Vauhini Vara's 'This is Salvaged' explores womanhood, art as social activism

Vauhini Vara’s debut novel “The Immortal King Rao” wove climate change, capitalism, and genetic manipulation into a sweeping family saga. The book is a Pulitzer Prize finalist this year.

Her follow-up book, however, goes in a much more intimate direction; Vara’s beautiful new collection of short stories takes us into the lives of women and girls, who often struggle to connect and communicate.

Vara started writing the first story in “This is Salvaged” back in 2008 during her mid-20s. Now in her early 40s, she watched her perspective on the characters — from little kids to parents —  shift over time.

“Often for me, a story will start with some situation, maybe a situation I’ve been in or somebody I know has been in,” Vara says. “And then I think about,