Kahakauwila utilises the short story genre to present a rich diversity of individual identities within which Indigeneity is a complex, negotiated part. As a reading group, we considered how the stories reject a limited view of Indigenous identity. The stories move across the lines of Kanaka Maoli (Indigenous Hawai’ian) and Haole (foreigners), disrupting the perceived binary between the two. Kahakauwila introduces the reader to complex and contested notions of belonging through characters that anxiously and self-consciously make claims to shared and distinct identities. Kristiana Kahakauwila’s This is Paradise expertly deconstructs this mythology, presenting the reader with six short stories that are at once intimately Hawai’ian and universally relevant. This image of a pristine “paradise” has defined English perceptions of the region since the early 1770s. Hula dancers, pristine beaches and crystal blue waters are the images we expect or even demand of Polynesia – a dream holiday destination. Cover image of Kristiana Kahakauwila’s short story collection This is Paradise
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |