Pushing intimacy to its limits in prose of unearthly beauty, Vauhini Vara explores the nature of being a child, parent, friend, sibling, neighbour or lover, and the relationships between self and others. A young girl reads the encyclopedia to her elderly neighbour, who is descending into dementia. A pair of teenagers seek intimacy as phone-sex operators. A competitive sibling tries to rise above the drunken mess of her own life to become a loving aunt. One sister consumes the ashes of another. And, in the title story, an experimental artist takes on his most ambitious project yet: constructing a life-size ark according to the Bible's specifications.

In a world defined by estrangement, where is communion to be found? The characters in This Is Salvaged, unmoored in turbulence, are searching fervently for meaning, through one another.

"A dazzling collection full of spellbinding prose...Through unrestrained characters and fresh scenarios, Vara masterfully makes anew what it feels like to be alive" - New York Times Book Review

"A poignant collection of stories that glimpse the salvation of human connection in the midst of modern alienation." - Kirkus Reviews

"Vara invigorates with emotional insights, whimsy, and a precision with language. It's a remarkable achievement" - Publishers Weekly (starred review)