The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button And Other Stories

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

In this brilliantly inventive collection of stories, the author captures the disparate lives of the residents of Manhattan's West 89th Street from marriages, car accidents, love affairs, and adoptions. Unabridged. 8 CDs.

Curious case of Benjamin Button --
Lost decade --
Three hours between planes --
Bridal party --
Babylon revisited.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Audiobook, Fiction, American, Magical Realism, Literary Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published May 27, 1922

About the author

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, widely known simply as Scott Fitzgerald, was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age, a term he popularized in his short story collection Tales of the Jazz Age. During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories. Although he achieved temporary popular success and fortune in the 1920s, Fitzgerald received critical acclaim only after his death and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.
Born into a middle-class family in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Fitzgerald was raised primarily in New York state. He attended Princeton University where he befriended future literary critic Edmund Wilson. Owing to a failed romantic relationship with Chicago socialite Ginevra King, he dropped out in 1917 to join the United States Army during World War I. While stationed in Alabama, he met Zelda Sayre, a Southern debutante who belonged to Montgomery's exclusive country-club set. Although she initially rejected Fitzgerald's marriage proposal due to his lack of financial prospects, Zelda agreed to marry him after he published the commercially successful This Side of Paradise (1920). The novel became a cultural sensation and cemented his reputation as one of the eminent writers of the decade.
His second novel, The Beautiful and Damned (1922), propelled him further into the cultural elite. To maintain his affluent lifestyle, he wrote numerous stories for popular magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, Collier's Weekly, and Esquire. During this period, Fitzgerald frequented Europe, where he befriended modernist writers and artists of the "Lost Generation" expatriate community, including Ernest Hemingway. His third novel, The Great Gatsby (1925), received generally favorable reviews but was a commercial failure, selling fewer than 23,000 copies in its first year. Despite its lackluster debut, The Great Gatsby is now hailed by some literary critics as the "Great American Novel". Following the deterioration of his wife's mental health and her placement in a mental institute for schizophrenia, Fitzgerald completed his final novel, Tender Is the Night (1934).
Struggling financially because of the declining popularity of his works during the Great Depression, Fitzgerald moved to Hollywood, where he embarked upon an unsuccessful career as a screenwriter. While living in Hollywood, he cohabited with columnist Sheilah Graham, his final companion before his death. After a long struggle with alcoholism, he attained sobriety only to die of a heart attack in 1940, at 44. His friend Edmund Wilson edited and published an unfinished fifth novel, The Last Tycoon (1941), after Fitzgerald's death. In 1993, a new edition was published as The Love of the Last Tycoon, edited by Matthew J. Bruccoli.

Reviews

[zuza_zaksiazkowane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another retold book with an audio Cd for me to learning English. Pre-intermediate level. I hope someday to read the original F. Scott Fitzgerald's short stories.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this collection contains other short stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I'm basing my rating solely on the main title short story of this anthology. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is wonderful and thought provoking and definitely shouldn't be missed. I did not realize until recently that it was a short story which motivated me to bump it up my list and read (I listened) to it sooner. Many times, I wish short stories elaborated more because I love great character and plot development, but I feel this was more about the concept of Benjamin living his life backwards than anything else. 4.5 stars.

I didn't rate the other handful of short stories on here because they varied from me really liking them to scratching my head. Overall, they were an average 3 stars and didn't want to take the rating away from the main title. It was a quick 3 hour audiobook for all 5 stories.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong collection of short stories from F. Scott Fitzgerald. Oddly enough, I thought that Benjamin Button was the weakest of the bunch! It was interesting to see someone age in reverse but the story skipped over so much and although Button was a tragic character, he was also a dick so...you know.

The Lost Decade was an interesting story about a person who (wait for it) was out of society for a decade for unknown reasons and what they missed.

Bridal Party is kind of the anti-"The Graduate." A man thinks he can stop the wedding of a woman he loves. It doesn't go well.

Three Hours Between Planes is my favorite of the bunch. A guy has (wait for it) three hours between planes so he looks up a girl he was obsessed with when he was 12 (he's now in his early 30s). She's married and he has never stopped being in love with her. This plays out with such brutal honesty it nearly broke my heart.

Babylon Revisited was short and strange.

All in all, a very strong collection indeed.

[Adia · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 F. Scott Fitzgerald stories of varying popularity.

