More Miracle than Bird

Two Stories Audiobook Review: I absolutely adored the narrator of this book. I listened to it late at night, and her voice was soothing to listen to. She made each character sound unique and come alive. I am a fan of historical fiction. I love it when authors explore real life in a fictional way. I've always been a fan of WB Yeats but never had a sense of his personal life other than what is expressed in his poems. Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. It actually seems like it is two books, one part taking place during World War I and the other part focusing on the Yeats’s early marriage. As a nurse and someone who has an interest in metaphysics, I found the first part of the book where Georgie is a wartime nurse and student of the Order of the Golden Dawn to be the most fascinating. This is where the author actually went into a fair amount of detail, showing Georgie’s day-to-day life taking care of wounded men who were convalescing in a woman's private home that she had opened to wounded soldiers; it also showed her night-to-night life as someone who is interested in the metaphysical and occult and is a trying to gain entry into the Order. The author is a poet, and her use of language comes across beautifully throughout the book. But, unfortunately, I did not feel like she actually knew how to construct a story. Even historical fiction needs to have that story shape for us to follow, helping us keep an interest in the characters. Once Yeats and Georgie marry, the author stopped any sort of day-to-day showing of their lives, often skipping over large patches was just a few sentences telling us what had gone on. We see a few glimpses of their married life—which didn't start off so well—and as they become parents. We see the infamous Maude Gonne’s influence mostly through her adult daughter; the final scene with her was disturbing and never resolved in any satisfying way. The book ended abruptly. I couldn't quite believe it when the narrator said that it was the end of the story. I went back and listened to the last chapter to see if I'd missed something—something that suggested that the story was wrapping up. But I did not. Ultimately, I found this story unsatisfying on several levels, and looking back, it feels like a bit of a waste to have listened to it! I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.