Alabaster by dfotw (PG-13)
Title: Alabaster by dfotw
Fandom: The Merchant of Venice
Pairing: Antonio/Bassanio
Categories: Slash, romance
Length: Medium (1930 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13
Author on LJ: Diamonds on the Soles on my Shoes
Website: None that I can see
Summary: “In sooth, I know now why I am so sad.”
Review:
Short and delightfully precise Shakespeare-slash from a Spanish writer with the occasional unusual turn of phrase. Set some weeks after the end of the play, when Antonio has returned to Venice and taken up the reins of his previous life again, but he finds he's missing Bassanio dreadfully - until unexpectedly Launcelot Gobbo shows up bringing him a letter from his friend. This jolts him out of his misery, and only just in time, too, since the next shock is the arrival of Bassanio in person.
This is a not-unfamiliar storyline, but handled very delicately and persuasively. Writing convincing Shakespeare fiction is a real minefield and must be even more so for someone who was not brought up with English as their first language, which makes the achievement here all the more noteworthy. Although I am not familiar with the particular version of the play this author has seen, the characterisations transfer very nicely to other interpretations; there always was something very particular between Antonio and Bassanio that Portia would have been a fool to interrupt - and Portia here, as in other places, is most certainly not a fool. A more than satisfactory conclusion for the characters!
Link: Alabaster
Fandom: The Merchant of Venice
Pairing: Antonio/Bassanio
Categories: Slash, romance
Length: Medium (1930 words)
Warning: None
Rating: PG-13
Author on LJ: Diamonds on the Soles on my Shoes
Website: None that I can see
Summary: “In sooth, I know now why I am so sad.”
Review:
Short and delightfully precise Shakespeare-slash from a Spanish writer with the occasional unusual turn of phrase. Set some weeks after the end of the play, when Antonio has returned to Venice and taken up the reins of his previous life again, but he finds he's missing Bassanio dreadfully - until unexpectedly Launcelot Gobbo shows up bringing him a letter from his friend. This jolts him out of his misery, and only just in time, too, since the next shock is the arrival of Bassanio in person.
This is a not-unfamiliar storyline, but handled very delicately and persuasively. Writing convincing Shakespeare fiction is a real minefield and must be even more so for someone who was not brought up with English as their first language, which makes the achievement here all the more noteworthy. Although I am not familiar with the particular version of the play this author has seen, the characterisations transfer very nicely to other interpretations; there always was something very particular between Antonio and Bassanio that Portia would have been a fool to interrupt - and Portia here, as in other places, is most certainly not a fool. A more than satisfactory conclusion for the characters!
Link: Alabaster