Catching up on Classics (and lots more!) discussion

Our May2017 Short Story Read is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald, published in 1922, (much less) 64 pages.

I love both this story, which is very short (only 27 pages in my collection) and the film equally, though they're quite different. I hope everyone enjoys it.

I saw the movie and read the story a number of years back...I liked both to a degree, but wasn't crazy about either. I read the story after seeing the movie and remember being shocked that they were able to stretch such a short story into an almost three hour movie!

I'm with you Pink. I loved both the short story and the film even though they were completely different. The film should have been called "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button's Cousin" or something to give credit to F. Scott's general idea only.

Even though I loved both, the Literary version is my favorite of the two.

Looking forward to this. I reserved a library copy just in case. (I think I must've read it in high school, but I have no recollection.)

I read this story late last night, just a hour or so before May 1. I wanted to see how similar or different the mivie and story were. Not similar. In the movie the romance is the thread through the story. Not so in the story. The story is dark and sad.

I'm super excited to read this! I read a Fitzgerald every May, so I've switched my choice for this year to Tales of the Jazz Age, which has this story in it. Looking forward to discussing it with you all.

I enjoyed both the short story and the film, although they are very different. So much of a person's identity, as well as other people's expectations, comes from their age.

It was interesting how Benjamin's relationships changed with his father, son, and grandson since he was their peer at some point in his life, but older or younger at other times in his life.

this story is my currently reading now 😊😊

I read the story yesterday and it was a fun read. It really feels like a short that has potential to build upon to make into a larger roman, but because it is a short it feels light.

I like how he made the connection between 4 family members when he reaches their age (his grandfather, father, son and grandson)

It was so short. How did they make a film out of this? Bare in mind i havent seen the film haha

It was ok .... It just left me a little meh and underwhelmed. I dont regret it its too short to regret reading it but .... I dunno i dont dislike it or like it either.

It was short but my version had illustrations to accompany the aging regression. I liked the concept that age is but a number and thought that the book was ahead of its time.

Kirsty-Ann wrote: "It was so short. How did they make a film out of this? Bare in mind i havent seen the film haha

It was ok .... It just left me a little meh and underwhelmed. I dont regret it its too short to reg..."

The film is quite different, so more of an inspiration I suppose. It's a long film too!

What I found so interesting about this was it actually gives the reader the experience of living backwards, including the frustrations of being on a different path than everyone else. It also pointed out how much we waste time wishing we were older when we're younger, or younger when we're older.

And I loved that such a short story could get this deep.

Brina wrote: "It was short but my version had illustrations to accompany the aging regression. I liked the concept that age is but a number and thought that the book was ahead of its time."

That's cool that yours had illustrations Brina. I think it was ahead of it's time also, or rather timeless actually

Lol timeless. So try every that as kids we want tk be older so we can do more things and see the world and then get to be adults and wish we were younger, when we should be cherishing the moment we are in. Wasn't the best of the best for me but I liked the message.

Kathleen wrote: "What I found so interesting about this was it actually gives the reader the experience of living backwards, including the frustrations of being on a different path than everyone else. It also point..."

That's what amazed me too Kathleen. It was so complex. The short story more so than the long film! The film was more romantic as Cynda said. Though the short story was dark, it was also filled with humor. Literary Benjamin was a more layered character, showing a range of emotions including bitterness and selfishness that we can imagine someone having in his situation. Movie Benjamin was more resigned to his fate an outward inspirational character I guess as Pink said.

Maartje wrote: "I like how he made the connection between 4 family members when he reaches their age (his grandfather, father, son and grandson) "

I agree - it was as if each member of his family was willing to accept him when Benjamin was a member of their own cohort!

I also found interesting the way Fitzgerald played with people's reactions to Button's "backwards-ness", particularly when their expectations don't match his true age (i.e. his birth, the first time he enrolls in college). Fitzgerald's Baltimorians seem reluctant to disbelieve what their own eyes tell them! It makes a contrast to when he plays along to the age he seems, which is when life goes relatively smoothly (the beginning of his marriage, the second time he enrolls in college...)

I thought it was a lovely story (not seen the film so it was all new to me). The fact that Fitzgerald managed to say so much in such a short story was what really took me - not just literally but the underlying themes too, about acceptance and expectations on others etc.

