Definitely the latter: to be honest, I wasn't super drawn to the protagonist (it's kind of set up as a bildungsroman, which isn't bad or anything but I think I'

Definitely the latter: to be honest, I wasn't super drawn to the protagonist (it's kind of set up as a bildungsroman, which isn't bad or anything but I think I'm past the point in my life where that stuff is super-applicable) but more the overall depiction of adult life in the town. There's a pervading sense of loneliness (or, more accurately, lonesomeness) and how that affects the town as a whole. All in all, I thought it was pretty modern stuff considering the settings.