At the Full and Change of the Moon is a novel by Canadian novelist Dionne Brand that traces Marie Ursule’s descendants spanning centuries through different continents on the globe. During the 19th century, Marie is a slave on a farming estate where she leads a group of slaves to commit mass suicide as a form of protest. She is survived by her young daughter Bola whom she smuggled into new territories where she would give birth to a generation of descendants that go on to spread throughout America, Europe, and the Caribbean.
Marie’s descendants are plagued by the same issues that plagued Marie as a slave. They possess an inferior complex tied to their slave history, pain, sacrifice, and poverty. One of the descendants becomes a warrior fighting for king and country while another dedicates himself to his religious beliefs. One of the other descendants falls prey to drug abuse and another sells sex for a living.
As the narrative catches momentum, the imagery and texture become more vivid. The characters take shape as they grow and give birth to a new era of characters that further connect and relate to the reader in modern times. Brand’s wise words tell the story of an African descent that migrates all around the world in six centuries.
Brand’s lyrical and poetic words live through different generations as they evolve and change in the new world. The descendants survive both world wars and the tumultuous economic ruins of the 20th century. At the Full and Change of the Moon is a hypnotic, magical, and hypnotically arranged set of narratives that are full of fascination, horror, and grief.
