I noticed for the first time today, when mousing over the rating stars that text pops up for each one: It was amazing, I really liked it, I liked it, It was okay, I didn't like it. Nevermind that we probably all understand the system without the text, I was thinking ahead as I was selecting my rating, "What can I say about this book other than 'I liked it'?" 
 I liked it. 
 Or, to expound, I liked the character. The cultural differences and complications may be a bit unusual (or unlikely) but Karim's responses to each are an amalgam of compassion and logic. He's a rare generous character for this year's Tournament of Books. A bit more story surrounding him and Kapitoil could have taken down Freedom, I think. 
 Regardless, I am happy to have completed as many of the TOB 2011 books as I am going to. Out of the 10 I read, 2 were excellent, and 3 more were well worth the time. 
 I really need to read a couple of palate cleansers now.