It was a good book. Takes place in Italy. ( )

Dopo la Seconda guerra mondiale Napoli era una città in ginocchio. L’atavica povertà della città rendeva la vita dei bambini difficile, le condizioni igieniche precarie, nessuna prospettiva per il futuro. Per queste ragioni il Partito comunista organizzò dei treni per consentire alle famiglie che lo desideravano di fare andare i bambini a vivere in Emilia-Romagna, alla ricerca di un futuro possibile. E Viola Ardone racconta la storia di uno di questi bambini, Amerigo, e della madre, Antonietta, che decide di fare partire il figlio su uno di questi treni. A Modena Amerigo trova una vita normale, mangiare non è più un’avventura, la scuola diventa un obbligo e se un bambino ha un talento un violino un dovere. Amerigo torna a Napoli, dalla madre, alla sua vita di stenti e povertà ma quando la madre decide di vendersi il violino il bambino fugge e torna a Modena. E proprio quel violino diventerà lo strumento per vivere una vita normale. Nell’ultimo capitolo Amerigo torna a Napoli per partecipare al funerale della madre e in quell’occasione conoscerà così Carmine, il nipote figlio di Agostino, il fratellino nato dopo la sua fuga e mai conosciuto. La storia è bella ma il valore aggiunto sono le qualità letterarie di Viola Ardone che ha uno stile molto particolare che ricorda il neorealismo ma che non manca di attualità. Molto bello. ( )

I loved it! ( )

Der fast achtjährige Amerigo Speranza lebt 1946 mit seiner alleinerziehenden Mutter im Spanischen Viertel Neapels. Armut, Hunger und Schmutz bestimmen den Alltag. Die Schule hat Amerigo längst verlassen und sammelt Lumpen für ein kleines Salär. Es gibt eine Initiative, verarmte Kinder für ein Jahr in den Norden Italiens in wohlhabende Familien unterzubringen. So gelangt Amerigo nach Bologna. Er ist überwältigt von den reichhaltigen Speisen, von der Schule und von der Musik. Amerigo nennt bald eine Geige sein Eigen und kehrt glücklich und stolz zu seiner Mutter zurück. In Neapel hat sich allerdings nichts geändert und eines Tages ist die Geige verkauft. Der Bestseller aus Italien aus kindlicher, staunender Sicht erzählt, ist sehr emotional, Tränen bei den Leser*innen nicht ausgeschlossen. Ein Highlight dieses Frühjahrs mit kongenialer Covergestaltung (Braune Kinderaugen eines Jungen) ( )

Digital audiobook narrated by Tim Campbell
3.5*** (rounded up)

NOT to be confused with The Orphan Train or other books on that subject, this is a story based on true events, set in post-WW2 Italy. Children from impoverished families in the south were sent north to wealthier communities / families who could care for them. Amerigo, the central figure in this novel, is one such child.

I was not previously aware of this effort in post-war Italy, but I can understand how some parents would make the wrenching decision to send their children away for a chance at a better future. It is interesting to see how these actions by adults were interpreted by the children who were placed – for their own good – in far flung area with complete strangers, some of whom did not treat the children well. But Amerigo is lucky in that the family he joins welcomes him and his foster father recognizes and nurtures Amerigo’s love of music. But this nurturing environment is temporary, and as the country recovers from the deprivations of war, Amerigo is reunited with mother.

A child’s love for his mother may be unwavering, but who can blame him for wanting more than his mother can give, especially once he’s had a taste of those riches? How can the mother reconcile her original selfless decision to send her child to safety with the result of a child who is returned so different from the one she sent away – a child who has been exposed to “more” and naturally wants more now?

While the novel raised some interesting questions (and I look forward to my F2F book club discussion), I was left somewhat dissatisfied. The novel is told in four parts. The first two parts take place in 1946 chronicling Amerigo’s journey north and his experiences there; Part three covers his return to his mother, still impoverished; and Part Four jumps forward to 1994 when 50-year-old Amerigo returns for a visit to Naples. I wish Ardone had spent some time on the intervening years to give us more insight into Amerigo’s development. As it was I didn’t fully understand the person Amerigo became.

Still, there were several scenes that really captured the emotion of the situations both young Amerigo and middle-aged Amerigo experienced.

The audiobook was narrated by Tim Campbell, who did a fine job. He’s believable as both a seven-year-old frightened and impressionable young boy and as a 50-year-old man reflecting on his relationship with his mother.

The story does remind me of other similar situations of which I’m aware. Of course, the aforementioned orphan trains in Depression-era USA, but also the millions of children who were evacuated during WW2 to other countries, in efforts to spare them the horrors of war. One woman I know through a mutual professional association was a child when, first, she and her mother had to leave their Jersey home to avoid the Nazi occupation of that island, and later when her mother sent Jayne from London to the US to avoid the worst of the Blitz. Nine-year-old Jayne landed in a suburb of Milwaukee with a well-off family, where she lived for her formative years. When she returned to England to rejoin her mother she was a 16-year-old teenager and not at all happy to be uprooted from her friends in the USA. Once she was of age, she wrote to her foster father in Wisconsin, who welcomed her back and agreed to help her get established here. Our book club read her memoir - This Token Of Freedom - in 2015. The same book club will be discussing Ardone’s book in January 2022. ( )