written from lots of characters perspectives, which is confusing and doesn't gel together at all. The book was hard to read and finish and the ending was very abrupt and underwhelming. It could have been written a lot better in my opinion

I had a hard time getting through this book. The characters were deeply unlikable even when I wanted to be sympathetic to the main character it was very difficult. It wasn't very funny, and I wouldn't describe it as satire.

This book centers around a mother of two and different events that occur in her life and what happens afterwards. I thought the first half of the book was quite well done with good writing about the characters and their lives. We get to know the main character, Cat, and her frustrations of life in general - caring for two young children, trying to keep her business running, a husband acting strange, etc. I was very interested in this character and then very disappointed in the second half of the book. I felt like all the sudden, the character abandons her life and we don’t really get to see why. Oh we see some of the why, too much thrown at her at once - but we don’t see what goes on in her head after that. One minute we are wrapped up in this character’s life and the next we are let down, without much in the way of explaining how she is planning to face what life has now thrown at her. I would give this book 2.5 stars because so much was left out of the second half of the book.

Unfortunately I was not very enthused by this book, regardless that the synopsis sounded promising.

It was not that humorous as described (and I am a sucker for dark satire), and the wife as well as the husband just annoyed me equally.

Reading this felt more of a chore than actual entertainment.

I am sorry, that I can not give a better review - but this read was just not for me personally.

This story is told from a number of different viewpoints mainly ;
- Cat, working mother of two who finds out in one day that she is pregnant again, has breast cancer and that her husband was sexually inappropriate with their cleaning lady.
- Donovan, Cats husband, recently let go from work for sexual misconduct.

There are also viewpoints from other characters such as Lena the cleaning lady, and Bianca the woman who Donovan assaulted at a work do.

There is a lot of coming and going between viewpoints but if you enjoy satirical writing you will definitely enjoy this book.

My only complaint is that I felt a little hard done by at the ending, which I felt was quite abrupt and left more questions than answers, although that may be the whole point of the story.

This is one of those stories where i experienced a wide range of emotions while reading the book,

I wish I got to know Cat. It seems she was pushed too the side too make room for all of the other characters when the story should of been completely about her.

Overall, it is a good novel, however its very dark and very sad.

Thank you Netgalley and publishe

All thoughts and opinions are my own and aren't influenced by anyone else

A diagnosis can turn life upside down for an entire family.

When Cat learns on the same day that the lump in her breast is malignant and that she is pregnant, given that she has two small children and a husband she cannot rely on, she panics. What to do—fight or flee?

She makes the decision to leave her family behind and concentrate solely on herself and her well-being. All this shakes the foundations of her family, which are already on shaky ground.

I experienced a wide range of emotions while reading the book, including rage, despair, anxiety, perplexity, and delight.

There are a lot of characters in the book; I missed a bit more interaction with Cat since everything starts and ends with her. I don't think I had enough chances to get to know Cat, her true self, and her thoughts.

The whole novel is mostly based on strong women; the men are described as incompetent, and even the dog is old and weak.

Overall, it is a good novel, albeit quite heavy and dark, that I recommend to anyone who enjoys delving deep into their soul and contemplating life.

***
- The review is published on my Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/manicalm
- A week before the official publication date, the review will be published on my blog https://focusread.blogspot.com/
- And also a week before the official publication date on my new Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/manabookish/

Thank you for ARC!

I was well and truly enjoying this right up to the end, you know the feeling when there’s not enough pages to finish everything? And then the author proves you wrong? This one didn’t, there was not enough pages to finish, it was like the author got bored at the end and thought oh well let’s wrap it up, that’ll do. Cats whole life is turned upside down with an unplanned pregnancy, shock medical diagnosis, having her cleaner tell her that her husband is a pervert and meeting a woman called Meredith whom is a diet cult leader? Lots of drama. The husband just lost his job cause he sexually assaulted a coworker. So much potential and I was drawn fully into the story.. for it to fall flat. A simple oh yeah by the way she’s dead now, everyone knows the secrets and we’re selling the house. I’m just disappointed at the wasted potential.

