The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
In 1860 Baltimore, Benjamin is born with the physical appearance of a 70-year-old man, already capable of speech. At five, Benjamin is sent to kindergarten but has to be quickly withdrawn after he repeatedly falls asleep during child activities. When Benjamin turns 12, the Button family realizes that their son is aging backwards.... F. Scott Fitzgerald's famous story is the basis for the motion picture late in 2008 starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett and directed by David Fincher.
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Community Reviews
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.
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.
I pulled this short story from Librivox.org - only 2 mp3s! Naturally, I was curious about the movie but I really am not a fan of Brad Pitt so I figured I'd read the story first to see if I'd like it.
Although this is a very short story, it packed a good punch. Benjamin Button is born as an old man, too big to fit in the hospital crib and already talking in the crotchety old man voice. Everyone is upset and ashamed of him, not seeing him as a curious oddity but as an embarrassment. His father encourages Benjamin to act his real age and not the age he was born at.
As Benjamin reaches his 50s he's getting noticeably younger. Still scorned and ridiculed for his reverse aging he meets and falls in love with a young lady.
The story follows Button's life as he serves in the army, has a child and grows younger every year. Everyone seems to believe this is something he can control and get very angry at him for not acting his age.
Sadly you can anticipate the ending as Button goes into his childhood.
Great story that actually made me sad and made me think about elderly folks with dementia and Alzheimers that revert back to their childhood as well.
Although this is a very short story, it packed a good punch. Benjamin Button is born as an old man, too big to fit in the hospital crib and already talking in the crotchety old man voice. Everyone is upset and ashamed of him, not seeing him as a curious oddity but as an embarrassment. His father encourages Benjamin to act his real age and not the age he was born at.
As Benjamin reaches his 50s he's getting noticeably younger. Still scorned and ridiculed for his reverse aging he meets and falls in love with a young lady.
The story follows Button's life as he serves in the army, has a child and grows younger every year. Everyone seems to believe this is something he can control and get very angry at him for not acting his age.
Sadly you can anticipate the ending as Button goes into his childhood.
Great story that actually made me sad and made me think about elderly folks with dementia and Alzheimers that revert back to their childhood as well.
I was surprised this was such a short story. I've never seen the movie but the idea is so unique and interesting, I just figured it was a full novel. Good story, I just wish there was more to it!
This story is so magical and moving. The story deals with so many interesting things. Benjamin suffers so much judgment based on his appearance from both those who don't understand him and even those in his family that do. I am not certain what to think about his family's uniform but peculiar reaction of blaming him for something he can't help. There are so many things about his life cycle that aren't different despite the inversion because babyhood and extreme old age have some things in common. In any case, the story gives you a lot to think about. The end of the story really rips your heart out though.
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