What do you think?
Rate this book
The Testimony of Taliesin Jones
Everything in Taliesin Jones's small-town life in Wales has suddenly become uncertain. His mother has run off with her hairdresser. His father has taken to talking to the walls, but at least he's talking, as his brother has gone entirely mute. At school, Julie Dyer blows confusing smoke rings at him and Hoop the Mental says there is no God. When Taliesin tries to find this out for sure no one seems to have the answer-no one except Billy Evans, an old man with an exceptional and miraculous talent."A beautiful meditation on childhood. . . . Brook's voice has been plucked from the babbling tongues of his country and made new."( The Times , London)"Very upright, very moral, very entertaining. . . . You'll find yourself seduced by the quiet power of the Welshman's prose, the subtlety of his narrative technique, with its onion-skin layers of meaning, sympathy, and revelation." ( Time Out )
- GenresFiction
224 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 1996
9 people are currently reading
176 people want to read
About the author
Rhidian Brook
12 books128 followersRhidian Brook (born 1964) is a novelist, screenwriter and broadcaster.
His first novel, The Testimony Of Taliesin Jones (Harper Collins) won three prizes, including the 1997 Somerset Maugham Award, and was made into a film starring Jonathan Pryce. His second novel, Jesus And The Adman (Harper Collins) was published in 1999. His third novel, The Aftermath, was published in April 2013 by Penguin UK, Knopf US and a further 18 publishers around the world. His short stories have been published by The Paris Review, Punch, The New Statesman, Time Out and others; and several were broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Short Story.
His first commission for television - Mr Harvey Lights A Candle - was broadcast in 2005 on BBC1 and starred Timothy Spall. He wrote for the BBC series Silent Witness between 2005-7, and the factual drama Atlantis for BBC1 in 2008. Africa United, his first feature film (Pathe), went on general release in the UK in October 2010. He is adapting The Aftermath as a feature for Scott Free and BBC Film.
He has written articles for papers, including The Observer, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. In 2005, he presented Nailing The Cross, a documentary for BBC1. In 2006 he broadcast a series In The Blood for BBC World Service, recording his family’s journey through the AIDS pandemic. His book about that journey - More Than Eyes Can See - was published by Marion Boyars in 2007.
He has been a regular contributor to Radio 4’s "Thought For The Day" for more than twelve years.
He lives with his wife and two children in London.
His first novel, The Testimony Of Taliesin Jones (Harper Collins) won three prizes, including the 1997 Somerset Maugham Award, and was made into a film starring Jonathan Pryce. His second novel, Jesus And The Adman (Harper Collins) was published in 1999. His third novel, The Aftermath, was published in April 2013 by Penguin UK, Knopf US and a further 18 publishers around the world. His short stories have been published by The Paris Review, Punch, The New Statesman, Time Out and others; and several were broadcast on BBC Radio 4’s Short Story.
His first commission for television - Mr Harvey Lights A Candle - was broadcast in 2005 on BBC1 and starred Timothy Spall. He wrote for the BBC series Silent Witness between 2005-7, and the factual drama Atlantis for BBC1 in 2008. Africa United, his first feature film (Pathe), went on general release in the UK in October 2010. He is adapting The Aftermath as a feature for Scott Free and BBC Film.
He has written articles for papers, including The Observer, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. In 2005, he presented Nailing The Cross, a documentary for BBC1. In 2006 he broadcast a series In The Blood for BBC World Service, recording his family’s journey through the AIDS pandemic. His book about that journey - More Than Eyes Can See - was published by Marion Boyars in 2007.
He has been a regular contributor to Radio 4’s "Thought For The Day" for more than twelve years.
He lives with his wife and two children in London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 19, 2020
A small quiet book in which an eleven year old Welsh boy asks questions fundamental to life. ‘The Testimony of Taliesin Jones’ by Rhidian Brook is the story of Taliesin and his questions about how God fits into his life. “At night the questions come: why am I here and not there? Why am I me and not them? Before I was me, where was I?” It is a novel about growing up, about change, uncertainty and belief, set in Cwmglum, a small rural community in West Wales.
Taliesin’s father is a sheep farmer, his older brother Jonathan has recently gained a girlfriend and learned how to swear convincingly. Their mother left home last year and now lives in West Haven with Toni the hairdresser. “The events of last year linger around the rooms in petrified time. When Taliesin’s mother left, the clocks in the house all stopped. It was she who set the pendulum swinging and it was always her who turned the key of the carriage clock that ticked a furious little tick on the mantelpiece in the sitting room.” Everything that was safe and predictable in Taliesin’s life is suddenly different. And warts are growing all over his hands.
Influenced by the books he reads – his latest book is ‘Lord of the Flies’ – he asks questions, his thoughts peppered with quotes from books he has read. He is anxious, bullied at school, and must find a way to tell his piano teacher Billy Evans that he can’t read music and has been pretending while muddling through by listening. And then he sees Billy, who is also a healer, straighten the back of a bent old woman. When Billy makes Taliesin’s warts disappear, Taliesin wants to heal too and sets up a group at school called The Believers.
I fell for this book from the first page in which Taliesin explores his latest book, an atlas, sent by his mother for his birthday. “He opens the book and releases a smell of paper, a fresh smell that reminds him of exercise books distributed at the beginning of a new school year: green for Geography, pink for Biology, grey for Religious Education.”
