More Miracle Than Bird

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Georgie Hyde-Lees works at a war hospital at the beginning of World War I. She meets poet W. B. Yeats at a London party and falls for him despite their large age difference.

The language in the narrative is beautiful, as you would expect from a poet. But the same beauty also makes the story feel stuffy and old fashioned, as if the book was written during World War I instead of taking place during the time period.

The plot is not a quick-moving one as the book is more focused on Georgie's friends and interactions. As a woman in the 1910s, she doesn't have a very exciting life, even though her activities were far from normal. She joins the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, which is a society focused on the occult. As an academic speaking several languages, she enjoys studying the order's texts when she's not working at the hospital.

There's a love triangle in the book. Georgie loves W. B. Yeats, but a soldier at the hospital also has feelings for Georgie. This part of the storyline seems extraneous and doesn't add anything to Georgie's tale.

Polly Lee has a soothing voice, and her English accent adds to the effect. The overall quality of the production lives up to Recorded Books' high standard.

Recommended for those interested in W. B. Yeats and his family and readers fascinated by the lives of women in the early 1900s.

Alice Miller is a poet and writer who graduated from the International Institute of Modern Letters and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. She currently lives in Berlin and was raised in New Zealand. More Miracle Than Bird is her first novel.

Publisher: Recorded Books (audiobook), Tin House Books (print)

Narrator: Polly Lee

Running Time: 9 hours, 23 minutes

Release Date: June 2, 2020

I received an electronic audio recording of this title from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.