Triptych (2011 novel)
| Author | J. M. Frey |
|---|---|
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Dragon Moon Press |
|
Publication date
|
April 09, 2011 |
| Media type | Paperback and eBook |
| Pages | 286pp |
| ISBN |
Triptych is a 2011 debut novel by Canadian author J.M. Frey. The novel follows three narrators as they recount the events surrounding major turning points in the life of Gwen Pierson, a languages specialist: Evvie Pierson, Gwen's mother a housewife in rural southern Ontario; Kalp, an alien refugee from a dead planet living in England and Gwen's lover; and Basil Grey, a Welsh computer engineer.
It has been described as both science fiction and as literary fiction, and has been praised for blending both genres. It has also been praised for the distinctive voices of the narrators, and for its structure: the novel, rather than chapters, is segmented into three novella-length parts (each narrated by a different character – Evvie, Kalp, and Basil) which hinge together to tell the whole story. Frey deliberately chose this structure to mimic the artistic triptych technique.
Triptych received a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and was named one of the best Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Horror books of 2011 by Publishers Weekly's Rose Fox. Triptych was also nominated for the CBC Bookie Award for Science Fiction, the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Fiction, and the Lambda Literary Award for Science Fiction. Triptych won best Science Fiction Book at the 2012 San Francisco Book Festival, and was given an honourable mention for Science Fiction Book at the 2012 London Book Festival.
The book was the #2 ebook best seller on Amazon.com its debut weekend, behind George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones.
Before
The novel begins in a small Welsh town in 2013, where Basil Grey, a mechanical engineer and a member of the United Nation's run Institute, has just witnessed his lover, an alien named Kalp, being shot to death in their living room. Basil's coworkers, led by Agent Aitken, shot him for a traitor and a spy, and drag Basil out of the house and to the Institute's interrogation rooms. He is joined by his wife, Gwen Pierson, and as she tries to convince him that Kalp had betrayed them, Basil has a revelation about a small mechanical device he had seen in the Institutes workrooms, which he has nicknamed a "Flasher".
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