Such a gripping read that took me on a journey of emotions. It dealt with very serious themes in a way that really stuck with me.

I was completely captivated by Notes on Surviving the Fire, which goes to some pretty dark places and does so with a sharp sense of urgency and clarity. The book is written in a way that puts you right inside Sarah's brain which gives it an immediacy that heightens the intensity to almost unbearable levels, all against the appropriate backdrop of LA wildfires. This is a book full of anger and justifiably so. It skewers a cover up culture whilst looking at violence, vengeance and everything in between. It is a hugely impressive debut that will remain in the reader's mind long after turning the final fiery page.

Notes on Surviving The Fire was a gut punch of a book. It was brave and brilliant, delving into tough territory with nuance and sensitivity.

This is not an easy read and please do tread with caution. Murphy examines rape culture and the trauma around this in a deftly handled manner that is mired in complexity. It is gut-wrenching and heart-breaking in its exploration of the cyclical nature of violence and the ramifications of assault, trauma and rape in our specific society. With the current political climate, it has that much more of an impact.

I really enjoyed the exploration of the thin line between justice and vengeance, asking who gets to draw it. This particularly comes into effect in cases of rape. The lines are blurred and societal expectations on the victim to justify what they said, did, wore, existed as. Murphy digs into the ramifications surrounding that - the endless questions and justifications. It is ripped straight from the headlines in a way that makes you want to scream.

When media says it explores rage, this is what should be delivered. It is deeply rageful in every page. There is the question of what survival really looks like and what victimhood entails as a label - both of which can be taxing and continue to spin that wheel. That anger has no place to be directed. Murphy weaves in these ethical and spiritual discussions that help dissect what the characters are grappling with from a different viewpoint, without feeling preachy or extraneous. All of this informs the complexity of Sarah’s character and her particular viewpoint. This is her story - grappling with what has happened to her and how her worldview may forever be changed by the events of this book.

Notes on Surviving the Fire is rageful and reflective - a detailed character study and examination of rape culture.

Notes on Surviving the Fire is a strange read. Sarah finds her best friend, Nathan, dead from a heroin overdose. She’s pretty sure Nathan never did heroin and is determined to try and find out who might have wanted him dead. She needs answers.
Nathan was Sarah’s best friend but it soon becomes clear that she didn’t know everything about him.
Nathan was one of the only ones who believed Sarah when she accused a fellow student of rape. The process of reporting the guy seems to have got her nowhere…and it’s clear that she is just one of a terrifyingly high number of women assaulted on campus.
An unflinching examination of rape culture and the way it is reported/investigated.
Sarah, used to finding patterns in random data, soon learns of a pattern in the number of student deaths on campus. A high number were also accused of rape. Could someone be using publicly accessible information to carry out their own acts of revenge?
Dark, but strangely compelling read. Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this.

Wow. This was a raw,touching but emotional read.
It was hard at times but utterly compelling and sooooo important. I feel book like this are vital. They make you think. They make you feel. Sometimes they are so exposing and awful. But golly do they need to be as these topics are awful. And ARE important. And sadly ever more relevant to us today.

I felt swept up in the turmoil of our character. The walls she met. The despicable humans and behaviours we met.
She's had such a rough ride and those that should be there for her were some of the people causing great harm.
Power. Wealth. Opportunity doesn't always mean good. And is far too often where sinister happening lurk.
The plot was thick was thinking points. It was really well written though. I felt like that author new what they were were talking about. Or at least cared what they were writing and so it felt authentic. Not just a click baity or clichéd read.

I have to say, I don't know where to even start with this review. The Notes on Surviving the Fire was nothing like I expected.

When I started reading this book the way I described it to people was: a woman's best friend dies under mysterious circumstances and she's sure he was murdered. She has a past of hunting animals so I'm pretty sure she'll start hunting some horrible men... Honestly I would have enjoyed that book, and 'good for her' type of books are certainly in fashion right now...

What I got with this book was so much better than I could have expected. It's not a good for her book, it's not a revenge story, it's not even a book about healing. It's about finding yourself after something horrible happens. It's about not letting people who hurt you control what happens for the rest of your life. And it's about our complexity as humans.

This book made me cry multiple times, it made me feel things I didn't expect to feel and it healed a little part of me that I didn't even realise needed that.

This story is about some extremely sensitive topics so it might be a good idea to check for some trigger warnings but it's a story so worth reading. I know it'll stay with me for a while.

An unflinching exploration of the darker aspects of human nature, exploring feminist themes, a complex female protagonist, and enlightening explorations of trauma, power dynamics, and the complexities of justice.

