Repurposing Fantasy Island: Lani Wendt Youngs Teles Series and the Politics of Postcolonial Romance

Abstract

[eng]This essay focuses on the YA paranormal romance series Telesā by Samoan writer Lani Wendt Young to discuss how the author repurposes generic conventions to portray island identities and material realities as nuanced and complex. This is accomplished by revising three key island tropes prevalent in western popular narratives about the Pacific: the island as a lush and exotic paradise, the island as a place of sexual freedom, and the island as a site of danger and adventure. The novels create a culturally specific fantasy world which amplifies the scope of popular fiction and is also capable of implementing a postcolonial, feminist and ecocritical agenda, offering discussions of gender violence, neocolonialism and the impact of climate change in the region.</p>