We meet our main character Amerigo Speranza at seven years old in Naples, Italy. He lives alone with his mother (Mamma Antonietta); his older brother died before he was born and his father has gone away to America. Mamma Antonietta makes the hard decision to put Amerigo on a train that will take him north for the winter to be taken care of by a family.
This book was quite touching and really makes you think about the different ways that you can love someone. I had two quotes that really stuck out to me:
1) "Amerigo, sometimes letting you go shows greater love than keeping you" (Page 67).
2) "We loved each other from a distance" (Page 221).
While I thought Antonietta was a bit of a hard mother, I do believe she did everything she could for Amerigo and to help him. She made the tough choice to put him on the train and to send him up North to have someone else take care of him. When I first heard of this book I thought that the children were being sold off, but I was wrong. These families chose to take children in to help them and give them a loving environment for a few months since Naples was destroyed in the war. We see several different sides to how the children react. We see children wanting to go back home immediately because they are homesick and children who want to stay with their new families and not return back to Naples and the life they once had.
I loved Amerigo's adopted family. I thought Derna was a peach and grew to love her. She had a bit of a hard exterior at first, but she and Amerigo really found a family with one another. Amerigo's adopted brothers Rivo and Luzio really touched my heart. I nearly melted when Luzio named the calf after Amerigo and said he was his brother about half way through the book.
Eventually Amerigo's time is up and he has to return to Naples and back to his mother. His mother sells his violin and hides the fact that his Northern family has been sending him letters and packages. Amerigo thinks he has been forgotten by his Northern family, but once he learns the truth he ends up running away and returning to his Northern family where he ends up being adopted.
Part 4 jumps us to 1994, 48 years after the events in Parts 1-3. The whole tone of the book changes in this part of the book. At first I didn't how how I felt about this, but I came to enjoy it and appreciate the difference and the maturity in Amerigo's voice. We find out that his mother died and Amerigo is struggling throughout part 4 with his decision to leave Naples and his mother behind. He grew up to be a talented violinist and we find out from Carmine (his nephew) that Antonietta kept up with what Amerigo was doing and even bought a tv set so she could watch one of his concerts. Throughout part 4 Amerigo lies about his name and who he is, like he's ashamed of his past. He comes full circle and comes to terms with leaving Naples and his life there behind.
I did appreciate that Tommasino was in part 4 and we got to see him as an adult. I especially love that the troubled boy was able to turn his life around and become a juvenile court judge. He has the experiences and can connect to troubled kids.
Another part that touched me was when Carmine brought Amerigo to his mother's house to give him back his original violin that his mother had sold. Antonietta had tracked it down and bought it back so she could give it back to Amerigo
This book was quite touching and really makes you think about the different ways that you can love someone. I had two quotes that really stuck out to me:
1) "Amerigo, sometimes letting you go shows greater love than keeping you" (Page 67).
2) "We loved each other from a distance" (Page 221).
While I thought Antonietta was a bit of a hard mother, I do believe she did everything she could for Amerigo and to help him. She made the tough choice to put him on the train and to send him up North to have someone else take care of him. When I first heard of this book I thought that the children were being sold off, but I was wrong. These families chose to take children in to help them and give them a loving environment for a few months since Naples was destroyed in the war. We see several different sides to how the children react. We see children wanting to go back home immediately because they are homesick and children who want to stay with their new families and not return back to Naples and the life they once had.
I loved Amerigo's adopted family. I thought Derna was a peach and grew to love her. She had a bit of a hard exterior at first, but she and Amerigo really found a family with one another. Amerigo's adopted brothers Rivo and Luzio really touched my heart. I nearly melted when Luzio named the calf after Amerigo and said he was his brother about half way through the book.
Eventually Amerigo's time is up and he has to return to Naples and back to his mother. His mother sells his violin and hides the fact that his Northern family has been sending him letters and packages. Amerigo thinks he has been forgotten by his Northern family, but once he learns the truth he ends up running away and returning to his Northern family where he ends up being adopted.
Part 4 jumps us to 1994, 48 years after the events in Parts 1-3. The whole tone of the book changes in this part of the book. At first I didn't how how I felt about this, but I came to enjoy it and appreciate the difference and the maturity in Amerigo's voice. We find out that his mother died and Amerigo is struggling throughout part 4 with his decision to leave Naples and his mother behind. He grew up to be a talented violinist and we find out from Carmine (his nephew) that Antonietta kept up with what Amerigo was doing and even bought a tv set so she could watch one of his concerts. Throughout part 4 Amerigo lies about his name and who he is, like he's ashamed of his past. He comes full circle and comes to terms with leaving Naples and his life there behind.
I did appreciate that Tommasino was in part 4 and we got to see him as an adult. I especially love that the troubled boy was able to turn his life around and become a juvenile court judge. He has the experiences and can connect to troubled kids.
Another part that touched me was when Carmine brought Amerigo to his mother's house to give him back his original violin that his mother had sold. Antonietta had tracked it down and bought it back so she could give it back to Amerigo