1Q84 - Haruki Murakami

It builds to a point that never finally comes, ending with a whimper not a bang. Ambitious, yes, but its reach far exceeds its grasp, and the reader is left holding a long story with no satisfying conclusion. Not that you need a satisfying conclusion in all cases, but in this one there are too many loose threads. The three book structure (collected as one for North American readers) does the story no favours - most of the third volume could be (and should have been) cut and there's far too much time spent by the characters sitting around, waiting for something to happen.

Having read Murakami before I expected something bigger (not in word count but in concept) and there are different paths the story could have gone down that would have made it more satisfying. (There's that word again) Even a Sixth Sense switcheroo (as it's known in the literary world) would have been better, but perhaps that was the kind of event Murakami was trying to avoid. If so, he also avoided the chance to make something truly great. Not to bring a crass pop culture reference, but this book reminds too much of the last episode of Lost - starts out strong, creates a layer of suspense, but willingly fails to followup on all of its promise.