The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

By Francis Scott Fitzgerald

This story was inspired by a remark of Mark Twain's to the effect that it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end. By trying the experiment upon only one man in a perfectly normal world I have scarcely given his idea a fair trial. Several weeks after completing it, I discovered an almost identical plot in Samuel Butler's "Note-books."

The story was published in "Collier's" last summer and provoked this startling letter from an anonymous admirer in Cincinnati:

"Sir--

I have read the story Benjamin Button in Colliers and I wish to say that as a short story writer you would make a good lunatic I have seen many peices of cheese in my life but of all the peices of cheese I have ever seen you are the biggest peice. I hate to waste a peice of stationary on you but I will."

• Language: English
• Publisher: MVP
• Release date: Dec 12, 2018
• ISBN: 9782291061991

Francis Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Fitzgerald (Saint Paul, 1896-Hollywood, 1940) es considerado uno de los más importantes escritores estadounidenses del siglo XX y el portavoz de la generación perdida. El gran Gatsby se publicó por primera vez en 1925 y fue inmediatamente celebrada como una obra maestra por autores como T. S. Eliot, Gertrude Stein o Edith Wharton.

Book preview

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Reviews for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

[benjaminhahn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A unique story, particularly for F. Scott Fitzgerald. I was greatly impressed by the film which I think did a better job of capturing the profound sadness of Benjamin Button, especially at the end of the story. The book gets at it too, but the film had more of an effect on me in that you simply get to see more of Benjamin Button's life and thus had more of a connection. Plus the love story in the film is much more profound.

[thedivineoomba · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very fast read (what else from a short story?) that captures the essence of the differences between old and young. You truly feel for Benjamin Button and his "Curious Case". I haven't seen the movie based on this short story. I found the book at my local bookstore, and bought it to support the business. I suggest borrowing or locating a collection of Fitzgerald's short stories.

[yonitdm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very well written and interesting. You really felt for the characters.

[krazy4katz · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

A short story of a person who lives their life in reverse. I have not seen the movie. Of course the language is elegant, but after the first few pages, it becomes too predictable and not funny enough to hold my attention. The ending was sad, though. Imagine shrinking into nothingness...

[michcall · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An intriguing and depressing story. I enjoyed the social commentary involved in the story. It's too bad it's not a novel. I would have loved more detail. Most intriguing to me was the disdain Benjamin's son had for him as he became younger.

[katibruneau · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Didn't expect it to be so short!

[cerian_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Used an Audiobook with this one, maybe it had something to do with the reader's voice but I wasn't drawn in to the story; I was merely waiting for it to end. Haven't read much else of Fitzgerald, so want to to find out if it's his style I don't like or just that book.

[boundtogetherforgood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the book. I haven't seen the film yet. I am quite surprised that the reaction of the mother, to the baby, was ignored. I would have been interested in what the author thought the reaction of a mother, in this circumstance, would have been. Otherwise, the story was intriguing and interesting, and proved that in God's sovereign wisdom, things proceed, naturally, as they should.

[shahnareads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

How did a lady birth a full grown man?

Weird

It's a pretty depressing story. I feel bad for him. He just needs a hug.

I like the illustrations. It was hard sometimes to tell how old he was supposed to be. But that's okay.

[reneh-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nice read, but not extraordinary.

[tututhefirst_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

An interesting concept, delighfully written, although a bit far-fetched. Having grown up in baltimore, where one grabbed the "society" page of the Sun Papers every Sunday, I can well understand Mr. Buttons horror at being presented with an 80+ year old "newborn". His first thought of "what will people say" is so true.I wish Benjamin had had the ability to see exactly what was happening to him. That would have made an excellent psychological study. Still in all, it was an enjoyable read.

[christineellei · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having recently gotten around to seeing the movie I wanted to read the original story. I am glad I did. The movie romanticizes the story beautifully, but the short story tells us a little more of the gritty truth behind what would happen if a man were to age backwards. Regardless of the fact that I was familiar with the outcome of the story, from the very line I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens. If that’s not the sign of writing excellence then I cannot think of another one.

[jawalter · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not really worthy of note, aside from being the inspiration for the movie. The illustrations are quite good, but I didn't like that Fitzgerald focused on the character's external, rather than internal, conflicts. By keeping Benjamin's mind at the same age level at his body, rather than having his mind age normally while his body ages in reverse, he misses out on a lot that made the movie interesting.

[dorie.craig · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I happened across this story and thought it sounded interesting. It's about a man who ages backwards -- he looks like an old man when he is born, and slowly ages back to a baby. Not too long ago I read a novel with a similar premise titled "The Confessions of Max Tivoli". I enjoyed that novel a lot, and enjoyed the story being fleshed out a bit more than it was here. But for a short story (or novella), this was enjoyable and gave you something to think about.

[knitwit2_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Very short novel.. Intriging premise. Felt nonsensical in the beginning but as he begins to grow younger it is easy to get caught up in the story. Some interesting issues arise most specifically his relationship with his wife Hildegarde. When he meets her he appears to be 50ish and finds her very attractive but as she reaches middle age and he is college age the attraction is lost. Rlevant issue when this was written and clearly relevent now.

[deusxmachina-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A melancholic story about a man who is born old and grows younger with age, always a stranger in his own body and a disappointment to the expectations of the world around him. The characters are not photorealistic individuals like we're used to from modern stories, but stand-ins for social archetypes. Women don't exist, not in any meaningful role. But Fitzgerald unveils the pitfalls of these archetypes in a clever way until the inevitable disillusion fades away in the nescience of the child.

[literateowl_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

“For what it’s worth, it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be.”

[debnance_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Yes, you are reading correctly: F. Scott Fitzgerald. It’s the story of a man who was born old and grew younger and younger as time passed. A little story, well told.

[sasham-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having seen the movie I guess I was expecting a longer book this is more of a sketch of an idea than a novella. It wasn't a bad little read but the 30 odd pages only took me about 20 minutes and I can't say that in those 30 pages I gained any emotional investment what so ever.

[bookdivasreads · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Great short story with slight science-fiction undertones.

[atomheart_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good story, wish it was longer.