At the Full and Change of the Moon

By Dionne Brand

Book Overview

In 1824, on the island of Trinidad, Marie Ursule, queen of a secret society of militant slaves, plots a mass suicide--a quiet, passionate act of revolt. But she cannot bring herself to kill her small daughter, Bola, whom she smuggles away in the early dawn light. As Bola's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren spill out across the world to America, Canada and Europe, they find their lives both haunted and vindicated by the dreams and passions of their defiant ancestor. The interconnected stories of six generations of Marie Ursule's descendants form a lush, beguiling and beautifully told history of dispossession, and bring this Governor General's Award-winning writer into the front rank of the world's novelists.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0676972586
• ISBN13: 9780676972580
• Release Date: May 2000
• Publisher: Knopf Canada
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.5" x 0.8" x 5.5"

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