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Round Mountain
In the backwoods towns of Round Mountain, time circles like a winding mountain road. Friends disappear and show up again, older if not wiser. Small incidents—a night of drinking, a robbery, a strange visitor—loom larger as the decades pass. And over time, the true colors of every man, woman, and child become known to all.
- GenresFiction
181 pages, Paperback
First published May 28, 2011
2 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
About the author
Castle Freeman Jr.
15 books43 followersCastle Freeman Jr. is an American novelist and writer who lives in Vermont.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
September 26, 2019
Four stars plus, I love this author, he writes great atmospheric stories, a bit out of the box here and there, always out in the wilderness woods. Just full of character. This is a short story collection of 12 stories, all connected with the character Homer in several stages of his life. Set in the woodlands of Vermont, on and around 'Round Mountain'. A set of characters surrounds Homer, from his unfaithful wife, his silent kid, his sick friend, his boss, his sister and many more. Love this author, really do! More to follow when I'm home later today.
ps, this book was free at the time it was published, 2012, the publisher asked a donation to a Hurricaine Irene relief organisation. The readers were asked to pass the book on to someone else for free so the reading and giving went on. So I would like to share this book with someone, who is okay with it to send their home address to my goodreads inbox (it will be safe!). First come first serve, just let me know!
ps, this book was free at the time it was published, 2012, the publisher asked a donation to a Hurricaine Irene relief organisation. The readers were asked to pass the book on to someone else for free so the reading and giving went on. So I would like to share this book with someone, who is okay with it to send their home address to my goodreads inbox (it will be safe!). First come first serve, just let me know!
July 1, 2012
Homer Patch is a deputy sheriff. He is quiet, kind and the main focus of these twelve stories, set in a rural Vermont community. These are bittersweet snapshots, capturing Homer and an array of other small town characters. Each story touches down on a different period in their simple, sometimes difficult lives. We follow Homer, as he deals with an unfaithful wife, a special needs son and several childhood friends who have gone “off the rails”.
These are spare, beautiful tales, told with nuance and insight. Freeman understands and adores these people and it clearly shines through every word.
These are spare, beautiful tales, told with nuance and insight. Freeman understands and adores these people and it clearly shines through every word.
May 22, 2012
Round Mountain is an amazing book. First of all, because it is published by Concord Free Press and offered to readers free of charge. I went into a local bookstore and took my copy from a pile of them. The catch, if you want to call it that, is that the publisher then asks you, the holder of this free book, to make a donation to an organization that is assisting with Hurricane Irene reparations. I donated to Vermont211. Concord Free Press has created an example of Gift Economy, as espoused by Lewis Hyde, among others. The Gift Economy, if I have it right, suggests, in part, that we all already have what we need to live richly and justly. The problem is not quantity of goods, but adequate distribution of those goods. Concord Free Press is giving away books to read. Check out their website for more information (more broadly and accurately elucidated than what you’ve just read here).
So, the writing, the book itself: Round Mountain is written by Castle Freeman, a Vermont writer, writing about the Green Mountains and the people who live here. This always makes me nervous. Living here, I often see, even in the news reportage, attempts to depict Vermont life as treachly and maple syrup coated. It’s as if Vermont residents can’t see the occasional rotted tree for all the lush forests.
Recently, a friend was working on a film based on a book set in Vermont. I asked if he had read the book before starting the film. I was curious about the author’s depiction of the setting and his characters. When pressed, my friend admitted, “He snowglobes it.”
I picked up Round Mountain primarily because of its novel way of redirecting resources My trepidation about reading it was quickly dispelled, however. Freeman doesn’t “snowglobe” Vermont. The characters are men and women, weighed down at turns by a gordian knot of existence or by simply existing another day, vandals, acting only to assert their existence, and tourists, well meaning, but irremediably existing as forever apart.
Freeman captures the flow and cadence of Vermont English. “The Sister’s Tale” written in the vernacular is the best example of Freeman’s adroit ear for the language of these hills.
So, the writing, the book itself: Round Mountain is written by Castle Freeman, a Vermont writer, writing about the Green Mountains and the people who live here. This always makes me nervous. Living here, I often see, even in the news reportage, attempts to depict Vermont life as treachly and maple syrup coated. It’s as if Vermont residents can’t see the occasional rotted tree for all the lush forests.
Recently, a friend was working on a film based on a book set in Vermont. I asked if he had read the book before starting the film. I was curious about the author’s depiction of the setting and his characters. When pressed, my friend admitted, “He snowglobes it.”
I picked up Round Mountain primarily because of its novel way of redirecting resources My trepidation about reading it was quickly dispelled, however. Freeman doesn’t “snowglobe” Vermont. The characters are men and women, weighed down at turns by a gordian knot of existence or by simply existing another day, vandals, acting only to assert their existence, and tourists, well meaning, but irremediably existing as forever apart.
