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.