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abaugher's review against another edition
5.0
awesome story! no, this isn't about zombies; its about modern-day grave robbers, their business, their long history, their creed and honor...and their smell.
Joey moves in with the dad he never knew after his mom's death, only to be mercilessly bullied at school by students and teachers, and to find out his robs graves for his meager living. His dad isn't uneducated, though, and is extremely well read, especially in his field. As macabre as it is, Joey wants his dad to teach him, and so his job--and coming-of-age journey--begins. There is so much more to the Diggers than he would have thought, and he finds strength in his bizarre education.
This is a fascinating and gory book that might be better not read during meal times. ;)
Joey moves in with the dad he never knew after his mom's death, only to be mercilessly bullied at school by students and teachers, and to find out his robs graves for his meager living. His dad isn't uneducated, though, and is extremely well read, especially in his field. As macabre as it is, Joey wants his dad to teach him, and so his job--and coming-of-age journey--begins. There is so much more to the Diggers than he would have thought, and he finds strength in his bizarre education.
This is a fascinating and gory book that might be better not read during meal times. ;)
badseedgirl's review against another edition
5.0
All I wanted was a little light reading. I had just finished Drood by Dan Simmons and American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis and had decided to take a break. What would be better than a little light reading about modern day grave robbers? Reading Daniel Kraus’ Rotters taught me two things, if I ever had any doubts about how I want to be interned when I die, those have been resolved (Cremation, definitely), and high school is a thousand times more brutal than when I went to school.
I have to joke about this novel, because if I don’t I would just spend hours crying over it. I swore after reading Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho that I would never touch a novel that dark again, and less than one month later I am reading a novel that makes that one look like a fairy tale. The brutality and horror in Rotters has left me speechless. Never before in my life have I read descriptions of the brutality Joey Crouch, the main character suffers at school and at home.
The first part, “Fun and Games” in this novel is not horror, but just so horrific as to destroy the psyche of both the main character and by extension the reader. This first section of the novel is filled with both physical and psychological torture. I kept putting the book down and then picking it back up assuring myself that it could not possibly get worse, but it just kept going further and further down such a dark and terrifying road. Much like Joey, I kept praying to “two finger Jesus” that it would just get better.
By the time the reader gets to the second part of the book “Lamb and Slaughter” I at least, had felt that I had become immune to the darkness, Like Joey, I had settled into the life of a “Digger”. And then I got to the scene at Joey’s mom’s grave, and I realized that Joey had gone insane, and this realization seemed to break the spell that the first part of this novel had held me in. After that I was able to finish reading the novel with a sense of separation. This purposeful change in writing style was an incredibly smart move on the Authors part. I’m not sure that I would have been able to finish this novel if I had continued to feel such an attachment to Joey. It started to affect me in my real life. I started feeling depressed and anxious, and looking back, it was because of this novel.
I know this review is scattered but it is impossible for me to explain how very, very disturbing I found Rotters to be. This novel has been listed as a Young Adult novel in Goodreads, but I would absolutely not recommend this novel to any teen. The themes are just too dark. I’m not sure who I would be able to recommend it to. Am I glad I read this novel? Absolutely not. Would I recommend it? Again no. Was it an amazing read that has affected my life for the foreseeable future, absolutely yes. And because of that I am giving it 5 stars. Any book able to affect the reader like that deserves praise. Well done Daniel Kraus! I don’t think I will ever be able to read anything by you again.
I have to joke about this novel, because if I don’t I would just spend hours crying over it. I swore after reading Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho that I would never touch a novel that dark again, and less than one month later I am reading a novel that makes that one look like a fairy tale. The brutality and horror in Rotters has left me speechless. Never before in my life have I read descriptions of the brutality Joey Crouch, the main character suffers at school and at home.
The first part, “Fun and Games” in this novel is not horror, but just so horrific as to destroy the psyche of both the main character and by extension the reader. This first section of the novel is filled with both physical and psychological torture. I kept putting the book down and then picking it back up assuring myself that it could not possibly get worse, but it just kept going further and further down such a dark and terrifying road. Much like Joey, I kept praying to “two finger Jesus” that it would just get better.
By the time the reader gets to the second part of the book “Lamb and Slaughter” I at least, had felt that I had become immune to the darkness, Like Joey, I had settled into the life of a “Digger”. And then I got to the scene at Joey’s mom’s grave, and I realized that Joey had gone insane, and this realization seemed to break the spell that the first part of this novel had held me in. After that I was able to finish reading the novel with a sense of separation. This purposeful change in writing style was an incredibly smart move on the Authors part. I’m not sure that I would have been able to finish this novel if I had continued to feel such an attachment to Joey. It started to affect me in my real life. I started feeling depressed and anxious, and looking back, it was because of this novel.
I know this review is scattered but it is impossible for me to explain how very, very disturbing I found Rotters to be. This novel has been listed as a Young Adult novel in Goodreads, but I would absolutely not recommend this novel to any teen. The themes are just too dark. I’m not sure who I would be able to recommend it to. Am I glad I read this novel? Absolutely not. Would I recommend it? Again no. Was it an amazing read that has affected my life for the foreseeable future, absolutely yes. And because of that I am giving it 5 stars. Any book able to affect the reader like that deserves praise. Well done Daniel Kraus! I don’t think I will ever be able to read anything by you again.
kiddocut's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It is crazy to me that this is from the same author as Bent Heavens, which was just...a massive disappointment, but overall this book is a wild ride.
