The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

The classic story of a man who ages backwards—and inspiration for the film starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett—by the author of The Great Gatsby.
 
Penned by one of the greatest literary talents of the twentieth century, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button follows the adventures of a man born at the age of seventy, living his life in reverse. After achieving success in the military and in business, and becoming a husband and father, Benjamin goes on to attend college, prep school, and then—as his mind begins to deteriorate—kindergarten.
 
At once humorous and haunting, “Fitzgerald’s wonderfully simple story is a kind of conjuring trick, an exercise in forcing the impossible into the mundane. You end it both amused and slightly saddened. For the most curious thing about Benjamin Button’s life is how ordinary it seems. All the usual triumphs and miseries are there: it’s just that the start and end aren’t the same” (The Guardian).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Release date: Apr 7, 2020
• ISBN: 9781504061391

F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 1896, attended Princeton University in 1913, and published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, in 1920. That same year he married Zelda Sayre, and he quickly became a central figure in the American expatriate circle in Paris that included Gertrude Stein and Ernest Hemingway. He died of a heart attack in 1940 at the age of forty-four.

Book preview

Chapter I

As long ago as 1860 it was the proper thing to be born at home. At present, so I am told, the high gods of medicine have decreed that the first cries of the young shall be uttered upon the anaesthetic air of a hospital, preferably a fashionable one. So young Mr. and Mrs. Roger Button were fifty years ahead of style when they decided, one day in the summer of 1860, that their first baby should be born in a hospital. Whether this anachronism had any bearing upon the astonishing history I am about to set down will never be known.

I shall tell you what occurred, and let you judge for yourself. The Roger Buttons held an enviable position, both social and financial, in ante-bellum Baltimore. They were related to the This Family and the That Family, which, as every Southerner knew, entitled them to membership in that enormous peerage which largely populated the Confederacy. This was their first experience with the charming old custom of having babies—Mr. Button was naturally nervous. He hoped it would be a boy so that he could be sent to Yale College in Connecticut, at which institution Mr. Button himself had been known for four years by the somewhat obvious nickname of Cuff.

On the September morning consecrated to the enormous event he arose nervously at six o’clock, dressed himself, adjusted an impeccable stock, and hurried forth through the streets of Baltimore to the hospital, to determine whether the darkness of the night had borne in new life upon its bosom.

When he was approximately a hundred yards from the Maryland Private Hospital for Ladies and Gentlemen he saw Doctor Keene, the family physician, descending the front steps, rubbing his hands together with a washing movement—as all doctors are required to do by the unwritten ethics of their profession.

Mr. Roger Button, the president of Roger Button & Co., Wholesale Hardware, began to run toward Doctor Keene with much less dignity than was expected from a Southern gentleman of that picturesque period. Doctor Keene! he called. Oh, Doctor Keene!

The doctor heard him, faced around, and stood waiting, a curious expression settling on his harsh, medicinal face as Mr. Button drew near.

What happened? demanded Mr. Button, as he came up in a gasping rush. What was it? How is she A boy? Who is it? What—"

Talk sense! said Doctor Keene sharply, He appeared somewhat irritated.

Is the child born? begged Mr. Button.

Doctor Keene frowned. Why, yes, I suppose so—after a fashion. Again he threw a curious glance at Mr. Button.

Is my wife all right?

Yes.

Is it a boy or a girl?

Here now! cried Doctor Keene in a perfect passion of irritation," I’ll ask you to go and see for

Reviews for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

[morcys · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my favorite stories of all time.

[Ivie Omorogieva · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I found it funny and interesting. I also think that it's a simple yet creative story. I recommend.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[reneh-2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Nice read, but not extraordinary.

[ariadnearanea · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A quick listen (as an audio book) of a curious case. Suspend your disbelief and just enjoy!

