Time passes

Author: Xu Mingchun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Features: Finally, there is a novel that continues to tell the story of the men and women from the film Casablanca (formerly translated as Northwest Corner). This is a captivating novel filled with wartime adventures and conspiracies, narrating what happens after Ilsa and Rick leave Casablanca. It takes you back in time for an exhilarating journey and immerses you in the story that every Casablanca fan has been waiting for since 1943.
Excerpt: Chapter 2
When the plane rose into the high night sky, Ilsa Lund turned to face her husband. The plane first flew directly over the city, then shot straight up toward the sea. The last place she saw Casablanca was where Rick stood. Under the rare streetlights, the place seemed quiet and desolate. Stains of tears still remained on her face. She didn’t want to wipe them away. This was the only thing she had left. She whispered, “Everything happened so fast.” It was too fast. From surprise to shock to excitement to danger, now it was relief, relief mixed with too much sorrow and regret. She said in a low voice, “I didn’t even know he would be in Casablanca!” More to herself than to Viktor, she added, “How could I have known? Fortunately, fate brought us to him, to him, he had a pass! I know you were angry about what happened between me and Rick in Paris. Please don’t be like that. Doesn’t the outcome show that everything turned out well? If he hadn’t had a pass, where would we be now? What would we have done?” She clutched his arm tightly, hoping he could still hear the beat of her heart through the hum of the plane engines. She said, “Oh, Viktor, surely you don’t understand? I thought you were dead. I thought my life was over. I was alone. I had nothing, not even hope. Oh, I don’t know. I don’t remember anything!” She started crying again, but she didn’t know why she was crying or for whom. As the plane bumped through the clouds, she gently wiped her eyes with a handkerchief. When she regained her composure, she said, “Later, I heard you were still alive and that you needed me to fight alongside you. In the past year and a half, there were several times you could have abandoned me—in Lille, when I had trouble with the authorities; in Marseille, during the two weeks I was sick, when you took good care of me as I recovered; and in Casablanca, when you had the chance to buy a pass and leave. But you never did. Now I understand why you kept our marriage a secret, even from our friends, because then the Gestapo would never have suspected I was your wife.” She tried to make Viktor look at her, but he was still staring ahead, as if lost in thought. She thought for the first time: Did he hear a word of what she said? How could he have so much on his mind? She finally said, “Tell me, tell me, you’re not too angry with me.” He reached out and gently but somewhat absentmindedly patted her arm. He said, “Anger and jealousy are not emotions I need in my life. Besides, there is so much important work ahead of us. How could I be angry with you?” Ilsa replied, “Yes, Viktor.” Did he not understand what she meant? Was it impossible for him? “How could you?”
Afterword: The film Casablanca is almost universally loved and well-known in China. Therefore, translating a novel about Casablanca, such as this one titled As Time Goes By, felt like both a challenge and a risk—as the author mentions in the “Afterword” of this book. So, what was our solution? Only one: to find as much relevant Chinese material as possible. However, the available resources were extremely limited, and time was tight, so we had no choice but to attempt the translation based on the limited information we had. For example, the restaurant Rick owned in Casablanca was originally in French: Rick’s Café Arnerican, meaning “American Rick’s Café (or Restaurant).” However, in the Shorter Encyclop?dia Britannica, under the entry for Bogart (referred to as “Bogart” in the Great Encyclopedia of China), it is stated that Rick was the owner of a cabaret restaurant. In the Complete Collection of English Songs, it was translated as “Rick’s Restaurant.” In the end, we decided to translate it as “Rick’s Restaurant.” (For words with multiple translations, we have added the original text where possible to assist readers.) Additionally, we made appropriate adjustments to the translations of character names, such as not translating “Laszlo” as “Laszlo” (instead of “Lasro,” etc.). Cases like this are too numerous to list here. The English title of this book, As Time Goes By, is the title of the theme song from the film Casablanca. It can also be translated as “Year After Year” or “As Time Goes By.” Due to the fame of the film Casablanca, the translator decided to name this book As Time Goes By. Given the translator’s limited knowledge and time constraints, it is inevitable that errors and inaccuracies may exist. We sincerely welcome criticism and corrections from readers. During the translation process of this book, we received strong support and assistance from comrades such as Wang Xianghong and Xu Haonan, especially Comrade Li Jianye. We express our deep gratitude to them.