"Liesche...the daughter of Hungarian refugees, cleverly weaves her family's history into a fine mystery that is an even finer tale about finding one's roots."
   —Kirkus Reviews

"I was impressed with the sophisticated structure of the novel... how smoothly you tie up all the components, how well you depicted and researched the different scenes of the 1956 revolution and the various participants... and how the revolution and leaving Hungary might have influenced the lives of an entire segment of the Hungarian population."
   —Kinga Szechenyi, author of Stigmatized, A History of Hungary's Internal Deportations During the Communist Dictatorship

"Illuminated by her richly descriptive prose, Liesche keeps us mesmerized by the folding and unfolding of Ildiko's brave quest for answers. A splendid read!"
   —Susan Trott, author of The Holy Man Trilogy

"TRIPTYCH is a beautifully penned, lyrical blend of past and present that focuses on a chapter of history that deserves attention. The Hungarian uprising of 1956 lays bare the longing for freedom of a culture that preceded ours by centuries. You need to read Margit Liesche's poignant tribute. You won't regret it."
   —Libby Fischer Hellman, author of Havana Lost

  Read more reviews here.

  Read the first two chapters (PDF)

  Read Etelka Tatar's review of Triptych for the Hungarian language newspaper, Magyarsag (Canadian publication) (PDF)

TRIPTYCH paints portraits of two sets of mothers and daughters: the first, caught up in the brutalities of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, and the second, in 1980s Chicago, dealing with the lingering effects of the Revolution and trail of secrets left behind.

Budapest, 1956. A national uprising against Soviet occupiers and their reign of terror is underway. Eleven-year-old Evike and her firebrand mother steal deep into battle zones in support of civilian freedom fighters, armed only with primitive weapons and desperate courage, against the heavy artillery of trained Russian troops. Taken in for interrogation by the secret police, Evike spins a story to deflect attention from her mother's revolutionary activities. This story will irrevocably alter lives and reach its tentacles, 30 years later, into the life of Ildiko Palmay.

Chicago, 1986. Ildiko, 37, a librarian and ESL teacher, is the American-born daughter of Hungarian refugees. Unsettled by her life and her romantic failures, she finds herself drawn back to her roots, first to the Hungarian neighborhood of her youth in Chicago—and eventually to the Russian-occupied city of Budapest. Along the way, she meets a magnetic man who may not be what he seems, uncovers a trail of secrets and betrayals forged in the uprising, and discovers the shocking truth about her mother's death.

Poisoned Pen Press, hardcover, October 2013, ISBN: 9781464201783