The Children's Train

Amerigo is largely shaped by his early childhood.  How much are we all shaped by our early childhood experiences?

 There are specific moments in one’s life that shape one's values, motives,  internal true self.  Aside from the children's train, what other events shaped Amerigo,  and how did they impact the person he became and why?  What specific moments in your life shaped your internal "true" self?

Amerigo immediately reconnects with his childhood friend Tomas when he returns to his family's village after his Antoinette's death.   Why is there a comfort level when meeting childhood friends after decades, even if there's been no contact with them at all, that would not exist with adulthood friends?

Amerigo lies often as an adult, seemingly for no good reason, about who he is and what he is doing.  Why is this?

Why doesn't Amerigo have more contact with his mother once he leaves home?

What do you think of Amerigo's mother Antoinette?  Was she a good mother?

Did Amerigo's father really go to the United States?  Was his mother actually ever married at all?  If not, why do the people of her village address her as a married woman?  Surely, they would know if she had never been married.

Why does Antoinette never have Amerigo play the violin for her, yet she buys a TV just to hear him play?

What do you think of the distinction that is made between "charity" and "solidarity" in this novel?

Why didn't the people of northern Italy just give the people from the south recourses so that they could care for their children themselves?

Why could Tomas embrace both families while Amerigo had to choose between one or the other?

Why is the relationship with the mother and Amerigo so strained so many years afterward?

Do you blame Amerigo for not reaching out more to his mother and for not helping her financially once he became an adult?

Antoinette isn't always portrayed as a good mother.  Based on her portrayal, do you think her decision to send Amerigo away was a selfish choice?