The edition I picked up for this short story had an author's preface with a statement that a "remark of Mark Twain's" about the beginning and end of life had played a part in this story. If that was the inspiration I wondered if Fitzgerald tried to prove or disprove it. Seems like either end of life has it's drawbacks, and good points as well.
He also quoted a letter he'd received from a reader that I found amusing in that preface.
Felt a bit underdeveloped and that's probably how a feature length movie managed to tell their version in more time than the original takes to read. Might have to watch it to see.

Perhaps this observation will appear strange, but I’m stuck with it, what I can say I have a twisted brain. The only time that Benjamin was the same as a ‘normal person’ was at the end. As an old man (infant) his experiences would have been the same as that of a truly old man. As Benjamin grew younger, he would lose the things that made him who he was. He would lose his motor skills and would no longer able to walk or crawl. This progressive loss of motor skill would also mean that he would lose his ability to dress himself or feed himself. He would lose his ability to communicate. He at some point would still be able to make noise, but he would no longer be in possession of spoken language, nor would he any longer be able to read or write. All these things that Benjamin lost as he grew younger are also things lost by a man as he grows older, especially those suffering dementia or Alzheimer’s. Would there really be any difference at the end of Benjamin’s life when compared to the end of a normal old man's life? To me the only difference at death would be the size of the coffin.

One other thought kept going through my head while reading this. ‘Youth is wasted on the young.’

Bob wrote: "Would there really be any difference at the end of Benjamin’s life when compared to the end of a normal old man's life?"

When I was reading the 'end of life' section of the story, my thoughts were along these lines, although it seemed the nursemaid treated his loss of function through regression better than perhaps we do the same loss through mere aging - that complete acceptance of his condition rather than trying to encourage him to stay active or keep eating for himself as we tend to do with our elderly.
Or maybe I read too much into it.

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I am not a big fan of The Great Gatsby, so I was surprised to find myself really liking this short little story. It is insightful, funny, sad, and all the things a short story should be.

After living with the story, I see how is funny.
Me getting the humor: I am remembering when I watched Nanny McPhee where I saw at least one nanny run out of the house in crazy panic. I begin to understand....

I really, really enjoyed it. I'm reading the whole volume that it appears in on my shelf, and I find it really interesting how neatly Benjamin Button fits in with the other stories - having read a few of his novels, I've never really associated this level of absurdism with him, but all of his short stories so far have absolute absurd elements to them that make them delightful. I felt sad for Benjamin, but also really appreciated seeing the ways in which he adapted to his situations - I thought the age I found most interesting was him as a teenager, when his son is frustrated with him and he has no idea what to do with himself. I did rather wish it might have expanded a bit more on his feelings when he lost his parents - where in his de-aging was he, and how did that impact his perception. Was he roughly a peer? Finally younger and starting to really be treated as appropriate for his age while still being able to fit in the role of "son"? It really did charm me, though.

Found this on Serial Reader App -- 4 installments so I'll be finished on Friday.

Oh thank you, Katy. I haven't used Serial reader in a while, so it would be nice to get back to it. Thanks again! 😊

I read this last month and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I wasn't even going to attempt to read it because I absolutely hated The Great Gatsby and I didn't want to waste my time reading something else that F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote but I figured "hey, it's a short story and it does sounds interesting" so I read it and did enjoy it. I also just finished The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, which was very good too. I might be reading more short stories by him now that I know he's a pretty good writer! 😊

Katy wrote: "Found this on Serial Reader App -- 4 installments so I'll be finished on Friday."

Me too Katy, my first by the author.

Loretta wrote: "I read this last month and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I wasn't even going to attempt to read it because I absolutely hated The Great Gatsby and I didn't want to waste ..."

I liked The diamond as Big as the Ritz a lot too Loretta,and was thinking that people who didn't like The Great Gatsby could still like that. There are some similar themes but it's a completely different style. I loved both of them as well as Benjamin Button. I'm glad you gave him another try Loretta. I need to do that as well with other authors where I've only read one of their books.

Sue wrote: "Loretta wrote: "I read this last month and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I wasn't even going to attempt to read it because I absolutely hated The Great Gatsby and I didn'..."

Like I said Sue, I wasn't going to read anything else by him. The Diamond as Big as the Ritz had a very strange vibe to it, like Fitzgerald was on some heavy duty drugs while writing it, lol! Glad I read both short stories and will probably read other short stories by him in the future!

Loretta wrote: "Sue wrote: "Loretta wrote: "I read this last month and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I wasn't even going to attempt to read it because I absolutely hated The Great Gatsby..."

