Yannick Murphy’s Things That Are Funny On A Submarine But Not Really is an incredible modern novel that explores the emotional interiority of David, a peacetime submarine sailor adapting to society while balancing the traumas and routines of his military training and relationships. I picked this book up after seeing it on a list of modern humor books; yet while there are many funny aspects to the story, they are beautifully contrasted against the fractured, episodic memories of our main character. This creates a broken funhouse mirror effect, illustrating why a soldier might choose to reenlist simply to avoid the profound difficulties of reintegration.
The story begins on the sub, reflecting an accurate and funny brotherhood through the eyes of our radio operator, David ‘Dead Man’ Sterling. He recounts hours of repetition, insults, and mindless, backseat-family-trip-like games he and his crewmates play to pass the monotonous time. However, a series of events soon leads us to witness the peacetime horrors of mundanity and modern mental health, along with the specter of a Chinese spook who may have infiltrated the crew. All of this culminates in David’s discharge, leaving him to carry the guilt, confusion, and trauma of events he had no control or agency over as an enlisted man. When he reenters society, the invisible wounds of the enlistee—even in peacetime—come blistering to the top. Supported only by the occasional call to his parents and the ghost of a fellow sailor, David has to reckon with his identity completely alone, a grim reality that generations of veterans have come to expect.
It really is a beautiful book. Yannick Murphy presents a surprisingly subtle, character-driven narrative that showcases her adept understanding of her subject’s psyche. She follows a young man navigating the “pressures” of “living below the surface” as he figures out who he was and who he intends to be: a writer. Spectacularly real, Things That Are Funny on a Submarine is an excellent new piece from an author whose short stories and novels are crucial in navigating our modern consciousness with grace, humor, and surprising emotional depth.
Garrett Zecker 