[varwenea · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I stumbled on this little book at my local used book store. Immediately, I was surprised that this little illustrated 63 pages book can turn into a 2 hr, 48 min movie. Well, not quite. The movie is loosely based on the book, and the book took some creative conveniences to walk a fairly straight line in the storytelling, skipping big chunks of time as it suits FSF. “Of the life of Benjamin Button between his twelfth and twenty-first year I intend to say little.” The biggest gap is the complete absence of Benjamin’s mom, for that matter, just about all normal female characters except the future wife and nurse. When his wife turned old (~59), FSF just shipped her off to Italy and kicked her out of the story altogether. Nonetheless, I’d imagine its original release in 1922 (included in ‘Tales of the Jazz Age’) still caused a buzz. Conveniences or not, FSF did a fine job in the timeline reversal, starting with the old age birth, stepping us through his age/year and the corresponding ‘visual’ age, through to the end. With this short length, FSF does not always take the reader in depth to address how Benjamin feels. We learn about frustrations of his father at the beginning, his inability to attend kindergarten and college, and the later years when he is too young to be a contributing member of society. I had liked the movie, and I liked this version of the plot too. (Psst, they’re different!) Perhaps I’m too practical, but with such a short book and a relatively dense story, I did not expect an emotional roller coaster. And there wasn’t one. I will give props on the words that delivered the ending. I’ll let you discover those yourselves. One last note, this illustrated version is wonderful. And extra 1/2 star for this aspect. Some quotes:On jealousy:“… He stood close to the wall, silent, inscrutable, watching with murderous eyes the young bloods of Baltimore as they eddied around Hildegarde Moncrief, passionate admiration in their faces. How obnoxious they seemed to Benjamin; how intolerably rosy! Their curling brown whiskers aroused in him a feeling equivalent to indigestions. But when his own time came, and he drifted with her out upon the changing floor to the music of the latest waltz from Paris, his jealousies and anxieties melted from him like a mantle of snow. Blind with enchantment, he felt that life was just beginning.”On Love and Aging – made me think a little:“’I like men of your age,’ Hildegarde told him. ‘Young boys are so idiotic. They tell me how much champagne they drink at college, and how much money they lose playing cards. Men of your age know how to appreciate women… …You’re just the romantic age – fifty. Twenty-five is too wordly-wise; thirty is apt to be pale from overwork; forty is the age of long stories that take a whole cigar to tell; sixty is – oh, sixty is too near seventy; but fifty is the mellow age. I love fifty.’”

[ohernaes · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Not sure what to say that this story was about, but an entertaining, absurd plot. Very short.

[yonitdm · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

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

[santhony_35 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

For Christmas, I ordered an mp3 player (Library of Classics) that was pre-loaded with 100 works of classic literature in an audio format. Each work is in the public domain and is read by amateurs, so the quality of the presentation is hit or miss. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a very short story. Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the story involves a man who ages in reverse. He is born a 70 year old man and goes through life in reverse, marrying a woman far younger than himself who ultimately becomes too old for him.Of course, it is irredeemably silly in both its premise and its execution. While there are a few amusing scenarios, it is really not exceptional in any way.

[garcher84 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I thought this was a great idea but that it was not carried out to the fullest (which might be due to it being a short story). However, I do think the irony of it was astoundingly clear. *spoiler alert* I think the aging process is studied from such an unusual angle (from old age to young), but in such a similar way to the standard way of life. It draws the similarities of the beginning and end of life as we see it usually, with dependence at birth, independence in the middle stages, and then dependence again at the end, and by flipping it upside down, it has the exact same effect. Pretty astounding, though by no means mind-blowing, but quite original in showing the parallels between the vastly different ways of aging and how they turn out to be the same. It's such an easy concept, but definitely adds a little depth to the rather simple idea. Anyway, worth the short read.

[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.”

[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.

[kabouter_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a short story, it only took me half an hour to read it completely. The story itself is quite fascinating although it only focuses on some parts of Benjamins life, which is a pity because the social implications of living your life backwards would be quite profound. In the book the life of Benjamin starts a fully grown seventy year old man with a long white beard and the ability to speak. How the man fitted in his mother womb isn't mentioned...The film has a different take on it, and mainly focuses on the love aspect, which make the book and the film very different to each other (almost complementary). This is one of the few cases where you actually read the book faster than seeing the film, nevertheless I think I prefer the film in this case.

[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.

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I've not seen the movie, but of course I knew the premise going in. I hope the movie executes the concept better than this clunker did. Lots of great ideas - but anyone who just ponders the idea of aging backwards will come up with those ideas on their own. Fitzgerald added nothing.

Ok, I admit - he added something that strongly resembles misogyny. Apparently Benjamin's mother had no influence on his up-bringing, and his wife was worthless past the age of forty. So, either FSF didn't think women's roles were worth working out in the story, or he didn't think women are worth much, period.

