The Frequency of Us is the third novel by Keith Stuart, published in 2021. His debut novel, A Boy Made Of Blocks, was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club and sold over 200,000 copies.
I hadn’t read a Keith Stuart novel prior to reading The Frequency of Us but after seeing it discussed on Between The Covers I decided to give it a try.
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Plot
During the Second World War, Will, a young, naive wireless engineer, meets Elsa, a Jewish refugee fleeing her Austrian homeland. Elsa is sophisticated, witty and worldly and unlikely anyone Will had previously met in his home city of Bath. The unlikely couple fall in love and despite the war unfolding around them, they are happy to be together.
However after their home is bombed, Will awakes from the wreckage to find himself alone. He frantically searches for his beloved Elsa, only to find that no one has heard of her. They tell Will he was never married.
Seventy years on, in the present day, Laura is struggling with anxiety and depression. She decides to stop taking her medication and is offered a job working in social services. She is introduced to an old man whose house hasn’t changed since the war, who insists his wife vanished decades ago. Does this old man suffer from dementia? Or is something more unusual happening? It is up to Laura to find out the truth.
The Frequency of Us Book Review
I loved the start of this book and particularly loved Elsa and Will’s love story. Will was such an endearing character and I loved how he blossomed with Elsa by his side. I love a grand sweeping romance and I’m a massive fan of WW2 fiction so this should have been an ideal read for me.
However, as the story progressed it lost me a little. I’m not sure what I expected but as the novel took a turn into science-fiction I really struggled with it. It was definitely imaginative but I found myself questioning what I had just read. It all felt a bit too rushed in the last couple of chapters and I struggled to accept the explanation of what had happened.
It’s hard to say any more without including spoilers but after a very promising start, the book left me feeling a little disappointed. I was invested in Will and Elsa’s romance though and that kept me reading until the end.
What should I read after The Frequency of Us?
If you enjoyed The Frequency of Us, I would also recommend Sea of Tranquility by Emily St John Mandel and The Clockmaker’s Wife by Daisy Wood.