I can't decide which character was my favorite, or which character I most resembled, and in my book, that's a pretty great problem to have. 
 Odd as it sounds, I'd recommend this to fans of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Same slow and deliberate pacing that allowed me to fall into a quiet soothing rhythm as I read, with perfectly crafted sentences and vivid sense of place, same humanness shining through every page. 
 I'll let it settle a bit, but this might just end up in my top-10 list.