Rotters

Audiobook - Joey Crouch's mother dies so he has to move from Chicago to rural Iowa to live with his estranged, alcoholic father. His father refuses to feed Joey or give him money for food, despite having a giant safe full of jewels and cash. Joey has to sleep on the floor in a corner of the kitchen. Everyone at school bullies Joey, including his teachers and the principal. Then he finds out his abusive dad is a grave-robber in some kind of association of grave robbers, and Joey decides to become a grave robber too.

I'm not sure there are words for how bad this was. Regardless of the stupid, unbelievable, and nonsensical plot, this book is sexist, racist, and homophobic. The antagonist is a physically- and mentally-disabled drug addict, show more who yet seems to be magically better at his job than all the other grave robbers. There is necrophilia and cannibalism. (And not in an interesting, "this happens in real life so we can't ignore it" kind of way; it was clearly just there for shock value and to make the story seem "scarier" than it was.) I am not one to be squeamish in any way, but all of the violence and gore and decomposition in the book was gratuitous and nonobjective. None of the characters were at all believable - Joey is a straight-A student who skips classes several times a week, a bully teacher is put in his place by a student acting like a know-it-all, Joey quits the school band because the cool guy bully (who is hooking up with a girl in the band) tells him it's not cool, a preacher tries to get grave robbers to stop grave robbing by helping them grave rob, etc. And to cap it all off, one of the nameless female sex objects says at the very beginning of the book that a social worker would be visiting Joey's father to make sure he took good care of Joey. This never happened and was never mentioned again, and if it had, the entirety of the book would not have happened. The author tries to make grave-robbers a "thing" by linking them to real people and groups like Leonardo DaVinci, Resurrectionists (people who dug up bodies for use in scientific experiments in the 1600s) and Incorruptibles (Catholic/Orthodox saints whose bodies supposedly never decompose). What do those have to do with digging up coffins to steal the valuable objects inside? Absolutely nothing. This book is all shock-value and no real value. And it's long as hell. Not at all recommended. show less

I can’t say that I really liked Rotters by Daniel Kraus, but once I was pulled into the main character’s head, I was locked in for the duration. This is a nasty, grim and dark story about a sixteen year old boy, Joey Crouch, who loses his single parent Mom in an accident and is shipped off to live with his unknown father. His father is so damaged that he barely seems human. Joey eventually discovers that his father robs graves for a living and it isn’t too long before Joey has joined him in this gruesome night-time occupation.

During the day, Joey attends his new high school. He becomes the one boy who is picked on by students and staff alike, with special attention coming from the school hero (and bully) who resents the attention show more his girlfriend gives to Joey. Nicknamed “Crotch” his school days are days of living hell, his nights are even worse.

Joey has a keen sense of observation and the author doesn’t hesitate to use this to supply graphic descriptions on the condition of the dead during the process of applying their macabre trade. Although the writing is stylistic, atmospheric and descriptive, there were times when I struggled with the story as it seemed to drag. It took a lot of reading before the plot advanced. There was an abundance of information about grave robbing, it’s history and purpose as well as our society’s burial rites. Nevertheless, Rotters is a very creative and original story and if you are in the mood for something creepy and disturbing this book could well fit the bill. show less

Well, here's a book that's not going to be for every one. It's a book about grave robbing and there's language (bad), adult situations, and violence.

And it's rather brilliant. The tone that Daniel Krauss has chosen fits the situations perfectly. I felt the pain and anguish of the characters, and even understood the ones I didn't like --although I'm not sure that that's a good thing.

A delightful, macabre story. Funny and sad. Sweet and icky.

Again, this ain't going to be for everyone, but I really liked it. And it definitely needs to be made into a movie with Nicolas Cage.

Pam T~
showing my dark side

Joey Crouch has a pretty normal life. He lives with his mom and plays trumpet in the band at school. His whole world is turned upside down when she dies in a tragic accident and he is forced to lived with his estranged father, Ken Harnett, in a rural town. Life in this new town couldn't be more different. Teasing and bullying are common occurrences and he finds himself at the bottom of the pecking order, mostly because he lives in squalor with his father who is commonly known as the trash man. Their relationship is shaky to say the least and they don't communicate well. After a while, it becomes clear that Harnett makes his money stealing things from graves. After the initial shock, Joey wants to learn about this new trade that opens show more the door to a new world full of strange, grotesque characters, horrific sights, family secrets, and himself.