It's an emotionally heavy book about a kid named Joey who is just getting the short end of the stick since his mother dies via a bus accident. He then is forced to move out of his creature comforted Chicago to bum fuck nowhere Iowa-where he learns to be a digger....a digger of graves. It goes dark, and it just gets worse....it's not for the faint of heart, and I'm grateful that showed me a new side to this author that I would of missed by not giving it a chance.
So I learned a lesson by just picking it up randomly.
It's an emotionally heavy book about a kid named Joey who is just getting the short end of the stick since his mother dies via a bus accident. He then is forced to move out of his creature comforted Chicago to bum fuck nowhere Iowa-where he learns to be a digger....a digger of graves. It goes dark, and it just gets worse....it's not for the faint of heart, and I'm grateful that showed me a new side to this author that I would of missed by not giving it a chance.
So I learned a lesson by just picking it up randomly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Murder, Stalking, Torture, Homophobia, Suicide, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Addiction, Gore, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, Blood, Body shaming, Self harm, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Animal death, Colonisation, Grief, Bullying, Child abuse, Medical trauma, and Suicidal thoughts
There was no warning for this but with the subject matter in hand there is absolutely some IMPLIED necrophily content within this book-it's not explicit but is absolutely implied.4saradouglas's review against another edition
I'm giving up on this one. I read half of it and then just didn't want to read anymore. It was good, but I just wasn't in the mood for it.
lanica's review against another edition
3.0
I want to hate this book - but I don't.
I want to love this book - but I don't.
What a strange novel.
I want to give it a 5, I want to give it a 1...I have no idea what to rate this novel.
From the very first page this book was a contradiction. A boy 'knows' that his mother will die today...and she does...but that's the only time he is psychic. I kept waiting for his 'visions' to reappear - they don't.
Instead, we jump into the story. He is forced to live with his father and soon enough learns that his father is a grave robber...and we watch his slow decline into the strange world of a small circle of grave robbers. I found myself disgusted by this book, and the characters - any yet I wanted it to all turn out okay in the end. Perhaps it's because I'm a teacher and I want to believe that any student can overcome...but I never wanted to give up on this boy - and therefore I never gave up on the book - even though I should have.
I hate this book, it's disgusting and I feel dirty having read the entire thing.
I love this book - the writing is wonderful. The way the author puts words together is exceptional. I read this book over a month ago and was unable to get it out of my head. I had no idea how to write my a review of it, loving and hating it so fiercely, and so I just didn't...but now that so much time has passed and I still can't get it out of my head I though perhaps I could purge myself by reviewing it...
Here's hoping I won't think about this book again, but I know I will...it was just that well written and evocative. Too bad it evoked only horrible thoughts and images...
As I said, I'm conflicted.
Review: Don't read it unless you really like...well...grave robbers and downward spirals. It's dark, macabre, and made my heart hurt.
I want to love this book - but I don't.
What a strange novel.
I want to give it a 5, I want to give it a 1...I have no idea what to rate this novel.
From the very first page this book was a contradiction. A boy 'knows' that his mother will die today...and she does...but that's the only time he is psychic. I kept waiting for his 'visions' to reappear - they don't.
Instead, we jump into the story. He is forced to live with his father and soon enough learns that his father is a grave robber...and we watch his slow decline into the strange world of a small circle of grave robbers. I found myself disgusted by this book, and the characters - any yet I wanted it to all turn out okay in the end. Perhaps it's because I'm a teacher and I want to believe that any student can overcome...but I never wanted to give up on this boy - and therefore I never gave up on the book - even though I should have.
I hate this book, it's disgusting and I feel dirty having read the entire thing.
I love this book - the writing is wonderful. The way the author puts words together is exceptional. I read this book over a month ago and was unable to get it out of my head. I had no idea how to write my a review of it, loving and hating it so fiercely, and so I just didn't...but now that so much time has passed and I still can't get it out of my head I though perhaps I could purge myself by reviewing it...
Here's hoping I won't think about this book again, but I know I will...it was just that well written and evocative. Too bad it evoked only horrible thoughts and images...
As I said, I'm conflicted.
Review: Don't read it unless you really like...well...grave robbers and downward spirals. It's dark, macabre, and made my heart hurt.
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
4.0
When 16-year-old Joey Crouch's mother dies, he's sent from Chicago, the only place he's ever known, to the father he's never even heard of in a small river town in Iowa. He didn't know what to expect, but he's still surprised by what he finds. A rundown shack and a man completely ignorant of the demands of parenting a teenager. But then he starts to figure out that the reason his dad is called the Garbage Man has nothing to do with working for the county sanitation department, and that's where things start to get gross.
This is a truly disturbing read, but the story is good, so if you have a strong stomach, it's worth it. Normally I don't go overboard with those warnings, but it's also really long and only gets grosser as it goes on, so you really do have to prepare yourself to deal with a lot of physically and emotionally disturbing things. Part of what made this so hard for me was that I listened to this while driving to and from work, which is also generally when I eat breakfast, and there were a couple times I lost my appetite. It starts a bit slow and the middle's a little directionless, but then the final resolution finally approaches and things start to happen.
This is a truly disturbing read, but the story is good, so if you have a strong stomach, it's worth it. Normally I don't go overboard with those warnings, but it's also really long and only gets grosser as it goes on, so you really do have to prepare yourself to deal with a lot of physically and emotionally disturbing things. Part of what made this so hard for me was that I listened to this while driving to and from work, which is also generally when I eat breakfast, and there were a couple times I lost my appetite. It starts a bit slow and the middle's a little directionless, but then the final resolution finally approaches and things start to happen.
nikkihaske's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
hanyaya's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Death, Grief, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence