Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

December 1, 2014

The story of Loren (b. 1934) reads like a love letter to her family and friends--and she rarely has a bad word to say about anyone. There are heartfelt reminiscences of her grandmother ("Mamma Luisa") and mother ("Mammina"), who warned her about romancing Carlo Ponti, a married man 22 years her senior. (She eventually married him anyway.) Also mentioned are late-night walks with neighbor Audrey Hepburn; long dinners with paramour Cary Grant; on-set antics with Charlie Chaplin; and Scrabble games with Richard Burton, who briefly lived with the actress while he was estranged from Elizabeth Taylor. This rags-to-riches tale describes how an illegitimate girl from war-torn Italy, whose facial features were deemed "impossible" to photograph, slowly transitioned from Sofia Scicolone to Sofia Lazzaro to Sophia Loren. Along the way, Loren relays emotional memories such as coping with an unscrupulous father, learning English by reading Mickey Mouse comics and Shakespeare, suffering two miscarriages while the validity of her marriage was questioned, and enduring imprisonment for tax evasion. Named after the 1963 De Sica film in which she appeared, Loren's memoir is similar to her notable striptease in that film: vulnerable yet respectable. VERDICT Best suited for lovers of classic Hollywood, but all memoir lovers will appreciate the star's depictions of her beloved (and doting) sister, children, and grandchildren.--Stephanie Sendaula, Library Journal

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