In 1878, Ally Moberley had just become one of Britain’s first female doctors, and after years of self-denial also fell in love with lighthouse engineer Tom Cavendish. The two marry just before Tom leaves on a long-term assignment in Japan. During her studies Ally developed a keen interest in women’s health, especially mental health, and in Tom’s absence begins her career with an unpaid position at a women’s asylum. Ally struggles to overcome the extreme emotional abuse inflicted by her mother, whose criticisms are a constant drumbeat in Ally’s mind.

Meanwhile, Tom has approached the Japanese assignment with an unusually healthy open mind. He explores the countryside, gets to know a couple of local guides, and learns a great deal about everything from cultural norms to art. The experience has a profound impact on him, and has mixed feelings about returning to England.

Signs for Lost Children is a sequel to Bodies of Light, and while it can be enjoyed as a standalone, reading the first book will add depth. Most of the novel is about Ally and Tom living apart and experiencing personal growth that could complicate their reunion. For me, this part was resolved hastily and was a bit too tidy, but I would still recommend this book for any fans of Sarah Moss or novels set in this time period. ( )

If you have read Bodies of Light, then Ally, now qualified as a doctor, will be familiar. She is now married to Tom, the engineer and they are only together for a few weeks after their wedding when Tom sails to Japan to build lighthouses. Ally is working at the asylum in Truro. Ally's work at the asylum and her description of the women is interesting and I was settling into the novel when she is called to Manchester by her mother. Her time with her mother is so uncomfortable I physically found it difficult to read and was so relieved when she was recuperating in London with her aunt. This is mostly about Ally and Tom separately, the chapters alternating. It was Ally's story that was most compelling for me, although Tom's experiences in Japan were fascinating. I didn't find this a comfortable book to read but it had plenty to keep me reading, mainly excellent and strong characters that I wanted to keep walking alongside. ( )

Beautiful, wistful, painful - we rejoin Ally Moberley - now Doctor Ally Moberley-Cavendish - as she prepares to wave her new husband goodbye. Can their young marriage survive a separation of many months as he sets out to Japan? Left alone in a strange place, with the pressures of being not only one of England's first women doctors, but one of the first to work in an asylum, can Ally quiet her own unsettled mind or will her demons get the better of her? Alone in a country that is foreign in ways he could never imagine, can Tom stay true to his new wife, or will he be seduced by difference and distance? Can the young couple find their way home to one another?

This is feelings all the way down - fierce in its acknowledgement of the battles faced by women fighting for equality; gentle in its understanding of the battles faced by anyone who struggles with their mental health; and - above all else - clear in its message that it is kindness we should cherish above all else. That the worth of a life is not measured in hard work or self-sacrifice so much as in the small ways we can spend it caring for one another.

Sorry, Tom. It's all about Ally for me, and her journey here is a wonderful sequel to her struggles through Bodies of Light.

Full review ( )

I hadn't picked this book till now because I'm not a big fan of historical fiction, but I now conclude that Sarah Moss can probably make any topic interesting. I really like her work, although it's very hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that appeals. I think it's probably the right balance of internal thoughts and external actions that connects with me. More than that, I reckon she's able to present characters who are fully three-dimensional - with insecurities and doubts as well as achievements and attractions. And this applies equally to men and women. In this novel I also found a fascination with Japanese culture and its impact on an English engineer, Tom, who visits. I found myself to be influenced towards adopting aspects of a (19th century) Japanese lifestyle, such was the engineer's experience. The main character, Ally, is very much under the control of her mother, and how Ally deals with that influence is a large part of the story. I found this to be very satisfying, showing the true complexity of such a relationship in which the maternal manipulation is done in the name of 'good'. The one thing that troubled me with this story was my failure to understand the ending. Perhaps this is my problem, but there must be other simple readers out there who also needed to be taken more by the hand? ( )

I have not read the prequel to this book, Bodies of Light, but that did not keep me from enjoying this book. Ally moved to London to attend medical school and get away from her overbearing missionary mother in the 1880’s. She falls in love with an engineer. Her husband, Tom, is sent to Japan to plan the building of lighthouses. The juxtaposition of her fear of failing at the Hospital for the Mentally Ill, and the berating she continues to hear in her head from her mother, as well as the voice of her dead sister, telling her to live her own life and not worry about her mother’s dissatisfaction and Tom’s falling in love with the simplicity and gentle beauty of Japan is nicely done. ( )