photo source: amazon.com
This is probably the shortest book I’ve ever read. Maybe, it’s also because of the limited number of words that I somehow find something lacking from the book as an entirety. It does have an interesting premise — a man aging backwards. I however find the wordplay and execution of the story rather poor. I find none of the characters interesting, not even Benjamin. Only the aging part kept me going.
I’ve never seen the movie adaptation of this book and frankly, I don’t have plans to. I am rather surprise that a great roster of actors is part of it. But knowing that this is the kind of story I’d get to see, I’d probably make a pass for it.
There were good parts though, I have to admit. Especially when he’s in the prime of his age, 50-ish – 30-ish. I somehow felt pity for him when he started to regress further back to childhood. What’s annoying though is the lack of understanding by the people close to him. And why was his mom never mentioned in the story? How did she live with a son that’s far older than her? And why did his son never took pity on him? His wife left him but is it because she thought he’s personality is changing or is it because she finally realized that he is literally growing younger?
I hate it that he had grown ashame of his wife cause he was growing younger every day and his wife is not. I hate it that it was never explained in details how the heck was he born? You don’t expect a fully grown old man to come out of a woman’s womb like a normal sized baby does, don’t you? And most especially, I hate it that it was never mentioned why of all people it’s him and what caused him to age backwards. Were his parents cursed? Was he a some kind of a magician in his past life? Is this something that the Fringe division should investigate?
I hate it when authors do that. Though I know this is fiction and thus, something that’s just a by product of one’s imagination, it’s still better to at least explain a bit further — to make it a little more believable. You just can’t tell your reader this ball is square and let them believe that it is indeed square.
This is again one of those with a promising concept that falls short from the expected great outcome.
Book # 51 of The 100 Book Challenge: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 64 pages. ✓
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
I just knew that this has a book. I’ve seen the movie, his mother died giving birth to benjamin. The movie is very- very long, it’s a 2 hour-movie but it was so dragging and i thought it was so so long than the 2 hour span. ^^
wow. 2 hours? yup. I’m pretty sure it’s such a bore if we’d base it sa book. still got no plans of watching it. ^_^