Roundabout

by Will Mountain Cox

A group of friends and lovers in Paris weather the polycrisis of contemporary life together and explore cycles of connecting, belonging, departing, and inevitable change in Will Mountain Cox's debut novel.

** Selected as a "Dennis Cooper favorite fiction, poetry, non-fiction, film, art, and internet of 2023" **

** Selected as a Burley Fisher Best Book of 2023 **

** Selected as the Book of the Year by High Horse Magazine **

"A fresh take on the Parisian coming-of-age story, Roundabout also harbors the feel of a classic." — Politics and Prose

"I can sometimes find experiments with the form of the novel a bit tiresome - I'm an Edwardian at heart - but Cox's novel bucked that trend for me." — Tash, Burley Fisher Books' Books of the Year 2023

"It is a small book but once you finish it, you’ll realize that it is a big book. The formulation of it is impressive and the prose reads like poetry as Cox is a self-proclaimed poet. It is an extraordinary feat for a young man to have written." — High Horse Magazine

"It's kinetic in a way I haven't experienced before... this feels like a poet's novel." — Lo Fi Lit Podcast

"Will Mountain Cox is a writer of consequence and vision. Reading his work, both fiction and poetry I can feel the authors need to reveal something just out of reach, be it a truth hidden or an emotion disguised. Will's new novel, Roundabout, searches for such truths and the emotions we sometimes hide from ourselves so as to carry on. Sometimes a writer comes along who speaks for his generation. Will Mountain Cox is such a writer." — Michael Katakis, Author of 'Dangerous Men', Manager of the Ernest Hemingway Literary Estate.

Genres: Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

Published October 8, 2023

Reviews

[Jacob Van Baalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone just turned 30 with a close group of friends that includes some couples, this book certainly hit close to home. I found Cox's observations of individuals and couples so well drawn, and so intersting and quietly insightful. The bookends of the chapters, which all focus on some scene in the titular roundabout, read like MFA exercises on symbolism.

Overall this is a good read, and if you have ever had a group of friends aging together you won't be able to help identifying with them. Cox slips the years by unexpectedly: where I expected the turning of the seasons to be sequential they instead flitted by in spurts and starts. That is an observation I admire--this book's timeline is not bound by the calender but by how the calendar feels.

I look forward to Cox's next work and really appreciate that my bookstore stocked this small press title.

[Michael Price · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written account of the evolving relations between a group of late 20's friends as life begins to pull them apart in different directions.

Will Mountain Cox manages to masterfully weave the intricacies and nuances of social interaction in such a way that you literally feel moments as if they are your own experiences. Hauntingly astute and observant.

I particularly enjoyed the beautifully written vignettes that prelude each chapter and elegantly prime the reader to access a different scene and set of emotions through subtle symbolism.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

picked up on a whim at the red wheelbarrow. i didn’t have any expectations and that made it all the better. the characters themselves were so well written, i feel like i’ve met them before. and the most special surprise was the roundabout, which is one i know well and to see it come alive this way was magic.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a book! Roundabout provides a much needed cure to autofiction.
It is an ode to the chaos and intensity of young friendships taking place in the most cliché crippled city in the world during some of its darkest days and yet it steers clear from all the traps.
It is clever, remarkably poetic, witty, and every single word is exactly where it should be.
For those looking for an alternative to the melodramatic self-indulgent avalanche of books about friendships and their tribulations currently available and/or for those in need of a peek into the Paris that still, miraculously, exists alongside the most beautiful city in the world, look no further. This is an absolute gem.

[Rowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite recent books. Will Mountain Cox is an incredibly exciting young writer who manages to balance style and story in a way that draws you in from start to finish. I have rarely enjoyed a book with such a strong stylistic structure this much. Roundabout pulls you into the lives of a group of friends at the end of their 20s and leaves you with a much-needed new perspective on what truly matters in a fractured time where real-life community feels hard to come by.

[Louis Magowan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoroughly enjoyable read. An excellent insight into and commentary of contemporary Parisian life. The characters are raw, real, relatable. Following them on their journey was a whirlwind of emotions from laugh-out-loud funny to I-need-a-drink sad. Excited to see future work from this talented author.

[J R · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gentle but poignant story that captures beautifully the shifts in love and friendships in your late twenties. Written with a rare empathy, it shows true insight into the often overlooked or overly dramatised experiences of ‘really’ growing up. Very much looking forward to what Cox does next.

[Mark Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Loved the excerpts of free verse that started every chapter. Will did a great job of capturing the ins and outs of late-20s friendships. Plus, learned a little about Paris through the book.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting and masterfully crafted window into the slow weathering of a group of friends in the face of time and change.

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book ! The main characters are very well developed and some of their thoughts and experiences felt extremely honest and relatable.
For someone who has been living in Paris for the past 8/9 years, this book was very powerful in the way it takes you back to the key moments that shaped the city and our lives for the past years.
Finally, I will add that the writing of the book is very playful and poetic in a way that gets you immersed in the global atmosphere of the story.

[M A · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great exploration of friendship. I especially enjoyed the Eli and the Sarah characters. Makes me want to visit Paris and drink wine and argue with my friends.

[Jessica Timmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the book

[Julieta Umpierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

picked it up at bokbar, cosmic coincidence that an hour before i had actually stood in the roundabout, good book but what made it better was the reminder of how insane is to be living here

[Toshali Sengupta · Rating 5 out of 5]

the most beautiful book on Paris I’ve read thus far

[AJ Cloutier · Rating 5 out of 5]

An immediate all time favorite. Was entranced with this from the moment I heard Will read an except in fadensonnen. You can feel everything in every word written. Gonna carry this with me everywhere