Reminds me way too much of everything I couldn't stomach in Stephen R Donaldson's Gap into Conflict BUT some of the observational scene setting and imagery pushes this beyond a sheer exploration of violence, survival, poverty, power and the way people's lives are shaped by the same.

It's more like a 3.75 for me than a straight 3 but the the way the author cycles through and back to torture puts me off a full four - the treatment of torture feels like it wanders uncomfortably for me toward sensationalism rather keeping itself to a harsh or dark story essential in some scenes .