"You should never talk about plane crashes while you're at an airport," so says a good friend of mine whenever we travel. As far as homespun wisdom goes it's some of the best; why scare yourself needlessly over something that is statistically insignificant and out of your control?

I wondered the same thing when I began reading Man In A Grey Suit by shark attack survivor, Glenn Orgias. I'm a surfer, so why scare myself over something that, like fiery plane crashes, has extremely remote odds of occurring? It's a serious question: why would a surfer do it to themselves?

At first I told myself I was arming myself with information - knowledge being power and all that - but it simply wasn't true. The real reason is that a part of me wanted to know what happens in a shark attack. It's not information that would help if, God forbid, I was ever involved in one, but a perverse, darkly-curious corner of my brain wanted to know the bloody and gruesome truth no matter how macabre it was.

In 2009 Sydney was in the grip of the 'summer of the shark' with multiple sightings and two serious attacks at famous Sydney waterways – Sydney Harbour and Bondi Beach – just days apart. Paul de Gelder, a Navy clearance diver, was the first victim losing an arm and a leg, Orgias the second victim while surfing at Bondi.

Writing the book appears a form of catharsis for Orgias who goes into great detail about his life leading up to the attack. The therapy not just for the psychological trauma incurred but the life of anxiety and obstinacy he led up to it happening. He's not a particularly interesting fellow, to be blunt, and at times the writing is clunky and emotionally barren. At other times it reads like a redemption song to all the people he's wronged along the way.

For the reader, however, there is redemption of sorts in sticking with the book, and not just to read a frank and chilling account of a shark attack. Following the attack Orgias peers deep enough inside himself to make for interesting reading pondering scientific and existential questions that begin with a suddenly-weighty 'Why me?'

Orgias and de Gelder had contrasting recoveries following their attacks. Different enough to make clear the fact that each case is unique. Just as I wanted to read first-hand what it was like to be involved in a shark attack I also found myself wondering how I would cope if it was me. For all its shortcomings any book that elicits such a response is worth considering. Man In A Grey Suit is not for everyone, but if you're a surfer and you're curious...

Man In A Grey Suit is published byPenguin Viking and retails for $29.95