The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

This is another one of those stories I've had on my TBR list for a long time. Since the movie came out, actually -- although I've not seen the movie.

It was okay. A good story, and pretty absurd (which was the point), but I feel like it could've been better. Maybe if we'd heard a bit more about Benjamin's mom, for example... Although maybe she died in childbirth; we're not told. For that matter, what must it have been like to give birth to a fully grown man?

Sure, in the time in which this story was set, we don't really worry too much about what women think, and we certainly don't talk about things like childbirth in great detail, but still. There are other women in this story who got quite important roles. Why not Benjamin's mother?

This story raises more questions than it answers... but again, that's probably the point.

Also the ebook I read wasn't very well edited. I kept seeing line breaks in the middle of sentences, and weird punctuation. Maybe it was OCRed from the print version, and that's why.

I should point out, however, that this is the very first work I've ever read by this author. I've never read The Great Gatsby either.

Oh, F. Scott. Not entirely sure how to feel about this tale. Should I laugh? Should I cry? In the end, I did neither.

Let me start by saying I adore Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. I love the lyrical descriptions, the flawed characters, and the excess, vanity, and tragedy oozing through each line. Even the characters I hate are drawn perfectly enough to understand their motivations and poor decisions. Not so with Benjamin Button. We fly through his life in reverse with little detail. I'm left with so many unanswered questions. What happened to his mother? How did the split with his wife occur? What in the world was everyone around him thinking as he regressed right into a crib and on to his grave? The story is told through Benjamin's point of view, and as a result we aren't shown any other perspective. It left me a little depressed at the end. Benjamin was unlikeable as he "aged" into his immaturity, which is probably the point. I think Benjamin is supposed to be a sympathetic character, but I didn't feel it as I read. Fitzgerald was said to have called this "the funniest story ever written" but at no point did the story make me laugh.

If you are looking for a short story by Fitzgerald, I recommend Bernice Bobs Her Hair instead. Much more satisfying.