Fanpire: The Twilight Saga and the Women Who Love it
“A thought-provoking and entertaining take on the Twilight phenomenon.”—Publishers Weekly “Tanya Erzen ventures into ‘the Twilight zone’ in this compelling and ultimately sympathetic foray into fan culture, exploring the appeal of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight books and movies in a postfeminist age. Erzen argues that what fansdowith a text is as important as, or even more important than, the text itself. PartCinderella Ate My DaughterandpartReviving Ophelia,Erzen’s book is my own personal brand of heroin.”—Jana Riess, author ofWhat Would Buffy Do?andFlunking Sainthood “Tanya Erzen’sFanpireprovides a much-needed portrait of the girls and women who love Twilight. From how the series appeals to girls’ and women’s ideas of pleasure, power, and romance to the ways in which the love of these books has forged communities and friendships among women, Erzen’s window onto these subjects is both sympathetic and critical.Fanpireis sure to fascinate and, at times, trouble anyone interested in the lives of girls and women today.”—Donna Freitas, author ofSex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America’s College Campuses “In this carefully researched and insightful account of Twilighters, TwiMoms, WussPerv writers, and other participants in the Twilight universe, Tanya Erzen explores the complicated waterways of Twilight fandom. Listening and engaging with fans of all ages, Erzen’s account of the Twilight empire and the girls and women who love it opens up new ways of thinking about the gendered dimensions of romance, the persistence of the genre among female fans, and the perils and potential of online and offline female fandom.”—Carol Stabile, author ofWhite Victims, Black Villains: Gender, Race, and Crime News in US Culture “The Twilight phenomenon is too vast and strange to be ignored. Tanya Erzen digs deep into the fandom and finds the confused, the grasping, and even the self-assured among them. It’s always odd, like a horror book should be, but never boring.”—Amanda Marcotte, author ofIt’s a Jungle Out ThereFrom the Hardcover edition.