The Man Who Knew Too Much - GK Chesterton

A look into the dark corners of upper-crust, pre-First World War British society, a place where hypocrisy and murder nestle nicely with tea and a stiff upper limit. The comparisons of the detective to Sherlock Holmes are apt (and perhaps intended) but Horne Fisher's deductions come from knowing what shadows lurk in men's souls and the moral implications weight more heavily on him than the resident of 221B Baker Street.

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.

Endgame: Bobby Fischer's Remarkable Rise and Fall - Frank Brady

A straight ahead account of the chess prodigy's rise and fall, with the only thing lacking is a peek inside that mad genius brain. The author knew Fischer but never got the chance to speak to him the last years, and the book suffers for it. Still, an entertaining account.

The Imperfectionists - Tom Rachman

A quirky, English-language newspaper in Rome is the spine that connects the stories in this novel, from the past-his-due date stringer who gives up the business to connect with his son to the workaholic editor who runs into an old lover and makes the mistake of asking what he really thinks about her. Good insight into the life of a paper, but the very human stories and all the things left unsaid make this an excellent read.

Hemingway's Boat - Paul Hendrickson

We can all agree that something happened to Hemingway, sometime in the 1930's. It's hard to pin down exactly when and where, but he wasn't the same writer after A Farewell To Arms. He started to believe in his own legend, never a good move, especially when most of it he made up himself. This biography of Hemingway has a revealing letter that perhaps provides some clue as to what wrong - after getting his boat, the Pilar, Hemingway wanted to chuck the writing gig and become a fisherman.
Perhaps he should have. He might have been happier, and we would have been spared the slow descent of a great young writer into a mediocre old one. And, perhaps the people around him would have been happier as well - his wives (second, third and fourth) and his children, especially his youngest son, Gregory, who died in a jail cell in October 2001.

Game Change - John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

Only four years later it's hard to remember what Barack Obama's campaign for President was like. A virtual unknown with an unusual name and a bi-racial identity beat Hilary Clinton to to claim the Democratic nomination, and then goes on to become President. There's no hint in the book of the dark days ahead, but the blow-by-blow account of the campaign is heroin for political junkies. Perhaps our only consolation is that the U.S. didn't end up with President McCain and Vice President Palin.

King John of Canada - Scott Gardiner

Less a novel than a Canadian political science major's fantasy, this novel tells of a wonderful future where peace and prosperity is brought about by Canada having a king. Not just any king, but King John, chosen randomly by a lottery. Lucky for Canada, because King John is smart, wise and able to get Quebec to secede from the Dominion, re-invigorate the Armed Forces and marry a beautiful Norwegian Princess. Told in a diary form by his loyal sidekick, it wastes too much time in the present as he details his exile in the frozen north.