BOOK 153: THE HISTORY OF LOVE: NICOLE KRAUSS

This is the second novel by the American writer Nicole Krauss, published in 2005. The book was a 2006 finalist for the Orange Prize for Fiction.

The book was optioned by Warner Bros. in early 2005, and was set to be directed by Alfonso Cuarón. He has since dropped out of the project. As of 2015, Radu Mihăileanu is directing the movie based on this book. The film, which is being shot in Montreal, will star Gemma Arterton and Derek Jacobi. It is expected to be released in 2016.

FILM 1289: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

TRIVIA: Guido's wife, Dora, is played by Roberto Benigni's real-life wife, Nicoletta Braschi.

Roberto Benigni says the title comes from a quote by Leon Trotsky. In exile in Mexico, knowing he was about to be killed by Joseph Stalin's assassins, he saw his wife in the garden and wrote that, in spite of everything, "life is beautiful".

Roberto Benigni's Oscar for best actor marked only the second time that an actor had directed himself in an Academy Award winning performance. The other was Laurence Olivier for Hamlet (1948).

Roberto Benigni's Oscar win for Best Actor was the second time a performance completely in Italian had been awarded. The previous winner was Sophia Loren for Two Women (1960).