Submersed: Wonder, Obsession, and Murder in the World of Amateur Submarines
An exquisite, lyrical foray into the world of deep-sea divers, the obsession and madness that oceans inspire in us, and the story of submarine inventor Peter Madsen's murder of journalist Kim Wall—a captivating blend of literary prose, science writing, and true crime
"[A] thrilling study of an obsession—to sink below the surface, to depths both metaphoric and in fact. Full of wild characters and strange histories, by the end we are convinced, in no small part by the beauty of [Frank's] language, that this is one of the most important stories ever told."—Nick Flynn, author of This Is the Night Our House Will Catch Fire
Submersed begins with an investigation into the beguiling subculture of DIY submersible obsessives: men and women—but mostly men—who are so compelled to sink into the deep sea that they become amateur backyard submarine-builders. Should they succeed in fashioning a craft in their garage or driveway and set sail, they do so at great personal risk—as the 2023 fatal implosion of Stockton Rush's much more highly funded submarine, Titan, proved to the world.
Matthew Gavin Frank explores the origins of the human compulsion to sink to depth, from the diving bells of Aristotle and Alexander the Great to the Confederate H. L. Hunley, which became the first submersible to sink an enemy warship before itself being sunk during the Civil War. The deeper he plunges, however, the more the obsession seems to dovetail with more threatening traits. Following the grisly murder of journalist Kim Wall at the hands of eccentric entrepreneur Peter Madsen aboard his DIY midget submarine, Frank finds himself reckoning with obsession's darkest extremes.
Weaving together elements of true crime, the strange history of the submarine, the mythology of the deep sea, and the physical and mental side effects of sinking to great depth, Frank attempts to get to the bottom of this niche compulsion to chase the extreme in our planet’s bodies of water and in our own bodies. What he comes to discover, and interrogate, are the odd and unexpected overlaps between the unquenchable human desire to descend into deep water, and a penchant for unspeakable violence.
"[A] thrilling study of an obsession—to sink below the surface, to depths both metaphoric and in fact. Full of wild characters and strange histories, by the end we are convinced, in no small part by the beauty of [Frank's] language, that this is one of the most important stories ever told."—Nick Flynn, author of This Is the Night Our House Will Catch Fire
Submersed begins with an investigation into the beguiling subculture of DIY submersible obsessives: men and women—but mostly men—who are so compelled to sink into the deep sea that they become amateur backyard submarine-builders. Should they succeed in fashioning a craft in their garage or driveway and set sail, they do so at great personal risk—as the 2023 fatal implosion of Stockton Rush's much more highly funded submarine, Titan, proved to the world.
Matthew Gavin Frank explores the origins of the human compulsion to sink to depth, from the diving bells of Aristotle and Alexander the Great to the Confederate H. L. Hunley, which became the first submersible to sink an enemy warship before itself being sunk during the Civil War. The deeper he plunges, however, the more the obsession seems to dovetail with more threatening traits. Following the grisly murder of journalist Kim Wall at the hands of eccentric entrepreneur Peter Madsen aboard his DIY midget submarine, Frank finds himself reckoning with obsession's darkest extremes.
Weaving together elements of true crime, the strange history of the submarine, the mythology of the deep sea, and the physical and mental side effects of sinking to great depth, Frank attempts to get to the bottom of this niche compulsion to chase the extreme in our planet’s bodies of water and in our own bodies. What he comes to discover, and interrogate, are the odd and unexpected overlaps between the unquenchable human desire to descend into deep water, and a penchant for unspeakable violence.
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Community Reviews
Submerged explores the unique obsession of amateur submarine engineers in the present day while laying out details of how the draw to explore the vast ocean depths has evolved over the years. The story is filtered through the lens of the author's speculations and assumptions. From religious connections and Nordic god influences.
Overall, I found most of them to be loosely connected. The pattern I picked up on was this misogynist, obsessive white man cult that was created for these middle aged men (and older) who found themselves bored with their lives or the average "hobby". And creating these Personal Subs not only allowed them create this exclusive club among them but also gave them this mostly untapped power to be able to travel in this space that so few have ventured.
There's this notion that the author brings up on how underwater became like this space separated from land. With its own laws and rules; which is to say it didn't hold the restrictions or boundaries that being on land held. The only train of thought I felt I really agreed with was the physical effects of being underwater for long periods of time and at certain depths. And how that affected a person's body. It's a known fact that just like with space travel, the lack of gravity causes severe damage to astronauts even on short trips to space.
And a book I've read, Our Wives Under The Sea, takes those effects and makes them a reality for a fictional scientist who was trapped in a submarine ship for months underwater.
As men are the most dangerous, unpredictable and deceitful predators on land, it was not surprising that the personal submarine creators would be eccentric, weird, off putting or harbor secret fetishes. And as the author is also a man, I found him trying to use details from interviews from other Psubbers and enthusiasts to construct a psychological profile that may explain their quirks and behaviors to be feeble and disappointing.
The more I got into the book, the more I understood that the writer was searching for the connection to this obsession with submarines and the ocean. And why was it that these guys got out of it. I did not, however, feel there was a real connection to Peter Madsen and his murder of Kim Wall. The relevance just wasn't there for me; I felt like I was lured into the book for that crime as if throughout his investigation and research he would make some revelation that hasn't been seen before.
Instead, Kim Wall's death is simply a gimmick to lure in potential true crime story readers.
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