The hunger is loosely based of the true story of the Donner Party tragic story. Where the historical events, the places and most of the characters are based on the true story and we can see the massive work that has been done here, a lot is pure fiction but It is perfectly blended to create an interesting "horror"/supernatural story around the Donner party tragedy. 

The rhythm is, most of the time, pretty slow but they are some bursts here and there. I found some parts really too long for my taste and I struggled sometimes to keep going for this reason. But it's probably because I read recollection of the Donner Party events already so I didn't need the settlement and context. Other readers could probably doesn't feel the same here (except maybe for those already aware of the story).

I didn't manage to root for the characters but the whole story and the way it's written made me forget about it. Mostly. 

The horror part isn't exactly scary, it is more juggling with psychology, morals, the survivor guilt and the decisions you choose to make to survive. The cannibal stuff is super light, you don't have super detailed gory description or graphic gore/cannibalism, overall. 

The writing is top notch. But I Still look for the WOW effect with This book. 

If you are a fan of historical fiction with a dash of supernatural go for it !