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There are currently 26 member reviews
for This Is Salvaged
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Marilyn T. (Los Angeles, CA)
This Is Salvaged: Stories
The common bond in this impressive collection of ten thought-provoking short stories is communication; as characters try to connect with others. Adult, teen, and child narrators offer a range of experiences and perspectives; some of these naïve, unreliable or flawed. In "You Are Not Alone", a new wife who has left her family in Brazil, contemplates the challenge of becoming a stepmother: "She will have to learn how to speak to a young girl in a language that isn't her own, she will have to learn motherhood." (p90)
Not all of the stories worked for me; but the ones that I found most memorable offered nuance, insight, and hope. Vara writes beautifully, and packs a good deal of character development; message and meaning into these short tales. Her work is perceptive and balanced; though I especially appreciated her female characters; some flawed, some fearful or feisty. I also delighted in the appreciation of print encyclopedias in "Sibyls"; and the comfort reading together brings mother and child in "Puppet Master Made the Puppets".
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Margot P. (Mandeville, LA)
Stories to think about
I am very glad I read this collection over time - never reading more than one at any sitting. The stories are very intimate feeling - all but one is told in the first person. Vara tackles a myriad of themes: grief, belonging, but mostly the question, how do we survive in this world and manage to salvage anything meaningful? Indeed these are not exactly uplifting stories but Vara's accurate observations of human nature and her polished way with words combine to make this a worthwhile collection. The only story I did not care for at all was The Eighteen Girls. I felt she resorted too much on shock value at the end.
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Regina G. (Groveland, FL)
Messy and Meaningful Moments
This is a beautifully written collection of short stories about the bonds we hold, the grief we share, and the tender and messy relationships that define our memories and actions. The stories are insightful, a few are strange, and all of them are small gems to hold. I recommend not rushing through the book in one sitting, and you may want to read some again to savor them fully. In any short story collection, you will enjoy some more than others, and my favorites were The Hormone Hypothesis, The Eighteen Girls, What Next, and Sibyls. I felt Sybils was the perfect piece to end the collection, and it holds the inspiration for the cover, I believe. I enjoyed this thoughtful, realistic, unflinching, and unique collection of moments.
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Jane B. (Chicago, IL)
When trouble strikes-the afterward is what is salvaged
After the first two stories in this collection, one begins to anticipate that something will go wrong in the lives of the characters. And there won't always be a redemption or solution at least in the space of the short story. Then you get to Unknown Unknowns and The Hormone Hypothesis and it's possible to think the author has in fact named this collection after the stories she retrieved from the dumpster. I like This Is Salvaged (the story) the best. It struck just the right mix of disaster and comedy. Sibyls was also very satisfying. The last paragraph of I Buffalo is the stuff of your darkest dreams.
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Mary A. (Lake Nebagamon, WI)
A Must Read
It is rare that I read a book of short stories, but this is a must read. These stories are down to earth, full of intimate feelings and show the need for human connection. There are a few bizarre sentences that make it unusual.
In "This is Salvaged" Marlon the artist loses everything he created and yet he makes the best of it to continue on with dreams. Maybe the questions we ask ourselves are not the right questions in " Unknown Unknowns". My favorite "Hormone Hypothesis" is great in showing how woman need to connect with each other in order to better understand ourselves. This is a book to read more than once.
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Junko W. (Pahoa, HI)
This Is Salvaged
I read the stories straight through. Some I enjoyed and liked. Some left me puzzled. I decided to reread the stories; this time one story at a time. I'm getting more out of the stories this time. I suggest this book for those readers who especially like short stories. I'm not much of one.
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Susan L. (Alexandria, VA)
A Collection of Loneliness and Loss
This is Salvaged captured the essence of grief, loss and loneliness. Each story had its own voice, perspective and cast of well-drawn characters. Each was a world of its own. Some worlds I connected with more than others, but they all succeeded in saying something unique about loss. Overall, the collection worked. The writing shone. But ultimately, I didn't connect with it as much as I had hoped. I appreciated the craft and quality of the writing, and enjoyed some of the stories. The others were a miss for me, despite the quality of the writing. But that is the risk of a short story collection.
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