Customer Reviews

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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I am not a huge fan of short stories, because it never fails that by the time I find myself invested in them I have reached the last page. Same can be said for `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', a rather delightful little story that is engaging, interesting and very rewarding. Yes, this is a short story, so I'm going to say this straight off; you may not want to invest your money in this version. I actually purchased another version from Amazon that has a few short stories for less money, so try you hand at that collection instead of this singular novel.

But, I wanted to take the time to review the story, because that's what these reviews are all about right, the work itself and not the packaging.

`The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' is a peculiar tale of a man born at the end of his life and has the rare opportunity of growing young, living his life in reverse as it were. F. Scott Fitzgerald states at the beginning of this story that it was inspired by a statement made by Mark Twain, that the best things in life happen at the beginning and the worst at the end. With `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' Fitzgerald plays the cynic, exploring how living life in reverse can be seemingly beneficial yet ultimately devastating.

Benjamin is born a brittle old man with a cane (not literally, but he needs one) and a full mind, and as the year's progress his relationships with those around him shift for various reasons. First he is at odds with his devastated parents who are ashamed of him, but as he grows to meet his father in age they become like brothers. He meets and falls in love with the young Hildegarde, who is attracted to the `older' Benjamin, only to marry her, grow younger than her, and drift apart from her. He takes over his fathers business and prospers because of his newfound energy, yet his youth begins to destroy him as his own son becomes his elder and is thus ashamed of the very sight of his father.

There is a moment within `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' where the elderly Benjamin (in mind, not in physicality) is attending kindergarten and is lamenting over the fact that the other children can talk about what they want to be when they grow up, a prospect that Benjamin will never see.

This to me captures the very point of this story.

Yes, this is a short story of a few pages and it moves rather quickly through Benjamin's life, but it is also written with such rich detail that one never feels jaded. I do wish that this had been written as a full length novel, for it surely has the potential to be one of the most refreshing and moving pieces of literature ever written. It is wildly original (although Fitzgerald himself has mentioned that he has read this prose elsewhere) and it is absurdly poignant. Yes, `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' has such a deep-rooted importance, for when you strip away the preposterousness of the prose there is a moral that is so humanly real we can feel it in the very pit of us.

We have all heard the phrase `the grass is greener on the other side' and this novel is the perfect answer back to that statement, for it proves that we shouldn't always be wishing for something we don't quite understand, because once we have it we may realize it is far from desired.

Normally I don't re-read books, but I've read this one about 4 times now, and I liked it more each time. And it's short, so it's a pretty fast read, and keeps your attention focused from beginning to end. Fitzgerald has such an amazing mastery of imagery and dialogue - reading this book is like watching a mini movie in your head. It's also a unique story in that it's very humorous, but also kind of sad. The two don't normally go together so well. I can't wait to see the movie they're making based on it! It will be interesting to compare their similarities and differences.

This copy (clock on cover & ISBN 1603550836) is a nice trade paperback sized book, not the smaller mass market paperback size you see in romance novels and cheaper paperbacks. It is thin, since it's a short story, but I was very pleased with the quality, and think it will make a great little present/stocking stuffer for my friends. I feel more confident giving a small book like this than a 500 page novel because I've always felt that with people being so busy, they may be hesitant to start a large novel. I also think since the movie opens on Christmas, they will love having a copy of the book to read around the same time.

I read this story before seeing the movie starring Brad Pitt. The story is great and worth reading. It is only 20+ pages, but really interesting. I saw the movie yesterday, and highly recommend the movie. The movie has taken some liberties from the book, but still excellent. Movies are always a little different from the book. I recommend you read this story before seeing the movie.

I gave the book to my 19 year old son to read, and he enjoyed it too. We went to the movie together, and both enjoyed the movie. It was a nice mother/son date. I am an avid reader, but my son normally only reads for school or Harry Potter books, so it was nice that he enjoyed this story too, and wanted to see the movie with his mother. Pick up the book and share it with your family, you might be surprised how much they enjoy reading it too.