Ha! He was always pretty boozed up from what I've heard. That novella was a wild ride for sure.

Sue wrote: "Loretta wrote: "Sue wrote: "Loretta wrote: "I read this last month and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I wasn't even going to attempt to read it because I absolutely hated [book:The Gr..."

Oh, yea, I seem to remember that he did have a reputation for boozing it up, lol! And you're right, it was a wild ride!

I enjoyed the story, though it could have been a bit more developed. There were some things that I wondered about that were never addressed. For instance, at the beginning, Benjamin's father asks the doctor "Is my wife all right?" The doctor says yes, yet we never hear another word about her after that. And as Nicole pointed out, I did rather wish it might have expanded a bit more on his feelings when he lost his parents - where in his de-aging was he, and how did that impact his perception.

I also wondered how a baby so large could have fit, when it sounds like his mother was a normal-sized woman and had appeared perfectly normal during the pregnancy. I'll accept the backwards aging, but can't accept his size at birth. I decided to just ignore that part and get on with the rest of the story, and I did enjoy the rest of it.

It was perturbing and sad that people either didn't believe he was who he said he was, or they kept angrily telling him to "stop that" as if he was aging backwards on purpose just to be contrary. I liked that he spent the last years of his life with Nana, who simply took care of him (and loved him, I believe) and accepted him as he was.

Kaylee wrote: "I also wondered how a baby so large could have fit, when it sounds like his mother was a normal-sized woman and had appeared perfectly normal during the pregnancy. I'll accept the backwards aging, but can't accept his size at birth. I decided to just ignore that part and get on with the rest of the story, and I did enjoy the rest of it."

That part bothered me a bit too at first, but I decided to just accept it for what it was and go on with the story, and I did enjoy it.

Yes, it would have been nice to know how he was feeling during certain stages of his life through the story. I think if it was a bit longer, it might have been a little better able to go into these things. I did enjoy reading it though, and it was a nice short story.

For those who have watched the movie, was it much different than the book? I can imagine they would have to add a lot and perhaps flesh out the characters a little more. Did the movie go into more details about his feelings and how he had to cope with his aging backward? I wanted to see it, but never ended up watching it.

Connie wrote: "It was interesting how Benjamin's relationships changed with his father, son, and grandson since he was their peer at some point in his life, but older or younger at other times in his life."

Francisca wrote: "Maartje wrote: "I like how he made the connection between 4 family members when he reaches their age (his grandfather, father, son and grandson) "

I agree - it was as if each member of his family was willing to accept him when Benjamin was a member of their own cohort!"

I also found it very interesting to see how his relationships with various family members changed as the age gaps narrowed and then widened again.

I don't think he ever spent time with his son as a peer, though. They still had a normal parent-child age gap when he went away to fight in the war. After that, all we know is that he and his son (who recently graduated from Harvard) were often mistaken for each other. So he was away, then his son was away at university, and as soon the son graduated and took over the business, Benjamin himself went away to university. So they never saw much of each other until Benjamin graduated, and by that time he was a teen, and his presence at home only frustrated his son.

Still very interesting to see how their relationship changed, but they never had the opportunity to spend much time together when they were the same age, as he did with his grandfather, father, and grandson. I wonder if his son might have been more empathetic at the end, if they had had a closer relationship prior to that.

I have not seen the film and this is my first reading of this short story. Like others, I dismissed the absurdity of his size at birth, and just read on. The treatment by his father was disappointing, and there was no further mention of the mother. When his son gave the "Call me Uncle" speech later in the story, it absolutely broke my heart. My copy has an introduction which calls it "a complex portrayal of life conceived as a journey, and of the symmetries found between being born and dying", and refers to "the callowness of youth" which made me think of the comments about his ageing wife as he was becoming younger and more attractive and outgoing. All in all I found it a great little read which made me think of much deeper issues

I've just finished the story. I haven't seen the film, but long ago I read The Great Gatsby and Tender is the Night- I remember that I liked them enough to finish them, but wasn't wild about them. I got a free edition for Kindle of Fitzgerald's Tales of the Jazz Age with B Button and 9 other short stories. I liked "...Button" and plan to read more of the stories.
Fitzgerald didn't tell us much about how B Button felt as he went through his life experiences, he mostly just told us the story of what happened (except when he became angry on some occasions for not being allowed to do what he wanted). I think that gave us the chance to think "How would I feel if that happened to me?", and I think that's a great strength of the story that would have been lost if it had been expanded in a way that examined his inner life more.
I recently read the absurd story by Nikolai Gogol "The Nose", which took absurdity to more of an extreme- I enjoyed that B Button seemed mostly a realistic story if you looked at one episode of his life at a time (other than his birth).