[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.

[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.

[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...

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I love the concept -- a person born as an 80-year-old man who gradually grows younger until he dies as an infant. Unfortunately, this story was written like a children's book -- a straightforward plot and writing style, with almost no character development or exploration of the way society reacted to Benjamin.For those who liked the concept, I recommend "The Confessions of Max Tivoli". Max, too, is born old and de-ages through his life. His actual and apparant age always add to 70, and he maintains a steadfast love for one woman and has one loyal, understanding friend, throughout his strange life.

[aeyan_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

One just has to appreciate the ghastly commercialization inherent in slapping an admittedly nice cover on a fifty page short story and selling it for more than a mass market paperback, when, for a few dollars more, you can get a broad smattering of Fitzgerald's stories in one volume. Just think how many more copies of this edition they could have sold had they plastered Mr. Pitt's beauteous facade across the front, perhaps even in a Warholesque four squares showing him at different ages (it worked for 'Brokeback Mountain' movie tie-in editions). I cannot help but compare the story to the movie since the theatrical adaptation is what compelled me to seek this out. Fitzgerald's idea is fantastic, and yet I don't feel he did it justice with the story. There was quite a bit more that I feel he could have explicated, more he could have mined for satiric effect. I seem to be the exception regarding the movie, which I thought was an inspired interpretation of a very brief text that brought a level of humanity to Benjamin Button through his relationships, even though the movie utterly lost the social commentary that marks Fitzgerald's work and makes it more dynamic a text.

[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.

[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.

[tjsjohanna_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The most interesting things about this short story are the illustrations and the fact that Mr. Fitzgerald wrote something fantastical like this (although I haven't read a lot of him, so maybe this isn't so surprising afterall). I did feel like there wasn't much of a point to this story. There were suggestions that something might happen (like when he tried to attend Yale and said they would be sorry not to let him) but then nothing really happens. Obviously his aging backward made for all kinds of complications of society - and maybe that is what the point was - how society doesn't like anything out of the ordinary. But overall I wasn't captured by the story.

[missteacher_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

It has finally happened! There is finally a movie which wins hands down in being better than the book! More of a bedtime story than an actual book, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button was a straight-forward, matter-of-fact tale about a man growing down. Too brief to have any sort of characterization or much detail, the story lacked the passion, purpose and tragic tinge that the movie so perfectly encompassed. The only time I was even mildly invested in this short tale was at the very end, when Benjamin's life began to fade from him. I have to say I'm glad I didn't read this book first--I probably would have never gone to see the movie--which is almost entirely different save for the title. This book had an excellent idea, but lacked any appropriate follow-through. I didn't hate it, but I'm not impressed.

[theboltchick · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I didn't find this story at all interesting. I had high hopes that the story which seemed so silly at the outset would draw me in. It certainly intrigued Hollywood enough to not only make a movie about it, but to also have the film garner tons of critical acclaim... that means it MUST be good, right?Unfortunately this story fell flat from the beginning. I started reading with the idea that I was reading a fantasy/fable, so disbelief must be suspended. Within the first two pages, disbelief came crashing back to earth. Not only was the story implausible, but the general feeling of anger from those surrounding the title character made the story very unpleasant. Instead of the sweet fairy tale I thought I might get, I was just left with a bitter taste in my mouth.

[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.

[bagpuss-3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When Roger Button goes to meet his infant son Benjamin for the first time at the maternity hospital, he’s horrified and sickened to find an old man in the cot. The hospital staff can’t get rid of the family quick enough. And so begins Benjamin’s backwards life.

I had no idea how short this was when I reserved it. How they made a 2 hour 40 minute film out of 52 pages of story, I don't know, although I gather the film isn't the same story as the book and obviously it must be (very) fleshed out! The book, however, is brilliant!

One can’t help feeling sorry for Benjamin. It’s not his fault that he was born an old man but people reject him - his father keeps him at arm’s length and is hugely embarrassed by Benjamin - Benjamin’s mother doesn’t appear much in the story.

As is inevitable, he is unable to stop the ‘unaging’ process and the story can only end with one possible conclusion.

It’s such a tight story - this copy is only 52 pages long. It is funny in places, sad in others and totally entertaining throughout. I will definitely try something else by this author.

[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.