I am not a huge fan of short stories, because it never fails that by the time I find myself invested in them I have reached the last page. Same can be said for `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', a rather delightful little story that is engaging, interesting and very rewarding. Yes, this is a short story, so I'm going to say this straight off; you may not want to invest your money in this version. I actually purchased another version from Amazon that has a few short stories for less money, so try you hand at that collection instead of this singular novel.

But, I wanted to take the time to review the story, because that's what these reviews are all about right, the work itself and not the packaging.

`The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' is a peculiar tale of a man born at the end of his life and has the rare opportunity of growing young, living his life in reverse as it were. F. Scott Fitzgerald states at the beginning of this story that it was inspired by a statement made by Mark Twain, that the best things in life happen at the beginning and the worst at the end. With `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' Fitzgerald plays the cynic, exploring how living life in reverse can be seemingly beneficial yet ultimately devastating.

Benjamin is born a brittle old man with a cane (not literally, but he needs one) and a full mind, and as the year's progress his relationships with those around him shift for various reasons. First he is at odds with his devastated parents who are ashamed of him, but as he grows to meet his father in age they become like brothers. He meets and falls in love with the young Hildegarde, who is attracted to the `older' Benjamin, only to marry her, grow younger than her, and drift apart from her. He takes over his fathers business and prospers because of his newfound energy, yet his youth begins to destroy him as his own son becomes his elder and is thus ashamed of the very sight of his father.

There is a moment within `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' where the elderly Benjamin (in mind, not in physicality) is attending kindergarten and is lamenting over the fact that the other children can talk about what they want to be when they grow up, a prospect that Benjamin will never see.

This to me captures the very point of this story.

Yes, this is a short story of a few pages and it moves rather quickly through Benjamin's life, but it is also written with such rich detail that one never feels jaded. I do wish that this had been written as a full length novel, for it surely has the potential to be one of the most refreshing and moving pieces of literature ever written. It is wildly original (although Fitzgerald himself has mentioned that he has read this prose elsewhere) and it is absurdly poignant. Yes, `The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' has such a deep-rooted importance, for when you strip away the preposterousness of the prose there is a moral that is so humanly real we can feel it in the very pit of us.

We have all heard the phrase `the grass is greener on the other side' and this novel is the perfect answer back to that statement, for it proves that we shouldn't always be wishing for something we don't quite understand, because once we have it we may realize it is far from desired.

This is a short story, set in huge type, and will only take an hour or two to read. So don't spend $9 on this book. Instead, read it sitting in Barnes and Noble (like I did), or buy a book of Fitzgerald's works that includes this story.

But DO read this story! It is an incredible short story, a cynical tale (a fairy tale?) with some remarkable, gem-like sentences. If you've read "The Great Gatsby," then you know Fitzgerald can really write. And he proves his skill, again, with this short story. The story is wonderful, and many of its scenes have stuck with me - in particular, the descriptions connected to the lead character's first love.

Also, the tale it tells is fairly odd and striking, and, even if the writing weren't wonderful (as it is), its boldness might, alone, make it worth a read.

Again, while you shouldn't buy this book - it's way overpriced - you should read this story!

Preferable to the story's original form, this graphic adaptation is well-paced and beautifully illustrated (full disclosure: the illustrator is a good friend of mine), both preserving and enhancing Fitzgerald's winking, flowery prose. Kevin Cornell's loose lines and sepia watercolors strike a flexible tone that deftly manages the story's mood swings and evokes the era magnificently. The portraits marking Benjamin's progress in backward aging at the beginning of each chapter are an especially nice touch.

If you've seen the movie "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and are interested in reading the short story which inspired it, here are a few things you may wish to consider.

