Triptych

by James L. Paull

Triptych is an interwoven set of three short stories. The first, Well of Sorrow, is a tale about a gargoyle who lives deep in a well at the edge of town. Hardened by the cruelties of life and at home in his underground pool of sorrow, our gargoyle is visited by a wise and spirited sparrow. In the second story, The Best Boy, a child from Sanctum 3 suffers routine abuse from Father Mason. However, another boy offers him a different kind of life outside of the Sanctum, one more wild and free. In the third story, Mnemosyne, a man finds himself overwhelmingly unsatisfied with cleaning hotel rooms for a living. Catching his reflection in a mirror, he is transported into another dimension where memory herself reveals to him the exact moment when it all began to go wrong. What could his life have been, had he made a different choice at that pivotal moment?

30 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 1, 2020

About the author

James L. Paull studied Writing and Cultural Studies at Southern Cross University. His writing has appeared in Good Reading Magazine, Books+Publishing Magazine and the forthcoming Coastlines 8 Anthology.
He lives in Sydney, Australia.

Reviews

[Andrew Paull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever read a book that was so immersive it felt like you were right there? That's what I experienced while reading Triptych. Each of the three short stories played out as though I were in the middle of them. The descriptive language was clear, the metaphors were crisp, and the emotional pull of the stories had the subtle and inevitable force of gravity. By looking into this book, and engaging with the characters and the circumstances, I ultimately found that I was looking into and discovering things about myself, learning about things I never had words for but always felt were there. Only a great author wields that sort of power. James L. Paull is his name.

[Kirsten Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the description says, this book is a set of three short stories all interwoven with, in my mind, darkness being exposed to the light, evil being defeated by good. The author manages to delicately describe each character’s harrowing experience with such finesse that you can’t put the book down. I really had to stop myself from reading all three stories at once as I wanted to take my time and digest each story properly before moving to the next.
Each story, though with a similar underlying theme, are so very different to the next. I felt the pain of the Gargoyle, the fear of the boy and the frustration of the man. I was emotionally touched in every moment.

This authors writing is so clear and easy to read, yet so descriptive and engaging that I cannot wait what is to come next.

[Barbara Paull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book. Very thought provoking. I recommend it to anyone. I loved it