As Time Goes By: A Novel of Casablanca

Loved the book. Always wondered what happened after the end of Casablanca

Was bought for my 65 year old Dad and he loved it.

I enjoyed this, but the Kindle edition doesn't seem to have had the benefit of a proofreader! Luckily I have the print version too, so was able to fill in the several missing lines!

I came across this book quite by accident in a charity shop and grabbed it at once, as I am a great fan of the wartime thriller Casablanca.I found this sequel very interesting which tied up many of the loose ends from the film, also we learn about Rick Blaine himself (Humphrey Boggart) his life before the war in New York. This was a well written piece of literature, blending in fact and fiction together. Whats more none of the main characters lost their personalities, the story managed to keep the shadowy black and white atmosphere of spy espionage ww2 settings as portrayed in the film.This sequel was fantastic. This was a good old fashioned spy thriller full of suspense which gave the film closure. I always felt that we were left wondering what would happen to Rick and Isla at the end of the film. This book carries on where the film left off. A brilliant read full of historic fact.

Was bought for a murder themed evening where it was set in Casablanca! A well looked after book as it was second hand.

"Casablanca" is a true great film and this book starts at the end of that film and adds a compelling continuation of the story and also offers insight into Rick Blaine's past in New York and ties up many loose ends.The characterisation and dialogue are consistent with the film and the storyline makes for a tense and exciting thriller but also with the romance that made the film so terrific in the first place.As a self-confessed Casablanca fan and also a fan of Bogart in general i really enjoyed reading it, my fear that it might detract from the film or contradict it was thankfully unfounded.I can't recommend it enough.

As Time Goes By: A Novel of Casablanca was ex-Time magazine music critic Michael Walsh’s second novel, and it serves as both prequel and sequel to one of the most popular movies of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Unlike Scarlett, Alexandra Ripley’s sequel to Margaret Mitchell‘s Gone With the Wind, As Time Goes By was neither widely praised nor reviled, perhaps because there was not as much media scrutiny for Walsh’s exploration of the lives of Ilsa, Rick, Victor Laszlo, Louis Renault, Sam, and all “the usual suspects” after the fade-to-black in Casablanca.Walsh was no fool when he undertook this project. Indeed, in his afterword, he says. “Everyone knows Casablanca. Everyone loves Casablanca. Therein lies both the challenge and the danger of writing a novel of Casablanca.”Walsh’s approach is to treat the movie as a centerpiece sandwiched between the two timelines depicted in the 38 chapters of his novel. His prose is crisp and fast moving, echoing the tone of the Epstein Twins’ screenplay while expanding the story both backward to Rick Blaine’s past in New York’s seedy underworld and to a perilous mission in Victor Laszlo’s Nazi-occupied homeland, Czechoslovakia.Purists -- and I know there are always going to be Casablanca fans who feel this way -- will probably say the movie was fine without a sequel (forgetting or ignoring the two failed TV series based on Casablanca), but this book is a pleasure to read. Particularly worth noting is how Walsh blends Casablanca’s fictional characters and historical reality. At the heart of As Time Goes By is Victor Laszlo’s involvement in Operation Hangman, the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, the Nazi “Protector of Moravia and Bohemia” and architect of Hitler’s “final solution.” Although the inclusion of the Casablanca cast is fiction, the details of the operation and of its tragic aftermath are historically accurate.Another bonus is Walsh’s literary talent. His narrative captures the pace of its source perfectly, and his ear for the characters’ voices is almost uncanny. Readers who allow themselves to fall under this novel’s spell will hear the voices of Claude Rains, Paul Heinreid, Ingrid Bergman, and especially Humphrey Bogart in the exchanges between characters. There are also many “inside gags” for knowing Casablanca fans within the pages of this wonderful novel, such as the inclusion of “As Time Goes By” composer Herman Hupfeld, into the storyline. Like the movie it plays homage to, As Time Goes By is romantic, witty, and dramatic.

My husband is a life-long Casa Blanca fan. We're both avid readers and while I haven't read this one yet, he tells me the story was interesting and true to the original Casa Blanca characters.

Such an amazing read. Couldn't put it down

正当な続編ではないのですが、あの名作映画「カサブランカ」の続編です。主人公を複数的に描いているためかリックの活躍が相対的に少なくなっています。その代わりルイやラズロの活躍が増えており、同時に各キャラの経歴なり、過去なりが詳細に描かれています。舞台はカサブランカを離れ、ロンドン、プラハと移り、実際の歴史でも発生した「ハイドリヒ暗殺」が物語の中心軸になります。敵はドイツになっていますが、イギリスの巧みな（同時に陰湿な）手法が伝わってくる話でもあります。

Casablanca is my all time favorite movie. I did not know until this year that there was a sequel done in novel form. And it was everything I would have wanted. From Rick's back story and answers to questions , like why he couldn't return to America, how he and Ilsa met, what Ilsa and Lazlo discussed in the plane and so much more. The ending is wonderful and so satisfying. My hats off to Micheal Walsh for fulfilling my Casablanca dreams!

Great combination prequal and sequel. It is best if you can also watch the motion picture " Casablanca" at the right moment(s) in the book.