Which of the three main characters—Arthur, Jake, or Ian—do you sympathize with the most, and why?

Ian starts off the novel infatuated with Laura Dunn, but as he matures, he becomes less interested. How does Ian's concept of the feminine ideal change throughout the novel? How does his projection of this ideal affect the way he relates to Laura, as well as to his mother and his girlfriend?

The novel occupies itself primarily with the world of Struan, but the outside world makes intrusions here and there. What are some of the ways in which characters are affected by the larger world, and how do their reactions to those events shape them?