Notes on Surviving the Fire: A Novel

When Sarah’s only friend in her graduate program is found dead of an alleged heroin overdose, Sarah is forced back into the orbit of the man in their department who assaulted her. A hurtling ride of a novel—darkly funny and propulsive. "A thriller’s bones, a satire’s glare, and a comeuppance story’s anarchic spirit.”—The New Yorker At a Ph.D. program in Southern California, Sarah and her best friend, Nathan, spend their time working on their theses, getting high, and keeping track of the poor air quality due to nearby forest fires. No one believes Sarah when she reports a fellow student for raping her at a party—“He’s such a good guy!”—and the Title IX office simply files away the information, just like the police. Nathan is the only person who cares. When Sarah finds Nathan dead of an overdose from a drug he’s always avoided, she knows something isn’t right. She starts investigating his death as a murder, and as the pieces fall into place, she notices a disturbing pattern in other student deaths on campus. As a girl, Sarah grew up in the forests of Maine, following her father on hunts, learning how to stalk prey and kill, but only when necessary. Now, she must confront a different type of killing—and decide if it can be justified.  Notes on Surviving the Fire is a story about vengeance, the insidious nature of rape culture, and ultimately, a woman's journey to come back to herself.

About the Author :
CHRISTINE MURPHY has lived, worked, and traveled in more than a hundred countries, including living for eleven months in a tent across the African continent and a year as a resident in a Buddhist nunnery in the Himalayas. A trained Buddhologist, Murphy has a Ph.D. in religious studies. This is her first novel.

Review :
“The novel’s strength lies in Sarah’s duality . . . The narrative is equally layered, with a thriller’s bones, a satire’s glare, and a comeuppance story’s anarchic spirit.” —The New Yorker "Murphy has certainly written a furious, fast-paced, emotionally resonant and memorable novel. I’ll be thinking about this one for a while yet.” —Los Angeles Times “A wild horse of a plot . . . Fiery on many levels . . . An author to watch.” —Kirkus Reviews “A biting, savage, unflinching story of how the culture of sexual assault is systemically tolerated and tucked out of sight into the dark corners of ivory towers. Part campus satire, part murder mystery, and most importantly a tale of formidable survival, Notes on Surviving the Fire asks: who among us is a perpetrator, and how do we keep on living once we know? Christine Murphy writes with the nimbleness of a hunter: muscularly and with precision, while also propelled by undercurrents of cold, simmering fury and hot, big-hearted empathy.” —Aube Rey Lescure, author of River East, River West “Murphy’s emotional, riveting suspense novel is sure to stick with readers for a long time.” —Booklist “A bold and complex thriller that tackles rape culture and academic bureaucracy with a pinch of Buddhist philosophy . . . Murphy establishes a convincing sense of psychological realism while making salient points about the challenges women face in the aftermath of sexual violence . . . Those in the mood for more challenging fare will be rewarded. —Publishers Weekly