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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
A man, "born under unusual circumstances," ages backwards, through a life that is as unusual as could be.
Book Excerpt
ople who were unfailingly polite racked their brains for compliments to give to the parents--and finally hit upon the ingenious device of declaring that the baby resembled his grandfather, a fact which, due to the standard state of decay common to all men of seventy, could not be denied. Mr. and Mrs. Roger Button were not pleased, and Benjamin's grandfather was furiously insulted.
Benjamin, once he left the hospital, took life as he found it. Several small boys were brought to see him, and he spent a stiff-jointed afternoon trying to work up an interest in tops and marbles--he even managed, quite accidentally, to break a kitchen window with a stone from a sling shot, a feat which secretly delighted his father.
Thereafter Benjamin contrived to break something every day, but he did these things only because they were expected of him, and because he was by nature obliging.
When his grandfather's initial antagonism wore off, Benjamin and that gentleman took enormous pleasure in one another's
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(1922) Short Story / Fantasy / Humor / Satire
First published in Colliers Magazine in May 1922.
R: * * * * *
Plot bullets
Benjamin comes into this world, not a a crying infant, but as an alert 70 year old man.
The problems of coping with this situation is only overshadowed by his regression to an infant over time.
Stranger and stranger becomes this: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The 2008 movie of the same name is loosely
based on this story.
First published in Colliers Magazine in May 1922.
R: * * * * *
Plot bullets
Benjamin comes into this world, not a a crying infant, but as an alert 70 year old man.
The problems of coping with this situation is only overshadowed by his regression to an infant over time.
Stranger and stranger becomes this: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
The 2008 movie of the same name is loosely
based on this story.
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Really enjoyed this story. I hated the movie but the story was really good :)You should definitely read it!
05/26/2012
Although there is a romantic fairy tale mood to this story, the premise is such an absurd one that even Fitzgerald's great writing ability cannot redeem it. It reminded me of the latter unbearably-stupid episodes of Mork & Mindy when Mork's son grew younger. Being full of bad proof-reading mistakes didn't help me enjoy it any the more either.
10/27/2010
wonderful
05/08/2010
VERY VERY GOOD STORY!!!
04/13/2010
Complete waste of my time.
04/09/2010
A wonderful ,very ironic story about how sad a life could be for you and your family if you are not like everybody else....I think it shows that mostly we pay attention on how the one looks and ignore everything else.
I recommend it from the bottom of my heart...
I recommend it from the bottom of my heart...
03/09/2010
Good story ,
06/29/2009
The best part of this story for me is the humor. I think I will appreciate this story even more when I am older.
06/09/2009
A very weird but interesting story... The one you should just read for fun...
05/08/2009