sentimental reasons [casablanca, sam/rick, t)
Fandom : Casablanca
Title : Sentimental Reasons by Frostfire
Rating : T
Characters & Pairings : Sam/Rick
Length : 16,570 words
Warnings : None
Summary : "France and I have never had any major arguments that I can remember."
My Rave Review :
We seem to be starting off with small fandoms! I love small fandoms, and am still reveling in the sheer quantity of awesomeness that yuletide produced this year. When I recced this story in my journal, I said, "If you only read one yuletide story, this year, it should be this one." I stand by that; this story is one of the very best stories I read this year.
Like Calvin & Hobbes and The Breakfast Club, Casablanca is one of those canons that we all know. It's iconic, and because it's iconic, it's that much harder for a fic-writer to tackle. Not that I haven't read my fair share of pretty awesome post-movie Rick/Louie or anything, but it's still tricky.
What this story does, though -- and the reason that I have been obsessed with it since I read it the first time -- is tell Sam's story. Sam's story is inextricably entangled with Rick's, with Ilsa's, with Casablanca and the Depression and WWII and the entire world in which the movie and story take place. The author's Sam is a gorgeously written viewpoint character, and his story clearly needed to be told. More than that, however, I don't think I'll ever watch Casablanca in quite the same way again, and I like the new way even better than I liked the old way. For a movie as iconic as this one, that's a seriously impressive feat. Talk about transformative works!
Plus, the slow build of the romance is sad and sweet and powerful, and doesn't negate Rick/Ilsa at all, while simultaneously giving them all as happy endings as they (or we) could hope for. And did I mention that the dialogue is pitch-perfect?
“Sam,” said Ilsa one night, when Richard was off working and she was at the café listening to him, “what was Richard like when you met?”
“Oh,” said Sam, “exactly like he is now. Richard don’t change, Miss Ilsa.”
“Everyone changes,” said Ilsa, and now she was watching his face and not his hands. “Even you, but I can’t imagine it. Have you changed, since you met him?”
He just played for a minute, softly. “Yes, Miss Ilsa,” he said eventually, the truth this time. “I sure have.”
Seriously, I am crazy about this story. Go read it, and then come talk to me about it!
Title : Sentimental Reasons by Frostfire
Rating : T
Characters & Pairings : Sam/Rick
Length : 16,570 words
Warnings : None
Summary : "France and I have never had any major arguments that I can remember."
My Rave Review :
We seem to be starting off with small fandoms! I love small fandoms, and am still reveling in the sheer quantity of awesomeness that yuletide produced this year. When I recced this story in my journal, I said, "If you only read one yuletide story, this year, it should be this one." I stand by that; this story is one of the very best stories I read this year.
Like Calvin & Hobbes and The Breakfast Club, Casablanca is one of those canons that we all know. It's iconic, and because it's iconic, it's that much harder for a fic-writer to tackle. Not that I haven't read my fair share of pretty awesome post-movie Rick/Louie or anything, but it's still tricky.
What this story does, though -- and the reason that I have been obsessed with it since I read it the first time -- is tell Sam's story. Sam's story is inextricably entangled with Rick's, with Ilsa's, with Casablanca and the Depression and WWII and the entire world in which the movie and story take place. The author's Sam is a gorgeously written viewpoint character, and his story clearly needed to be told. More than that, however, I don't think I'll ever watch Casablanca in quite the same way again, and I like the new way even better than I liked the old way. For a movie as iconic as this one, that's a seriously impressive feat. Talk about transformative works!
Plus, the slow build of the romance is sad and sweet and powerful, and doesn't negate Rick/Ilsa at all, while simultaneously giving them all as happy endings as they (or we) could hope for. And did I mention that the dialogue is pitch-perfect?
“Sam,” said Ilsa one night, when Richard was off working and she was at the café listening to him, “what was Richard like when you met?”
“Oh,” said Sam, “exactly like he is now. Richard don’t change, Miss Ilsa.”
“Everyone changes,” said Ilsa, and now she was watching his face and not his hands. “Even you, but I can’t imagine it. Have you changed, since you met him?”
He just played for a minute, softly. “Yes, Miss Ilsa,” he said eventually, the truth this time. “I sure have.”
Seriously, I am crazy about this story. Go read it, and then come talk to me about it!