In this astutely observed collection, Russell Smith charts the lives of several thirty-something men struggling to meet the adult challenges of career, home and family while they mourn the aspirations of their youth.

Dominic discards the life he has built with Christine for a fantasy fling with her best friend and then sheepishly orchestrates a reconciliation. When his career as a music producer fails to materialize, Eddie begins secretly recording the dreams his girlfriend recites in her sleep. He publishes these transcribed tales, but his new-found literary fame is hollow and his shameless crime is inevitably exposed. Lionel embarks on an ill-fated tour of small-town Nova Scotia to promote his latest book. Stranded by a snow storm, the weary writer finds creative inspiration in the reminiscences of an elderly woman.

In each of these stories, Russell Smith flawlessly captures the humour and the sadness of young men bridging the gulf between who they had hoped to be and who they have become.

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"Smith has a journalist's eye for the details of speech and dress that identify the social niche of the characters -- but with an Evelyn Waughesque emphasis on their comic Possibilities."--The Toronto Star

"Astute and welcome." --The Globe and Mail

"A sharply observed, sour, sweet, and very funny first novel... . Not so many could have matched ... the inventiveness of the dialogue, the grace of the narrative, and the tenderness that Smith shows toward the most vulnerable characters he has created." --Books in Canada

A poisonously funny portrait of (Toronto's) so-hip-it-hurts fashion, food, and bar scene ... Noise trumpets Smith's energetic talent." --Maclean's





From the Hardcover edition.

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Russell Smith is a well-known journalist and novelist. His 1994 bestseller, How Insensitive, was shortlisted for the Governor General's Award, the Chapters/Books in Canada First Novel Award, and Ontario's Trillium Book Award. His second novel, Noise, published in Spring 1998, received widespread attention and critical acclaim. An accomplished journalist, Smith's articles have also been published in The Globe and Mail, Toronto Life, Flare, Details, and NOW. His story "Party Going," won the 1997 National Magazine Award for fiction. Smith currently writes a weekly column on men and fashion for The Globe and Mail. He lives in Toronto.

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