This book managed to somehow be bleak and humorous in equal parts. I enjoyed the different perspectives of the characters playing out the story, which keep the book going despite the slow plot and some of the perspectives are interesting, like that of a dying dog! I did notice a few instances of homophobic microaggressions that rubbed me up the wrong way. For instance when someone walked into a building, who was wholly unimportant to the story and we never heard of again, and they wrote that they "suspected she was gay". Another where during an argument someone's view was dismissed because they were a lesbian (in italics to emphasise how ridiculous they found them). Another where the kids were reading a book and the characters were described as acting like "a gay married couple". These were all completely unneeded and gross. Do better!

I'm not sure what I think about this book. I liked it up until she ran away to the yoga place and then after that I feel like it lost it's way a bit. It feels like a section between Cat coming home, all the stuff with Donovan coming to a head is missing and then it concludes.

Interesting but I wouldn't read it again.

Rating 3.5 starts out of 5
Lump is a rollercoaster of emotions and I couldn't put it down. At the centre of the story is Cat, worn down from juggling life as a mother and freelance web designer her life is rocked when she finds out not only is she pregnant, but the lump she had noticed is cancerous. Her already rocky marriage is further damaged when she discovers what her husband Cameron is actually capable of.
The story is told from multiple perspectives starting mainly with Cat and Cameron. Cameron's storyline focuses on the secrets he is keeping from Cat and how he deals with the fallout of Cat's breakdown. The background of the story is deepened with perspectives from other characters with heartbreaking vignettes from their daughter.
While at times I became a bit impatient with the descriptive prose, it is very well written and I went from laughter to anger, to crying and back again. I did find the end jarring as what would you would think would be the main arc of the story is described in retrospect by a supporting character. I would have loved to had learned more but I would guess this was a purposeful decision by the author and I don't think it too away from the book itself.

This is an honest review in exchange for an ARC from Netgalley.

3.5 stars rounded up. The story was quite intriguing and I found myself very invested in the lives being shown here. My biggest complaints are that there was no confrontation regarding one of the biggest issues driving the story - and - I wanted more about Cat. I feel like the story is missing a final section from her pov.

A superb novel! A darkly funny and emotional story of loss, disappointment, cancer and family. Wryly observed and very moving. The characters are beautifully developed, flawed, loveable and often loathsome. .

This strange book tells the story of a very mixed and muddled bunch of people. A mother, struggling with her day-to-day life who finds (admittedly almost half way through the book - don't let the blurb lead you to think otherwise) that she has cancer and she's pregnant. Her cleaner, walks in on the husband playing with himself and then quits. The husband is a sleazy mess even before he's caught watching porn in the bathroom but he has lied to his wife about losing his job. The woman who he fondled at a work party is also dragged in a few times.

This book is a quick but insubstantial read. Quite how a writer can give their main character cancer and then just send her off to 'deal with it' via yoga and woo-woo is thoroughly beyond me. Irresponsible doesn't begin to describe that approach - throw in lazy as well. Take a life-threatening condition and just kind of push it to the edge of the page and ignore it. Wow!

We go from knowing everything about this woman, her thoughts, her daily activities to completely shoving her to one side of the plot. I've not seen a central character so let down in a long time.

There are important issues but they are fluffed over and rubbed away. This booked annoyed me more than it entertained me.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley but this one's a 'no' from me.

It is a half hour past midnight as I'm writing this review. I curled up in bed with my kindle to get a few pages in before calling it a night - not even a quarter of the way into the journey.

I am absolutely shaken by this read. My heart hurts on such an intense level. I am so angry with the characters and their choices and yet the way Whitlock writes their flaws brings a whole new level of rawness and connection. Having multiple viewpoints (especially when we get a chapter of Isabella and one of the dog near the final stint) really hammered home the ouchies for me.

Wowza.

I was very excited to start this book, the description and cover got me very intrigued. I did feel that there were maybe too many characters and storylines going on and perhaps would have preferred to hear more of the main character Cat herself. She obviously went through a very traumatic experience finding out she had cancer, which could have been portrayed a bit deeper. Her husband being up to no good was a great storyline which was quite detailed. I felt the cleaner had the biggest role in the book, i dont know if that was intentional? Anyway, it was a good read, cover to cover in a day. I would read another by this author without doubt.