A review by avitalgadcykman
At the Full and Change of the Moon by Dionne Brand

5.0

An inter-generational story of Caribbean slavery and diaspora, written by the Canadian author Dionne Brand, born in the Caribbean.This neo-slave narrative, a story of a Trinidadian slave and her descendants, accompanies the family from Trinidad to Amsterdam in the twentieth century. The novel begins in 1802 when a female slave leads a mass suicide revolt, releasing from it only her daughter, and dies tortured yet realized. The real and the imagined tie the daughter with her memories, and affect the way she treats her own children, her senses, nature and lovers. Her memory, pain, hope, and unconventional behavior mark the future of the family.
The book does many great things, breaking with certain conventions for one, sticking to others, questioning a lot. The prose is flowery-I am wondering if it is intentional-a usage of a Caribbean storytelling tradition, or Brand's style.
On a second reading I love it much more. The poetry, the characterization, the thread of suffering and struggle are admirable.