Laura becomes Will's carer, tasked with the job of deciding whether he is capable of living alone or whether he should be taken into care. Thank you, Annika, Definitely chilly and grey for most of the day but I managed to go into the garden when the sun was trying to come out this afternoon and pruned one of my crabapple trees.

The Frequency of Us by Keith Stuart | Waterstones The Frequency of Us by Keith Stuart | Waterstones

Both Will and Laura’s lives are blighted and controlled by thoughts and emotions that overwhelm them making them kindred spirits. BTW I saw your mention of me on your last post – thank you SO much and I will comment in the morning. For me it was enough that this lonely and misunderstood elderly man finally had someone willing to listen to his version of events and like Laura I became an avid listener, caring about the validity of his memories because it was vital for my peace of mind that I believed in the existence of this beautiful love affair. I know some readers weren’t totally convinced by the ending, and well, I’m still thinking about it (and will probably be thinking about it for a long time), but I liked it. The ending gave Stuart the perfect opportunity to resolve the relationship between Laura and her father, and between her estranged parents, and would have created a memorable final chapter.Will’s story alongside Laura’s allows the author sufficient scope to analyse the powerful inner workings of the mind plus its inherent fragility that gives rise to all manner of conditions afflicting the human psyche. I choose this book because of the premise, a man who lost his Austrian wife in WWII and a woman in the present who is depressed and has anxiety attacks and becomes the old man’s caretaker. The book is a wonderful mix of humour and emotion, along with a bit of detective work as Laura tries to piece together Will's past. Laura James, one of the two lead characters in The Frequency of Us, suffers from anxiety and panic attacks.

BBC Radio 4 - The Frequency of Us by Keith Stuart

I was thinking, like other historical fiction novels, this too will sag in the middle and pick up in the end. In the Second World War, Bath, a young naive wrieless engineer, Will, meets German refugee Elsa Klein.His debut novel, A Boy Made Of Blocks, was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club and sold over 200,000 copies. I know Bath very well – I’ve lived in the area for 25 years, so that made recreating the city a little easier, but I needed to discover what it was like 70 years ago.

BBC Sounds - The Frequency of Us by Keith Stuart - Available BBC Sounds - The Frequency of Us by Keith Stuart - Available

We also discover that she has suddenly stopped taking the antidepressants prescribed to her by her GP. The Frequency of Us is a poignant story that follows two main characters - Will and Laura - alternating chapters with their point of views, past and present.Another wave of bombers was coming in for its turn at the city, untroubled by the pathetic patter of distant anti- aircraft fire. The author has maintained an even and steady pacing throughout the story, like a good cup of coffee that's warm from the beginning to finish. I realised from the very beginning that getting the setting and the period detail right was going to be really important.

What is the Frequency of Us? | Hachette UK

Rarely does a novel impact on me to the extent I could read it more than once but The Frequency of Us is one of those novels. There are strange happenings in the book that at times can make us think of a paranormal element, although they can also be explained away in totally rational ways (almost), and there is also a science-fiction background (very light on the science part) that might feel almost an afterthought (but it probably is anything but). Jina, it’s wonderful how my enjoyment of the book is conveyed through the review and glad it’s intrigued you about both this book and Keith Stuart’s other ones. We are all well, thankfully and my first jab next Sunday (Mother’s Day here in the UK) – can’t wait.This was one of those books that captivated me and made feel like I was inside the book with the characters. Social services believe the man, Will Emerson, is suffering from dementia as he has is convinced he was once married to an Austrian refugee who disappeared during the bombing of the city in 1942 – but there is no record of her existence. Do we trust the two lead characters, who are both troubled and anxious and if we do, what happened to Will’s wife, Elsa?