I surprisingly liked it, I really love the description, just telling the story, without bein overdramatic.

Suzie wrote: "I have not seen the film and this is my first reading of this short story. Like others, I dismissed the absurdity of his size at birth, and just read on. The treatment by his father was disappointi..."
His size at birth bothered me less than the fact that the mother was almost completely ignored. Instead of seeing her reaction to what would have been a horrifying discovery (THAT came out of ME?) we have the father walking home with him. Obviously Fitzgerald wrote the story he wanted to tell, still...it bugged me.

Had the mother not died in childbirth? Or is that just something my brain created to explain away her absence?

See, in my head (because origins are a thing I often think of) this whole story could be borne of the thoughts of taking home a child without the mother to accompany (care for) it... that the ill-prepared father is stuck with this alien creature he felt no connection with.

I don't know - I spend so many years after college shunning the whole hidden meaning/symbolism thing, yet still manage to hunt it out!

Tonia wrote: "Had the mother not died in childbirth? Or is that just something my brain created to explain away her absence?

See, in my head (because origins are a thing I often think of) this whole story could..."
I've returned my copy to the library, but I'm pretty sure there was something like: "In time the parents got used to him." But I like your idea a lot.

I read my first Fitzgerald (Gatsby) a couple of months ago, and really liked Fitzgerald's style. When Benjamin Button came up for this month's read, I decided to read the whole short story book that it appears in (Tales of the Jazz Age, which also includes The Diamond as Big as the Ritz that a couple of people had referred to in the comments). I am enjoying all the stories in the book. Benjamin Button seems to be the most tragic character out of the collection. I felt really sorry for him when he didn't fit in with other people his age throughout his life, and he was constantly missing out on things. There are comic elements, too-- everyone's reaction to the "baby" was quite funny. Each story in the book comes with introductory remarks by Fitzgerald-- as someone had mentioned earlier in the comments, the story was inspired by Twain's comment that it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end. I don't think the beginning of Benjamin's life was all that great, especially the way his father was revolted by him. Sadly, he has the same effect on his son at the end of his life.

My first Fitzgerald too.I liked this too.very tragic.... peoples reaction to the baby...and the fathers(not so happy) was really sad...it was also odd to
Imagine it.we just wont be able to relate to anyone.

It was also sad that all of them including Benjamin himself was mainly focused on "what will people think" rather than on the person concerned...and bonding with each other is on a superficial level, as long as you fit my world it is not reluctant or grudging.change your appearance to suit our social expectation.your story is too bizzare to be acknowledged .

Something like that.very lonely.when he cant really be himself with anyone.

Bob wrote: "Perhaps this observation will appear strange, but I’m stuck with it, what I can say I have a twisted brain. The only time that Benjamin was the same as a ‘normal person’ was at the end. As an old m..."

Bob, I like the parallel you drew between infancy and aging. My mom has Alzheimer's, and when she is having a bad day, I really do feel as if I am dealing with, and trying to reason with, a toddler. Also, I have noticed that many people treat elderly people and very young people the same way-- the phony, bright, condescending voice, and topics of conversation that are very simple.

I knew the premise of this book having seen a movie preview. I didn't see anything all that impressive in the story. It is an odd tale for sure, but enough to be amongst the greats? The self-centered attitude of Benjamin was disappointing. All in all I am glad that I only had to spend an hour reading it.

I was kind of annoyed that Benjamin's mother played no part of the story. She was hardly mentioned at all. I understand that the story focused on Benjamin's relationship with his father at first, but his mother and her reaction to giving birth to an old man should have been included, IMHO.

I know .I kept wondering how she reacted..?it is an important thing..how a mother reacts...she dieant play a role at all..only a few mention here and there..at first I thought she died giving birth to Benjamin..as it was told that Benjamin and his dad went back home..what happened to the mother?

Shauna wrote: "I knew the premise of this book having seen a movie preview. I didn't see anything all that impressive in the story. It is an odd tale for sure, but enough to be amongst the greats? The self-center..."

It was a good story to have read..but...rather shallow?

For me, I just didn't get quite enough to fill the story out.