Benjamin Button. A classic. disturbing and well written. i always thought it was funny that we never hear about the poor mother again after she had to birth the ancient Benjamin, lol. 5 stars.

Babylon Revisited. the aftermath of one man's roaring 20s: a young daughter whom he barely sees, a distaste for liquor, and a disgust for old friends. 3 stars.

Three Hours Between Planes. a man fresh off the tarmac goes to see an old flame, who, embarrassingly, mistakes him for another man from their past with the same name. sort of sad, a love unreciprocated...but also sort of pointless. 2 stars.

The Bridal Party. a young woman about to be married and a young man who desperately wishes he were the one. sweet and sad...4 stars.

The Lost Decade. two men walk about New York City, one a reformed alcoholic, the other a tour guide. the former has lost an entire 10 years to drink, and sees the city with new eyes. 2 stars.

Overall: i like Fitzgerald, the atmosphere and prose, but most of these were below par. so 3 stars.

[Rachel Aranda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not the biggest fan of F. Scott Fitzgerald but I also don't hate him. This audiobook is a collection of short stories he wrote. I've read these stories before but it's been a while so I thought it would be a good time to see if my opinions on the stories changed over the years. Turns out they have not; I would still rate Benjamin Button 4 stars and the rest of the stories 3 stars. The reason why this certain collection gets a 4 star rating is because of the narrators who read the stories. They MADE this audiobook experience wonderful and more intriguing than if I had just reread the stories in print. I'll definitely be keeping this audiobook in my collection.

[Marysya · Rating 4 out of 5]

А Фіцджеральд виявляється ще й чудовий майстер короткої прози. З цієї збірки мені найбільше сподобались "Дивовижна історія Бенджаміна Баттона", "Діамант завбільшки з готель “Рітц”, "Крижаний палац" та "Повернення до Вавилона". Відчайдушно, психологічно, з властивим для Джазової доби акцентом на швидкоплинності та скороминущості усього цінного - життя, любові, краси та молодості, багатства.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I disliked "The Great Gatsby" when I read it in high school. As an adult, I tried to read it in paper, but couldn't get into it. I finally listened to it in audio. It was pretty awful, but he's held up as one of the great American authors. There must be some reason, so I thought I'd try some of his short stories. Overall, they were pretty good. They capture the height of the 1920s

Curious case of Benjamin Button -- was a waste of time. The premise was ridiculous & unbelievable. The characters were remote & so barely sketched that I couldn't feel anything for them. The point was obvious & unsurprising. I think I saw a film that I liked based on this & the love interest is what made it so good, but very different than this short story. It's really bad when Hollywood does it better. 1 star

Babylon revisited-- Wow! An extremely good look at excess, dissolution, & what it costs when a person changes. I've done it in a different setting, but it's about the same & he captured it really well. 5 stars

Three hours between planes -- another really well done story about old memories & meeting again. 4 stars

Bridal party -- was a bit long for the payoff, but pretty good. Love is fickle & weird. It's a great look at the period, too. 3 stars

Lost decade -- was a bit too short & didn't really make its point well for me, but now I know where Spider Robinson got the idea for his time travel story in Callahan's Crosstime Saloon. The latter had far more impact on me than this one. Part of that is because I was more in tune with the times, but Robinson also did the characters better. 3 stars

Overall, worth reading since it was fairly short. Definitely worth reading if you skip the title story. Well narrated.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Podobały mi się dwa opowiadania. Cenię wysoce Fitzgeralda i faktycznie „Ciekawy przypadek Benjamina Buttona” był ciekawy. Lubię książki Fitzgeralda, bo mają wartości, które nie tracą na przestrzeni lat. Pomimo, że ten zbiór opowiadań nie jest moim faworytem to i tak uważam, że warto było je przeczytać.

[Laurus · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Ciekawy przypadek Benjamina Buttona: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

2. O, ruda czarodziejko: ⭐⭐⭐

3. Bez namysłu: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

4. Cztery razy w gębę: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

5. Tył wielbłąda: ⭐⭐⭐

6. Przybrzeżny pirat: ⭐⭐

7. Śpiąca królewna: ⭐⭐⭐

8. Zasadzki szczęścia: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

[Linds · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love his prose. No one can place words together like him. Strangely enough I found Benjamin Button the least engaging, and I'm taking a star off the rating because of its inclusion. It's an interesting idea but Fitzgerald is not at his best when he attempts magical realism.