This is a book about faith, but it is about so much more. A boy looking for his place in the world, trying to make sense of things, as we all do. It is a simple story, sometimes touching, sometimes funny, with a depth that makes it stay with you afterwards.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
Taliesin’s father is a sheep farmer, his older brother Jonathan has recently gained a girlfriend and learned how to swear convincingly. Their mother left home last year and now lives in West Haven with Toni the hairdresser. “The events of last year linger around the rooms in petrified time. When Taliesin’s mother left, the clocks in the house all stopped. It was she who set the pendulum swinging and it was always her who turned the key of the carriage clock that ticked a furious little tick on the mantelpiece in the sitting room.” Everything that was safe and predictable in Taliesin’s life is suddenly different. And warts are growing all over his hands.
Influenced by the books he reads – his latest book is ‘Lord of the Flies’ – he asks questions, his thoughts peppered with quotes from books he has read. He is anxious, bullied at school, and must find a way to tell his piano teacher Billy Evans that he can’t read music and has been pretending while muddling through by listening. And then he sees Billy, who is also a healer, straighten the back of a bent old woman. When Billy makes Taliesin’s warts disappear, Taliesin wants to heal too and sets up a group at school called The Believers.
I fell for this book from the first page in which Taliesin explores his latest book, an atlas, sent by his mother for his birthday. “He opens the book and releases a smell of paper, a fresh smell that reminds him of exercise books distributed at the beginning of a new school year: green for Geography, pink for Biology, grey for Religious Education.”
This is a book about faith, but it is about so much more. A boy looking for his place in the world, trying to make sense of things, as we all do. It is a simple story, sometimes touching, sometimes funny, with a depth that makes it stay with you afterwards.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-revie...
June 5, 2017
The story was beautiful but not engaging enough to hold my attention. I started the book on the recommendation of a friend but kept finding other books more interesting to read. It really should have taken less time to finish the novel. But I did like the descriptions of Taliesin's inner life. All his questions and observations were child-like. The end of the story was a wonderful word picture. I appreciated Brook's text more at the end than I did at the start and the middle. There was one line that I highlighted as funny. Billy tells Taliesin "You must pray that God will help them. Don't wait for time to heal. Time isn't a great healer--whoever said that hasn't lived. Time is time--it does nothing. It's God that does the healing."p163
March 17, 2021
Taliesin Jones has much to cope with, at eleven years of age his parents are about to split up, his older brother is now into girls, the school bully has him down as his next target, warts have appeared on his fingers, and it seems he is in a minority in his belief in God. How does an otherwise ordinary boy living in a small Welsh village cope when all around him seem to have more important concerns?
While he may be just an ordinary boy, he has a remarkable faith, and encouraged by his ageing music teacher Taliesin proves himself.
This is a delightful tale, beautifully told in descriptive prose that is is both rewarding and enjoyable.
While he may be just an ordinary boy, he has a remarkable faith, and encouraged by his ageing music teacher Taliesin proves himself.
This is a delightful tale, beautifully told in descriptive prose that is is both rewarding and enjoyable.
February 22, 2025
A very quiet, gentle, profoundly religious coming-of-age Welsh novel about a boy and his burgeoning faith in God as his family unit deteriorates. It is only 200 pages, so I’m not sure why it took me over a month to finish it. Much like life in its small-town setting, the pace of this book is very slow and not a lot happens in the story, but Taliesin’s rich inner life undergoes major changes. Interesting and very beautifully written.
September 2, 2019
An 11 year old boy named Taliesin has a difficult year. His mother leaves the home to live with a boyfriend, His father barely pays attention or speaks to anyone. His piano teacher Billy befriends him. Tailesin learns to use prayer to heal himself and others. A sweet book, nice story. I would give this a 3.5.
December 17, 2022
A surprise in looking for Welsh writers and stories. This popped up. It is funny and moving and heart-breaking. Just a lovely coming of age novel. Couldn't put it down. For those who said it didn't hold their attention, it just wasn't their book. Not every book is for every person. I read it over two days.
May 17, 2018
Coming of age book in rural Wales.
May 6, 2019
Enjoyed the beginning of the book and Taliesin's voice … but then it got a bit too religious for me haha. I should have expected that after reading the blurb.
August 27, 2023
Spiritual coming of age story. I really enjoyed the lyrical writing.
July 6, 2014
Quite a cute, quirky little book. A bit too short to go into enough detail on the range of issues it tried to cover though. Would have preferred more focus or more length.
I liked lines like this which illustrate that period of growing up where logic takes over from imagination - 'He was running from nothing but his imagination. The dragon is retreating fast in his mind, running from the inevitable appearance of maturity and sense.'
I liked lines like this which illustrate that period of growing up where logic takes over from imagination - 'He was running from nothing but his imagination. The dragon is retreating fast in his mind, running from the inevitable appearance of maturity and sense.'
Currently reading
November 18, 2008I picked this up on impulse when I saw it in the library because I've always had a soft spot for books about Wales despite the fact that I've never been there and don't know much about it. I'm enjoying this! A clear, sweet little book so far.
May 1, 2009
Fun book for kids and adults.
January 3, 2015
This was an unusual book - I liked it - it may not be everybody's cup of tea. It is about Tallesin's relationship with God and how he explores it.
July 28, 2011
Really well-written.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews