Girl Country - by Jacqueline Vogtman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Winner of the Dzanc Short Story Collection Prize

A near-future farmer battling environmental crises takes in
a mysterious girl he finds on the roadside. A bus driver navigates through
treacherous weather and memories of her tragic past as she races to save
children from the end of the world. A woman keeps giving birth to children from
different time periods. And a woman struggles with her young daughter mysteriously
transforming into something wild and unruly, confronting themes of motherhood
and family.

In Girl Country, stories range from
medieval Belgium to the near-future of the American Midwest, populated by
mothers and monsters, mermaids and milkmaids, nuns and bus drivers--women in
every walk of life, but particularly working-class women, navigating the
intersection of the mundane and the magical. Perfect for fans of Orange World
and Animal Wife, these are stories about women with teeth--wild and
alive.

Review Quotes

"In Girl Country, Jacqueline Vogtman tells stories of
hope and connection in the face of terrifying forces. The stories range in time from the Middle
Ages, to our present day, to a dystopian future that is uncannily
recognizable. Her characters encounter
threats from environmental collapse, economic divide, and social structures
that repress and contain women. Yet the
stories find illumination in the darkness as the characters bend toward empathy
and connection. Read Girl Country, and you'll see the world with a newly
refreshed vision."

--Lawrence Coates, author of Camp Olvido