I had never heard of this before getting an advance copy and still have not seen this book in a store. It's surprising because this is a great read that can easily appeal to both adult and older teen readers. Rotters is a unique and very dark coming of age story that centers around the distasteful profession of robbing graves. I've never read a book on this subject, but I figured it would be pretty disgusting and intense. It delivered that in a big way. Decaying corpses, rats, foul odors, and maggots are described in the most loving and beautiful detail. The grave odor that permeates Joey's life is so well described that I feel that I can practically smell it as I read. Daniel Kraus' masterful writing almost leaps off the page.

The other amazing thing about this book is the characters. Each one is richly imagined and after reading the novel, these characters still stayed with me. Joey in particular is a wonderful character that changes drastically throughout the course of the book. At first, he's consumed with grief over his mother's death and strives to get straight A's in school. Then he moves to Bloughton and is constantly bullied because of his father and the stench that follows him. I really felt for him because of both the bullying at school (by teachers and students) and the horrible treatment from his father. He reacted weakly to the abuse and seemed to accept his lot in life. During the second school year, his demeanor changes. His confidence grows and he lashes out in an incredibly satisfying way. He leaves to learn from another digger, but this one is an enemy of his fathers. After the exciting finale, Joey is just himself. He comes into his own with some scars and aches, but with his own sense of self instead of what others try to push onto him. Even though it was encased in gruesome detail and grave robbing, Joey still experienced what most of us experience in our transition from child to adult.

Rotters is an exceptional young adult book that isn't afraid to delve into dark, gruesome territory. I would only recommend this to people that are fans of horror and those that aren't squeamish. I will definitely read whatever Daniel Kraus writes next. show less

I really, truly wanted to like Rotters.

I think the largest reason that I held on till the end- apart from the fact that I bought it and felt compelled to- was that the writing was pretty damn fantastic. And upon perusing other people's reviews- positive and negative- that seemed to be the consensus.

Where this really fell apart is the plot. It goes all over the place, starting conflicts but only occasionally finishing them. I also feel that this was much too long, I could have gone without the whole (bizarre) ending with Boggs somehow being resurrected from a car crash and the hurricane and everything. The other big problem is the theme. The message. The point. What exactly was the point of all of it? Yes, there are moments of insight show more about materialism, death, and inheritance, but none of these themes were ever developed.

Back to the good. Many scenes were delightfully macabre, but what really makes these grisly bits shine is the believability. It's somewhat frightening the extent to which the author details the methods and mechanics of digging up corpses, and it makes you wonder- where exactly did Mr. Kraus get this information? It seems far too realistic to be entirely fiction. Surely, surely some of it must be true?

Harnett and Joey were both very interesting and dynamic characters, each having their moments of tenderness and, well, borderline psychopathy. Joey's ruthlessness in his revenge and his quickness to take part in Boggs' utter insanity make you wonder if this madness has been in him all along, and how different is he, really, from the absolute mental patient Antiochus Boggs?

Speaking of Antiochus "Baby" Boggs, can we talk about him for a second? I thought he was crazy when we first met him, with the introduction of the Rotters Book and his attack on Harnett at the diner, but then he goes straight-up IN-FUCKING-SANE! I had no empathy for him whatsoever, though it seemed, at points, that the author wanted me to take some sort of pity on him. No! Not after what he did to Joey's mother! And certainly not after he goes totally batshit crazy and starts mutilating himself. A few of his notable actions: he rips his own eyeball out, sews the brim of his hat to his ears, sticks a knife in between his ribs, and indulges in a cocktail of hard drugs daily. Yeah, not a fan of him. show less

Like a couple of other reviewers, I'm conflicted over this book.

The story is good enough, the writing is excellent and often brilliant.

