The Children’s Train

Ardone takes a moving look at the experiences of a seven-year-old child in post-WWII Italy in her tender English-language debut. In 1946, Amerigo Speranza is one of a group of children sent by train from Naples to Northern Italy to spend time with an affluent family as part of a Communist Party initiative to provide a break from poverty. Despite their anxieties, the kids remain capable of selflessness, giving up their winter coats for the family they leave behind, making the departure scene a searing one. When Amerigo arrives in Modena, he ends up with Derna, a woman who has no affinity for children; nonetheless, they eventually bond, and Amerigo’s interest in music is nurtured by Derna’s piano tuner cousin-in-law, leading to unexpected complications when he’s reunited with his mother six months later. The overall tone is somber, as the book is told from Amerigo’s perspective looking back on his life, but Ardone does introduce some lighter moments, as when one of Amerigo’s fellow refugee children is asked if he’d ever seen an earthenware pignatta down south. His reply: “We had the sticks but not the pots.” With a mix of stark realism and wistful reflection, Ardone succeeds in portraying the challenges of growing up under trying circumstances. (Jan.)