This was a tough read that tackled some very heavy topics but it was absolutely addictive to read.

Unexpected, fast paced and gripping novel. Rape and revenge on a college campus. Thought provoking in these weird times (looking at you, Trump)

Dark, sharp, and thought-provoking, Notes on Surviving the Fire follows Sarah, a PhD student grappling with trauma, injustice, and the mysterious death of her best friend, Nathan. When his overdose doesn’t add up, Sarah investigates, uncovering sinister patterns on her campus.

Murphy’s staccato prose mirrors Sarah’s raw, detached perspective as she battles institutional failures and questions the morality of revenge. Themes of rape culture, survival, and violence as justice are explored with stunning depth.

Gripping, emotional, and unflinching, this is a must-read for fans of dark, introspective fiction. Highly recommend.

Read the full review on my website - The Secret Book Review.

Notes on Surviving the Fire is a witty charmer of a fast-paced book that is about (cw: rape) a PhD student fight against the ills of society that protect abusers.
The main character is a complex one who deals with life in her own ways, but also because of the way the society is shaped.
The ending was curious, and it complemented this book very well.
I am tired of staccato and crisp sentences; we have them in screenwriting due to the medium’s characteristics and filmic requirements.
In this book though, sentences connect well, they flow and form a subtle sarcastic and satirical tone.
The themes and topics are serious and important to talk about, yet thanks to the execution Sarah is not a stereotypical victim. She takes ownership.
A tiny post-it note
- This marks one of the few literary books in which I have come across an academic journal database mentioned. Nice touch.

Christine Murphy's novel, "Notes on Surviving the Fire" is a dynamic, dizzying and galvanising look at rape culture on college campuses, and how the rapists often get away with these rapes. In a time when the 47th president of the United States is an admitted sexual abuser, this novel puts a stake right through the heart of the idea that American culture cares about supporting and protecting women. Sarah, a religious studies professor, still grapples with the emotional and physical consequences of being raped and then revictimised by the university system that protects her assailant. As she tries to recovers, she must try to understand and solve the death of someone close to her.

Sarah's investigation into the possible murder of her friend will bring back all the wounds from her rape, and she understandably seethes with the injustice of seeing rapists succeed in life. Murphy's dialogue is tough and unsparing, and we see Sarah as a flawed human being who tries to cope with sexual violence in any way she can. Murphy shows the reader what happens to a community when sexual violence is treated as a nuisance that the culture can blame on the women.

I wish this book were not timely, but at the end of 2024, we see so many men being rewarded for being violent, cruel, and dangerous. How do we keep human decency alive when the rapists control the power and the narrative? Murphy's novel reclaims the narrative to remind readers just how widespread and devastating rape culture is and will be in the America of 2024 and beyond. This is Christine Murphy's first book, and it's a stunning novel that should be remembered for literary prizes.

Wow so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first started reading but this is the sort of book that grips you from the first, so much so I read it in one go! It follows some difficult topics and how the author manages to write Sarah’s thoughts to make them so real is really great. A few points in this book I didn’t expect which I think will really appeal to thriller fans, but ultimately it is an highly emotional book about rape and revenge.

Absolutely absorbing narrative that grips from page one, is utterly riveting, beautifully written and chock full of emotion.

It is a survivors story at its heart with some deeply insightful and genuinely thought provoking drama all wrapped up in a psychological mystery of many layers.

This is a true example of the power of language when it makes you think outside the box, take a view of the world and at the same time is entertaining as fiction should be.

I loved it. Hope it's a huge hit.

CW rape

An unflinching and fast-paced campus novel about rapists, violence and revenge.

I think once it clicked that as least part of this book is satire, it worked for me. Our protagonist is kind of insufferable at points, but it’s not her fault so much as the world she is trying to fit into, a world where white women teach courses on Buddhism and pretentiousness mixes perfectly with substance abuse. It’s relatable in its ridiculousness, poking fun at academia and wealth simultaneously.

At the same time, parts of this book are totally played straight. Sarah’s experience as a survivor or rape, and her struggles to accept that her dead best friend Nathan was himself a rapist, form a complex core to the novel, challenging the reader to think about victims, perpetrators and who deserves forgiveness. The recurring allusions to Sarah’s childhood of hunting deer complimented this part of the novel and add an undercurrent of bloodiness which I enjoyed.

This isn’t normally the sort of book I go for, but I really enjoyed it. The ending was a little unexpected but it might work better for people who normally enjoy thrillers. The fast pace throughout made me read it in two sittings, and I appreciated how it raised a lot of interesting questions more than attempting to tell the reader how to feel.