Noise Abatement

Rating:
Summary: Middle-Class Vengeance
Review: Davis's third Edinburgh-set novel (preceded by Safe As Houses, which I haven't read, and Shrouded, which I have), is a quick-reading exploration of middle-class vengeance. The story of a happy young married couple tormented by the nonstop noisiness of their new upstairs neighbors was apparently inspired by the author's own awful experience and other similar cases in the UK. Davis straightforwardly sets up the situation, as the couple tries to first amicably deal with their thoughtless neighbors, then has to pursue the matter through "proper" channels (the police, the Environmental Health authorities), only to realize that the system is totally unable to handle such a matter. As the loud music, parties, and indoor football antics continue, the wife develops a debilitating stress-related ailment while her dentist husband grows too tired to operate properly.

The husband starts to fantasize about taking the law into his own hands, and of course, does in escalating fashion. Although the storyline is somewhat predictable, and the twist at the end is far too obvious, the book is sustained by the ease with which the reader is able to imagine themselves in the couple's shoes. Davis's world is both everyday and unnerving. A similar "what would you do" scenario was presented in the 1990 film, Pacific Heights, in which a young upscale couple finds it impossible to evict the psycho basement tenant who torments them.