The short story is very different from the movie. Some examples (spoiler warning: this review discusses plot points from the movie and story): in the story, Benjamin is somehow born basically a full-sized, talking old man who is interested in cigars and having conversations with his grandfather, whereas in the film, although physically in an aged condition, Benjamin is still baby-sized and must learn to talk, and is interested in associating with children when he can. In the short story, Benjamin's wife marries him while she's young and he appears to be around fifty, since she says that she prefers men of that age; later, as he appears younger, he no longer finds her attractive or interesting anymore and goes out having fun without her. In fact, the relationship with the wife in the story is played as just one of many events in his life. The movie, in contrast, is played as an epic romance and frames Benjamin's life almost entirely around their lifelong relationship, which is its central focus. Also, in the short story, Benjamin's mind goes in "reverse" as years go by... he starts out like a stereotypically "cranky" old man, and when he eventually looks like a child, his mind is childlike too (he becomes interested in toys, which he didn't care about when he was first born, for example.) In the film, it's the opposite. Finally, the era the short story takes place in is earlier than in the film (Benjamin is born in 1860 in the short story, therefore he does not live until modern times, as he does in the film.)

Some reviewers have commented on some "unrealistic" elements in the short story that made it hard to suspend disbelief, such as how the doctor and nurses reacted with anger toward Benjamin's father that they had to be involved in such an odd birth. But the key here is to understand that Fitzgerald is satirizing "proper" society, exploring how something so out of the norm is reacted to by those who are preoccupied with their standing in society and worried about how "scandal" might reflect on them. Some of the funniest moments, such as Benjamin's father awkwardly attempting to purchase clothes for his "newborn," arise from this.

I recommend that you read this story if you liked the movie, but realize that although some of the themes are the same, there are a lot of differences between the two. But each has its own merits, and are both satisfying in their own unique ways.

The story is wonderful -- but I can't believe the publisher is charging ten bucks for a story that anyone can read for free on the internet. This book is 64 pages with enormous margins. You'll be done with it in 15 minutes. Save your money, check it out online, and/or get the gorgeous graphic novel adaptation instead.

I had always thought that I had read nearly all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories. It wasn't until the recent film came out that I realised I was wrong. In this collection of seven pieces, The Cut-glass Bowl and May Day are relatively well known but Benjaim Button, O Russet Witch! and The Four Fists were entirely new to me.

There is a heavy vein of irony running throughout Fitzgerald's work. In BB, his family and friends treat his rapidly-shrinking age as if he were persisting in performing a slightly bizarre party-trick of which they were starting to tire.

I particularly like Fitzgerald's perfect ear for words. He describes Button's ageing wife as having, "a faint skirmish of grey hairs in her head", which since he had been talking about the Spanish-American War, is a touch of genius. And in Head and Shoulders (another new story for me) the hero's girlfriend "drapes the last skeins of a Welsh rabbit on her fork" while waiting for him to speak. The author can make even such minor moments in his narratives shine.

Perhaps my favourite story here is Four Fists, in which a businessman philosophically recalls his life in terms of four epiphanies when he was hit on the nose, almost as if were literally having some sense knocked into him.

There is wry comedy too:

"It's the only way," she gasped in a sort of triumphant malignity. "The only thing that keeps old folks like me happy is the sense that they can make other people step around. To be old and rich and have poor descendants is almost as much fun as to be young and beautiful and have ugly sisters"

("O Russet Witch", who proves in the end to be all too human.)

Fitzgerald's dark humor is something which it is almost impossible to transfer to celluloid; the latest attempt with Brad Pitt scorns even to try. However these tales remain masterpieces of the short story genre with their economy of language, wit and cynical eye and are true gems of American literature

It isn't too often that a story really gets you thinking and draws you in like this one does. Interestingly enough, this story was origninally inspired by a remark by another great writer, Mark Twain, who said something like "it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end". F. Scott Fitzgerald toyed with that idea resulting in this delightful story which has just been made into a movie with Brad Pitt.

This edition is nicely designed and easy to read. I haven't seen the movie (personally, I usually prefer the book version), but I loved this book!