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Gloria M. (San Jose, CA)
Impressive!
Full disclosure, I was already a fan of Vauhini Vara after reading the 2023 Pulitzer finalist epic "The Immortal King Rao." So, I opened the book "This Is Salvaged" completely prepared to like it. I was not disappointed. This unique collection of ten stories brought to mind an image of excellent bits of amuse-bouche to savor, but absent the need to move on to a main course!
Many of the stories involve children of various ages, and incorporate the search all humans share to find the particular individual meaning of our own life, despite never ending pressures and obstacles and constraints. Vara crafts her words
…more with great skill, eliciting contemplation and emotion and empathy from her readers. Her characters struggle with grief, addiction, and trying to negotiate a purpose while realizing "life is incomprehensible." The reader discovers all the narratives are linked by the characters trying to salvage the best from their existences.
My five star rating is based on the condition that you, the reader, will not consume all the stories in one sitting as I did. I was left feeling as if I had just binged an entire season of some show on a streaming network; slightly mentally overwhelmed and overstimulated with the nagging suspicion that I might have enjoyed them more if I had devoured them a bit more sparingly over a longer expanse of time. Still, I am totally satisfied with this work, and will happily recommend it to all!! (less)I love how intimate and personal short stories can be. The best ones looks like just a peek into a full and detailed world that mostly remains in the author's head. Almost every story in this collection by Ms. Varna satisfied all of these expectations and more. The majority of the stories are written in the first person which increases their intimacy and emotional pull. They all read as fresh and unique, while clearly being written by the same person. There are old, young, male, female, vulnerable and funny characters throughout.
My favorite two stories are 'The Irates' and 'Eighteen Girls'. But don't take my
…more word for it, you should read them all! (less)In Vauhini Vara's This Is Salvaged, the short stories read as a piece of literary art. Each story has the quality of easy readability and immediate depth. However, many of the stories end abruptly and sometimes very unexpectedly. I think this is why I relate the book to a collection of art. I can envision some, if not all of Vara's stories as individual entries in literary essay contests. They seem to be written for a scholarly literary audience.
Relationship intimacy proves a common theme throughout each story and that theme is the tie that binds this collection together.
As far as my personal feelings for the
…more collection of stories; I have to say I appreciate the "art" of them. I read them and recognized the literary accomplishments this writer has justly earned. I enjoyed some stories more than others – "You Are Not Alone", "The Hormone Hypothesis", "What Next" to name a few. However, like all art, sometimes it is a stretch to see and appreciate exactly what the artist is trying to convey, and other times, the art simply does not speak to a particular audience. I do appreciate that each story made me pause and give thought to what the author was conveying, both through words and provoking thought. (less)
Suzanne G. (Tucson, AZ)
Salvaged
This Is Salvaged is an interesting collection of stories. Some stories are difficult to make much sense of the message the author is sending, yet others are upfront and clear as to the author's implication. The author does have an captivating vocabulary. I believe the book would be an excellent book to examine during a book club discussion. And this will be my suggestion when our group recommends choices for 2024.
Jennie R. (Plymouth, MN)
Good collection of short stories…
This collection of stories had so many weird and wonderful characters, Some stories were enjoyable...some were weird in a good way…a couple were too weird for me to make sense of and take in. But they all had in common a wealth of interesting characters, and a different way of looking at each, so the book was an overall hit with me.
Each story was very different from the rest, but each had such intimacy. The intimacy between parent and child, lovers, neighbors, even in the competitiveness of teenagers…and the complexity of relationships.
I can't recall reading anything quite like this in my many years of being
…more an avid reader. There's a freshness in the author's perspectives that I quite liked. (less)I am not usually a fan of short stories. My experiences seem to be rather negative; too short, no plot development and, I didn't care about the characters...maybe because I didn't know them!
I had a totally different experience with "This is Salvaged"! First there was the common theme of "salvaged" in each of the stories. Then the characters, who were so well developed! Not sure how you do that in the pages allowed for each story...Vaugini Vara absolutely nailed it!
There is also something comforting to know you can read one story before you go to sleep. You don't have to wait for the action that leads you to the
…more next chapter and, before you know it it's 2:00am!
Would I like to know what happens in each of these stories, for sure! However, i like that it left the untold story up to me. I am still thinking about some of the characters. I also like that there was suspense in the stories, that also got my imagination going!
I hope that Vauhini will develop some of these into novels, I would like to see where her imagination takes her and if some on the adventures we created match! (less)The short stories presented an interesting common theme — each story presents an aspect of the emotional and physical bodily functions we choose not to discuss but that keeps us all on equal footing. These stories were unique and original in their presentation of humility and humanity.
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,
…more 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". (less)
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