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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button cover art

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

By: F. Scott Fitzgerald
Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
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Summary

Benjamin Button was literally born an old man. He lived a backwards life, for his body grew younger as the years passed him by. Come and listen to the original, unabridged story by F. Scott Fitzgerald which inspired the movie.

Public Domain (P)2007 B.J. Harrison

What listeners say about The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Our lives are defined by opportunities


“You’re just the romantic age,” she continued- “fifty. Twenty-five is too worldly 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.” - Hildegarde”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

A life that is lived backward from old to young would seem a nonsensical thing to attempt to write but F. Scott Fitzgerald could write backwards if he wanted to and achieved a story that is sad, humorous, and life affirming in a very short space. A story that has been expanded in play form and film. The play by Eric Roth is also beautifully written and is as quotable as the original. The movie version directed by David Fincher is superb and adds to the original with sensitivity and imagination.
This is the first point to visit Benjamin when he was first born old.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A simple idea perfectly realised

The idea of a man living his life backwards is an intriguing premise and before I listened to this I struggled to comprehend how an author could set out a man's life in such exquisite and poignant detail, in such a short story. I suppose I hadn't reckoned on the wondrous talents of F. Scott Fitzgerald!

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars

Utterly enchanting!

I had never gotten around to reading the story. it's amazing, well-crafted and engaging. absolutely worth a listen!

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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enjoyable tale and narration

I had not seen the film so came to the story fresh. excellent novella and a great voice performance

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

great listen

Very short - I thought the audio book would a lot longer. BUT very well read and great narrator. ☺

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4 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

The film was better

This is only a short story, and completely ridiculous. How the poor mother gave birth to this walking talking reasoning old man of some five feet is never explained.

This is one of those rare occasions where the film was much much better.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Rubbish!!!

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

No idea. . .

Would you ever listen to anything by F. Scott Fitzgerald again?

I have read other Scott Fitzgerald. Quite enjoyed Great Gatsby but mostly I find his stories boring.

What about B. J. Harrison’s performance did you like?

He read it well enough. Just that the whole story was silly and pointless.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Curious Case of Benjamin Button?

I wouldn't have wanted to publish it.

Any additional comments?

To begin with - how could it be possible for the woman to give birth to (or carry in her womb) a normally sized adult 70 year old man? This is never addressed and the rest of the story is just silly. He is (somehow) born as a 70 year old (how and why?) and then gets younger until he becomes a small child, then a baby . . . then what? Presumably a foetus, then an embryo, lying there in the bed??? No logic here. And if it's meant to be funny in some way, I certainly didn't get it.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

excellent

interesting story and well read. I love the classics and Scott Fitzgerald have weaved a story to amaze us in its simplicity of a life lived in its own terms

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Short Story

Great short story which was made into the now well known movie. Worth the listen.

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3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting

Have heard of the film of the same name but never knew what it was about until now. Love the way the story was told. It had the feel of 'tales of the unexpected. Good story. Thank you.

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