Book Spotlight: Girl Country

Today I’m spotlighting Girl Country by Jacqueline Vogtman.

The book consists of multiple short stories. Here’s what it’s about!

Jacqueline Vogtman celebrates women in every walk of life, but particularly working-class women, navigating the intersection of the mundane and the magical. In eleven short stories, she writes of medieval Belgium as well as the near future of the American Midwest, populated by mothers and monsters, mermaids and milkmaids, nuns and bus drivers.

Girl Country contains a wide range of genres–from fabulism to historical fiction. “While it’s not afraid of off-the-wall concepts, it’s also not afraid of a lyrical, sentimental love story,” Vogtman said. “The combination of magical realism, speculative near-future stories, historical fiction, the hyper-focus on women, and the emphasis on working-class characters, makes it unique.”

A collection of stories about women, Girl Country gives readers a view of the inner lives of women and girls past, present, and future while offering a glimpse of unexpected grace found within the struggles of any person’s life.

I read the first two short stories and skimmed a few of the others. They were really interesting, but the first two that I read were a bit sad/depressing so I didn’t fully read the rest of the book because I wasn’t really vibing with it currently. I may pick it up again in the future though! And again the stories were pretty interesting, just not currently fitting my mood.

Girl Country is supposed to be a great read for fans of Orange World by Karen Russell and Animal Wife by Lara Ehrlich so if this sounds up your alley, check it out!