At the Full and Change of the Moon

by Dionne Brand

Book Overview

Written with lyrical fire in a chorus of vividly rendered voices, Dionne Brand's second novel is an epic of the African diaspora across the globe. It begins in 1824 on Trinidad, where Marie-Ursule, queen of a secret slave society called the Sans Peur Regiment, plots a mass suicide. The end of the Sans Peur is also the beginning of a new world, for Marie-Ursule cannot kill her young daughter, Bola -- who escapes to live free and bear a dynasty of descendants...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802137237
• ISBN13: 9780802137234
• Release Date: September 2000
• Publisher: Grove Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

A Poetic Account of Six Generations

A poetic account of six generations born from an act of rebellion and set free into the world, this novel begins on Trinidad as Marie Ursule plots a mass suicide of fellow slaves and ensures the escape of her "vanity and joy," little Bola. Marie Ursule's descendants, born of Bola and her lust for different men, dash off to disparate lives, which Brand describes in separate, always lyrical, chapters. Although Brand's repetitive use of certain phrases can wear thin, she shows a brilliant command of the emotional side of language. I would not recommend this book to casual readers because its emphasis on language and theme, and not plot, might disappoint them; however, this novel has much to offer serious and attentive readers.

Great, but kind of long.

I thought it was an amazing novel, very deep. I think Dionne Brand dwelled to much on simple situations in the plot, which at times made it boring, but overall extremely well written