In Jacqueline Vogtman’s beautiful, poignant, and haunting short story collection Girl Country, we are invited to explore the female experience in the modern era through the lens of magical realism and a sprinkling of historical fiction. The stories carry strong feminist themes and universal truths that effortlessly blend with nervy craft. Vogtman strikes the perfect balance of strange, bizarre, and true, where nothing is didactic or stereotypical. The stories throughout speak to every walk of life, stories confronting how the world reacts to strange obelisks in an eerily realistic manners and how young women find their faith.
The first story is just as gripping as the last. Its strangeness. Its humanity. Its horror. “Girl Country” follows a farmer after he picks up a girl on the side of the road and becomes embroiled in the conspiracy that the ultra-elite are milking women to keep themselves young. However, the situation quickly becomes horrifying and bone-chilling, and the unlikely pair form a bond, where ultimately it is their friendship that saves them. Another story, “Children and Other Artifacts,” carries the same register. The story is not only about a couple having babies from different time periods, but about how their relationship is strained by mismatched values and changes in life. Many stories throughout this collection have an intense focus on motherhood and the many facets of motherhood—the good, the bad, and the dirty—and each story reads with all the nuances of a lived-in life.
Vogtman has a true talent for perfecting the female experience on the page. Each story gives new insights into the unique experience of being a modern woman, and the joys and pains of motherhood. Not a word is wasted. In the story “BI6FOOT,” the main character describes her mother as follows: “she was a kindergarten teacher and was off for the summer. Spent her days dipping her feet in the same plastic kiddie pool I used to splash in over a decade ago. Her chest flattened under her bathing suit from the mastectomy, a sight that made my knees weak but also made me want to be strong like her.” In this moment of reflection, we learn so much about the character and what she values about her mother. The narrator idolizes her mother in a simple, beautiful, and realistic way. Vogtman’s descriptive prose not only grounds us in the character’s worldview, but throughout the collection Vogtman repeats this feat over and over, giving us the opportunity to experience the world through her women. Her expert depiction of character makes the flow from story to story seamless as we sink deeply into each new narrator’s head.
“The Mermaid and the Pornographer” depicts very real exploitation of a mermaid but again shows us the fear that real women experience every day. In the story, the mermaid undergoes a visceral pursuit by a man who approaches her as she desperately tries to get away: “She glances at his bare feet, then twists back and drags herself more desperately toward the waves, her tail leaving a line in the sand.” Despite the foreign nature of the mermaid, the fear of a strange man is intensely relatable. Even without being able to speak with the man, the mermaid is terrified of her captor, and Vogtman’s gift for relating this tension is vital in a world that is systematically stripping women of their rights.
Girl Country is a magical short story collection that is exceptionally well crafted and a well needed look into the female experience. Vogtman brings a unique voice that deserves to be on everyone’s shelf. Everyone can learn something from reading this collection; something about family, love, faith, or all of the above.
Girl Country, by Jacqueline Vogtman. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Dzanc Books, May 2023. $16.95, paper.
Brianna Kale is a senior at Winthrop University graduating this May with a BA in English. She is passionate about literature, writing, and animals. After graduating she will be pursuing future publication and further education in veterinary medicine. She hopes to better her community by aiding in animal rescue efforts and volunteering at local shelters.
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