The stories mostly follow Fitzgerald's well mined themes: the unattainable woman, regret about the past, and lost opportunities.

[Magdalena (madeleinebooks) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Szkoda, że takie krótkie. 🫣

[Sylwia Różycka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nie wiem w sumie co napisać. Miałam na liście już od dawna, więc po prostu póki miałam chwilę w przerwie świątecznej… większość tych historii już kojarzyłam, ale fajnie było poznać oryginały

[ewa · Rating 4 out of 5]

To było moje pierwsze spotkanie z tym autorem i muszę stwierdzić, że bardzo udane. Każde z opowiadań miało coś w sobie, niektóre zabawne, inne refleksyjne, ale wszystkich słuchało mi się z niesłabnącym zaciekawieniem (może to też zasługa bardzo dobrego lektora audiobooka). Styl prosty, ale piękny, każde z opowiadań to kawałek bardzo dobrej prozy prezentującej obyczajowość tamtych czasów. Doceniam za portrety kobiece, bo bohaterki są tu równie dobrze wykreowane jak mężczyźni (przynajmniej z większości opowiadań), szczególnie Roksana w ostatnim ❤️ Moje ulubione to tytułowe, „Tył wielbłąda” i właśnie ostatnie.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I didn't like "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" at all (what was the point of it?), I quite liked the other stories: "The Lost Decade," "Three Hours between Planes," "The Bridal Party," and "Babylon Revisited." "Babylon Revisited" is am amazingly poignant and beautifully-written account of a man who has been an alcoholic trying to get custody of his young daughter. I found the stories all very unique and memorable, a testament to Fitzgerald's narrative talent.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short collection of short stories by Fitzgerald. If there's a common theme, besides dealing with the well-to-do of the time, they are about the past and how it can't be re-realized. My favorite of the bunch was "Three Hours Between Planes" because it dealt with how your memories of unrequited love might not be remembered in the same way by the object of your long-term longing. This felt the most personal of the bunch.

[faustyna。 (lekkidramat) · Rating 3 out of 5]

przesłuchałam tylko tytułowego opowiadania. miło było się z nim zapoznać w tej formie. polecam, ponieważ fitzgerald i dlatego że jednak klasyka na swój niepowtarzalny sposób.

[Akwarela_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

film oglądałam chyba z milion razy i znam go praktycznie na pamięć, dlatego mam lekki dysonans, bo opowiadanie jest zupełnie inne. Inne ale też ma w sobie coś wyjątkowego

[liter.n.atka · Rating 3 out of 5]

niektóre opowiadania podobały mi się bardziej od innych - ogólnie rzecz biorąc zbiór jest nierówny, ale i tak bawiłam się całkiem nieźle!!🩶

[Clara · Rating 3 out of 5]

És prou diferent a la peli, ací no empatitzes tant amb Benjamin com en la peli i la història difereix prou. La peli és millor (per a mí), és més realista, millor desenvolupada, per a plorar i està Brad Pitt com a prota

[Justyna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pomysl niezgorszy, ale tak krotka forma nie byla w stanie mnie wciagnac. Zabraklo glebi.

[Joanna Górska · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Zuza's Reading Corner · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Kinia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It surprised me how much I actually enjoyed this. Unexpectedly for an anthology, the stories maintained on a pretty much same level and all were funny and enjoyable. After Great Gatsby, I didn't expect Fitzgerald's work to have so much humor and I wonder whether it flew over my head in GG, or if his earlier works were just funnier. Either way, I enjoyed all the stories, I found all of them pretty interesting, and my enjoyment level differed depending on the amount of racism. There wasn't that much of it beside racial slurs, but it was the fact how normalised treating Black people like objects was that made me uncomfortable. It further perpatues such behavior instead of confronting it, that's the problem I have.

What I appreaciate, though is the characterisation of women. Many of them had strong characters and they actually felt real. Fitzgerald created women that felt "emancipated".

A few words about the stories:
"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" has an incredible concept and it's executed in a very fun way. I loved that and I actually laughed out loud.

I liked "The Four Fists" for the personal growth of the main character. It had nice themes and hopefully made its readers a little more empathetic.

"The Offshore Pirate" left a bitter taste on my tongue because of the way Black people were shown. It also had colonialist vibes, which... gross. To give it some credit, the love story, though a little cringy, was kinda cute.