Freeman captures the flow and cadence of Vermont English. “The Sister’s Tale” written in the vernacular is the best example of Freeman’s adroit ear for the language of these hills.
May 10, 2012
Normally, I find story collections difficult to review, because of the diversity generally found in such collections. However, the dozen stories in this book are all set in the same small Vermont town, and include the same key characters. But rather than being a novel, telling a single story, this book gives us short but intimate glimpses into the lives of the people here. The stories jump around in time, showing the same characters at different points in their lives and relationships. Each story is complete unto itself, and yet they combine as a set to provide a better understanding of life in this setting.
While these stories are set in rural Vermont, I still felt like they described places I know well. The small upstate New York town I grew up in, or the slightly larger town on the edge of the Adirondacks where I went to college could just as easily fit the descriptions here. The characters are people I might have known and their stories as so very similar to the stories from these places where I used to live. Freeman has really captured the heart and soul of his characters and portrays them and their setting with remarkable clarity. He brings the place and its people to life, and makes the reader care about them and the issues they struggle with in their remarkably ordinary lives. Well done.
While these stories are set in rural Vermont, I still felt like they described places I know well. The small upstate New York town I grew up in, or the slightly larger town on the edge of the Adirondacks where I went to college could just as easily fit the descriptions here. The characters are people I might have known and their stories as so very similar to the stories from these places where I used to live. Freeman has really captured the heart and soul of his characters and portrays them and their setting with remarkable clarity. He brings the place and its people to life, and makes the reader care about them and the issues they struggle with in their remarkably ordinary lives. Well done.
July 2, 2012
Mark did a great review of this book (q.v.).
I would have given it 5 stars except for some typos, grammatical mistakes, and a couple rough sections that really needed better editing.
I would have given it 5 stars except for some typos, grammatical mistakes, and a couple rough sections that really needed better editing.
August 12, 2012
I enjoyed this immensely. Castle Freeman has a great ear for dialogue. These twelve stories take place in a small town in rural New England and are strangely fascinating.
August 28, 2012
A simply perfect collection of short stories, most of which can stand alone but, together, make up a mosaic of contemporary rural life off the scenic byways that crisscross Vermont.
January 9, 2016
This collection of 12 linked stories by Castle Freeman, Jr., sheds a bright light on the nuances and complexity of country life in gorgeously spare prose and dialogue that wafts right out of these New England mountains. Connected by the presence (and sometimes the point of view) of the town constable, Homer Patch, these stories weave together lives of hardship and bitterness, often relieved by acts of uncommon grace and forgiveness. The sense of community here is tested--by nature, by death, by infidelity and, ultimately, by each other. We come to believe in these people like the true portraits they are. If a few of the stories feel incomplete or unrealized, that might be forgiven of a writer who strives to dig deep wells in the minds and hearts of his characters and does so in simple, unadorned language. My biggest regret is that, when I got to the last page, there weren't more stories that continued to explore the web that ties together these unique, rounded people.
February 21, 2014
Ok, this is more a non-linear novel with interewoven substories covering 40 years in the life of constable Homer than a short story collection, so it's a good idea to read it again right after you finished it to weave everything together. I read 2 of Freemans novels before (Go With Me and All That I Have) and I loved that stripped-down Raymond Carver style (yes!) but both were really good without being really unique and thus, remarkable but somehow only a glimpse of what could have been. What Freeman could have written if he really went all the way and allowed a less linear story to evolve, would have created supporting characters...
He finally did! Round Mountain is nothing less than a mature work and a masterpiece. If his earlier work was linear, Sharp and precise, Round Mountain is outstanding!!!! Read it! And read it again!!!!
He finally did! Round Mountain is nothing less than a mature work and a masterpiece. If his earlier work was linear, Sharp and precise, Round Mountain is outstanding!!!! Read it! And read it again!!!!
January 5, 2014
When I received this brand new, free (yes, free; check out Concord Free Press)book, I was thrilled to see that Pinkney Benedict had written an introduction to this outstanding collection of stories. What Round Mountain shares with Benedict's work is a keenly rendered depiction of the rural northeast. The stories of Round Mountain are set in Vermont, and Castle Freeman Jr. is pitch perfect in managing the cast of recurring characters, especially Homer, the town constable and the Every Man hero of the book. The writing has an elegant simplicity that I much admired, and each story ended on a note that took my breath away. Round Mountain is some very fine reading.
July 9, 2012
Like a day in Vermont and the people whose well written dialogue tell us everything and nothing in the same country cadence, this collection of stories circles, swirls a bit and slowly unwinds with beauty, fear and awe. Just when you think, "you can't get there from here" Castle Freeman, Jr.'s yarn leads you to the unthinkable.
July 16, 2012
I didn't like this book. The author was too wordy and too descriptive for my taste. This book was definitely not my type of book.
August 12, 2012
Echos of William Faulkner in these simple stories of village life in Northern Vermont. One of the characters is even named Quinton.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews