Notes on Surviving the Fire: A razor-sharp, darkly funny literary novel about male violence, a woman's vengeance, and whether killing can ever be justified - Softcover

Murphy, Christine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1035411415 ISBN 13: 9781035411412

Publisher: Wildfire, 2026

Synopsis

'Savage, brilliant, merciless and mad as hell' FINANCIAL TIMES
'A thriller's bones, a satire's glare, and a comeuppance story's anarchic spirit' NEW YORKER
'Lives up to the hype' SUNDAY TIMES STYLE

Nathan says he loves me because I let him see me, and he knows how hard that is. He appreciates that I let him in. I say I love him because he is not a dick, in a world full of dicks.

Sarah Common is a survivor. She survived the brutal Maine winters where she learned to hunt; she survived the petty politics of the university where she teaches; she survived the fact that her attacker escaped justice and still walks free around campus. Or at least that's what she tells herself.

Nathan was the only person who believed what happened to Sarah. And now Nathan is dead. For Sarah to survive once again, she must find out what happened to Nathan - and decide whether, this time, she should seek justice . . . or revenge.

More praise for NOTES ON SURVIVING THE FIRE:

'A seething, fearless story wound so tight I held my breath from page one. Brilliant!' - NATALI SIMMONDS, author of GOOD GIRLS DIE LAST

'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, Women's Prize-shortlisted author of RIVER EAST RIVER WEST

'Furious, fast-paced, emotionally resonant and memorable. I'll be thinking about this one for a while yet.' - ILANA MASAD, Los Angeles Times

About this title

About the Author

Christine Murphy has lived, worked, and travelled in over 100 countries, including eleven months in a tent across the African continent and a year as a resident in a Buddhist nunnery in the Himalayas. She completed the world's longest for-charity horse ride across Northern Mongolia, during which she broke her back (for the second time). A trained Buddhaologist, Christine has a PhD in Religious Studies.

From the Back Cover

Nathan says he loves me because I let him see me, and he knows how hard that is. He appreciates that I let him in. I say I love him because he is not a dick, in a world full of dicks.

Sarah Common is a survivor. She survived the brutal Maine winters where she learned to hunt; she survived the petty politics of the university where she teaches; she survived the fact that her attacker escaped justice and still walks free around campus. Or at least that's what she tells herself.

Nathan was the only person who believed what happened to Sarah.
And now Nathan is dead.
And for Sarah to survive once again, she must find out what happened to Nathan - and decide whether, this time, she should seek justice... or revenge.


'Full of vengeance and bite. Brilliant!' NATALI SIMMONDS

'Cold, simmering fury and hot, big-hearted empathy' AUBE REY LESCURE

'Furious, fast-paced and emotionally resonant' LOS ANGELES TIMES

Edition details

• Publisher: Wildfire
• Publication date: 2026
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1035411415
• ISBN 13: 9781035411412
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288