A story that left a big impression on me was the last in this anthology, "The Lees of happiness". Firstly because it showed a paralyzed character, and second - because he was loved. That love was pure and unconditional, which was nice to read about. It also had a great male-female friendship, which is always a pleasant addition.

Overall, it was an enjoyable and sometimes even thought-provoking collection. I do recommend it.

[Matana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange plot but somehow it works! You have to tell yourself often though that this is a fantasy because it's a story that manipulate time: Benjamin ages in reverse.

It's such a clever way to reflect how we build social norms around "age".
I can see that a lot of things have changes in a better way (e.g. we now see a 70 yr old lady attending university) but still Fitgerald's story about Benjamin Button is a classic that illustrate the way we relate to each other using age and physical appearance as a criteria.

I like that the conversation between Benjamin's father and 70 yr old new born Benjamin finally shows that you can not treat an old man the same way as you treat a baby or a child. Yet people often say, old folk is like a kid all the time! Yes, it's true in many aspects of aging but "it's not always so"...so treat them and respect them even they might act like a child. They've been through this world before you.

By the way, Brad Pitt is to play Benjamin in the 2008 movie version.

[Lincoln · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dora and I listened to the first story, Benjamin Button, on our way up to Wisconsin; it's only a little more than an hour long. We agreed it was interesting and enjoyable. The premise is pretty well known since the movie came out: it's about a guy who grows old backwards; that is, he's born an old man and as time progress he gets younger. I thought it was impressive how Fitzgerald managed to make this premise work, even though it's so absurd. It must have taken some doing, but he's a good writer. I listened to the remaining three or four stories on my own. They were interesting, too, and much more realistic. But they seemed too short to me, like extracts from longer works. I don't have much experience with short stories. Instead of having beginnings, middles, and ends, these stories seemed to just be middles -- or even parts of middles. Still, I enjoyed the pictures they painted of life in the early thirties.

[Natalie]

A great collection of shorts by one of the most amazing writers of the twentieth century.



"Babylon Revisited" is a story that delves into the life of a man that made the big bucks in the Jazz Age and how his life was affected by that "wealth". A beautiful, touching, and frustrating story. One of my favorite shorts of Fitzgerald.



"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is a fantastical short story that is an insightful view of the progress of life. The story is much different from the film that was based on it; I would recommend reading the story first.



"Three Hours Between Planes" is a nostalgic short that leaves the reader crushed in a brilliant way.



"The Bridal Party" was very similar to The Great Gatsby in many ways.

[KAJA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ciężko jest mi ocenić tą książkę, ponieważ każde opowiadanie, w moim odczuciu bardzo się od siebie różni. Poza motywem przewodnim czyli, z tego co wiem typowym dla Fitzgeralda, motywem obyczajowo-społecznym, ciężko znaleźć jakąś część wspólna tych opowiadań. Wydawało mi się, że niektóre opowiadania były dla mnie nie do końca zrozumiałe. Były jednak również takie, które podobały mi się ogromnie, były one pełne dowcipu, bystre i przepełnione ciekawymi obyczajowymi rozmyślaniami na temat ludzkiego życia. Niektóre były bardzo proste, inne chyba trochę dla mnie za trudne. Mam naprawdę mieszane uczucia co do tej książki. Uważam, że nie jest to pozycja obowiązkowa i nie należy na nią patrzeć jako całość. Mogłabym ocenić osobno każde z opowiadań i to byłoby dla mnie prostsze. Wystawiam średnia z całości - 3.5 ⭐

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't see the movie, but picked this book up the other day figuring it would be a good introduction to Fitzgerald. While the premise is interesting, the delivery sucked. The characters had zero depth, and the narrative bland. It would have made an interesting Twilight Zone or Amazing Stories episode though!

Unfortunately, Benjamin Button was the best story in this collection. The others were terrible and seemed to lack any point whatsoever. They are like a brief glimpse into the life of average, dull people. Just when a story begins to build, it ends abruptly.

I suppose I should read The Great Gatsby to see why Fitzgerald is such a celebrated author, but after these stories, I'm certainly not in any hurry.

[Mayda · Rating 4 out of 5]

These short stories by Fitzgerald illustrate the often turbulent relationships in which people find themselves entangled. In the first story, it involves parents who have an unusual baby. The second, a father who longs to regain custody of his daughter is thwarted by his sister-in-law. Other stories involve lost loves and desires that seem to grow more important as the realization of them evaporates. This well performed audio version is a thought-provoking collection, but don’t expect happy endings.