But there's things at its core that I could quite move myself to fully invest in. Some it was the issues that others mentioned. Joey's ability to predict his mother's death. Knox's insanely old age. Baby's seeming invincibility. The sheer fact that one man with one shovel can dig up 30 graves in a single night. The bizarre side trip to Scotland and how, even though they're off the grid, they're found by a complete stranger with no real motivation to do so. But you know what? I can even live with some of those inconsistencies. I don't like them, but I can set them aside.

I think it was the characters that show more bothered me. Again, I didn't hate them, but I didn't love any of them either. Joey seems to do things out of character. He's meek and mild and puts up with shit one day, and the avenging angel the next. His father just drove me nuts. I couldn't accept his treatment of Joey, no matter what's going on in his head. And the fact that Joey's going to school each day in clothes from rotting corpses? Come on. And why in god's name would Joey's mother, by all accounts a sane and intelligent woman, send her son to live with a freakshow like Harnett?

Don't even get me started on the teen characters. Woody is a one-dimensional asshole. As is his girlfriend. Foley's sudden outing of himself felt like it was stuck on to give the book a gay character. And Boris...what the hell was with him? He's Joey's best friend, then takes a bite from the same asshole sandwich as Woody as soon as Joey's out of the picture.

The grave robbing was neither here nor there for me. I must say, full props for Kraus for building an excellent mythology around the Diggers and making that come alive. To be honest, for me, these were the best parts of the book. show less

4.5 Stars
I received an advance review copy of this book from Star Book Tours for review. I requested it purely based on the cover and title - I didn't know anything about it, but I'm kind of morbid so I hoped it would be as good as it looked. I wasn't disappointed.

I didn't really know what to expect... zombies? I was hopeful, I'll admit. I love zombies, and if this one contained them, I had no doubt they would be awesome. But no zombies here, and the more I read, the more I appreciated this for the realistic story it was. This is the story of a mostly normal boy who gets thrust into this very unconventional situation and life.

Here's the gist: Joey Crouch's mother dies, and he is sent to live with the absentee father he never knew, in a show more small town where hostility reigns, and Joey finds understanding in the most unlikely quarter one can think of - the Diggers... Grave robbers.

I was hooked right from the start. The first part of the book, the fear and the surety and the paranoia, and specifically the specifying, drew me right into to Joey's life and I wanted to know more, and to find out what happens to this boy. His life goes is completely out of control and he has nobody and nothing at all he can rely on, and I found it fascinating how he dealt with - or failed to deal with - this new life he's got. His struggles were what kept me glued to the book. He was nothing if not real. His mistakes and compulsions frightened me on his behalf. I love an underdog, so I wanted him to persevere and prevail against those against him... and against himself.

I loved the fact that the students at Bloughton High were realistic. They may have been a little cliche, actually, but teenagers ARE cliche. The jocks are jocklike, the snooty mean girl is snooty and mean (and a girl), the outcasts are outcast. But the devil is in the details with these kids, and I thought the portrayal was great. Just enough to read into them and make them more than cliche without needing it to be spelled out in big bold letters. I loved Foley. He may have been my favorite character. I wished that he was a bigger part of the book, actually.

I also liked the Diggers. They were a varied and interesting group, and I loved their independent camaraderie. I love the history and the mostly noble feel of these men, and the sacrifices they make for this calling. I was fascinated by the way that the Diggers behaved among the dead, especially The Resurrectionist, as it was such a contrast to his behavior with the living. I would have loved more history and lore and more detail regarding the Diggers and their profession, but since this was Joey's story, and he's a 16 year old, I know why this would have been a mite tedious for him to relay.

I appreciated the unflinching way that the dead and that death were portrayed. I liked that there was a certain reverence and respect there, even among these men out to pry valuables from someone's cold dead fingers. There was quite a bit of gore and grime and muck, among other foul things, so this is probably best not read by those weak of stomach or virgin of ears (so to speak). But I thought that these details added a lot to the book - a kind of reality and truth that it might otherwise be lacking.

I really enjoyed the writing in this story, and many passages were gorgeously descriptive and evocative. I loved the contrast between these parts and the gritty and almost irreverent brutal honesty of the rest of the story. This one pulls no punches regarding bullying or loss, or about growing up and finding one's own path either. I really enjoyed it. I will definitely be on the lookout for more from this author. show less