The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - Hardcover

Fitzgerald, F. Scott

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1594742812 ISBN 13: 9781594742811

Publisher: Quirk Books, 2008

Synopsis

Upon completing “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” in 1922, F. Scott Fitzgerald declared it “the funniest story ever written” and “one of my two favorite stories.” It’s the strange tale of a man who is “born” 70 years old and mysteriously ages in reverse. This stunning graphic novel adaptation illustrates Benjamin Button’s many adventures: He falls in love, starts a family, and runs a successful business. In his later years, he goes to war and attends Harvard University. As an old man, he resembles a newborn baby and returns to the care of a nurse.
 
Complete with Fitzgerald’s original text, dazzling watercolor illustrations, and an afterword describing the story’s origins and critical reception, this edition offers a fresh look at a literary masterpiece.

About this title

About the Author

F. Scott Fitzgerald is widely regarded as one of the twentieth century’s greatest writers. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1896 and published his first novel, This Side of Paradise, in 1920. His other novels include The Beautiful and the Damned, The Great Gatsby, and Tender Is the Night. He died of a heart attack in 1940 at the age of forty-four.

Nunzio DeFilippis and Christina Weir are the authors of several original graphic novels, including Skinwalker, Three Strikes, Maria’s Wedding, and Past Lies (all from Oni Press). They’ve also worked extensively in superhero comics and have written for Wonder Woman, New X-Men, Adventures of Superman, and Hellions. They live in Los Angeles and also work in film and television.

Kevin Cornell is an illustrator and designer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He maintains the Web Site www.bearskinrug.co.uk, which he frequently updates with sketches, comics, and mildly amusing prose. Although doctors confirm that he’s aging forward in a normal fashion, they agree his maturity level is still rather stunted.

A scholar, poet, and avid nature photographer, Donald Sheehy is a Professor of English at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania, where he teaches American literature and writing courses in the Department of English and Theatre Arts. He has published extensively on the life and work of Robert Frost and is an editor of The Letters of Robert Frost, forthcoming from Harvard University Press.

Reviews

Grade 10 Up—In antebellum Maryland, the Button family is gifted with a wizened newborn whose physical age seems to grow ever younger over time. The scholarly afterword to this meticulous volume mentions the recent film adaptation of Fitzgerald's Jazz Age story, but it would be a mistake to assume that this volume has been created simply because of the media tie-in. It is a strikingly literal adaptation, re-creating dialogue, narration, and even chapter breaks with an assured and deliberate hand. While Fitzgerald's light tone is well preserved, it is the artwork that is the most striking, despite what could be construed as a dour use of gray and sepia. It is highly evocative, with an excellent use of facial expression to moving and comic effect. As the story obviously must address the particulars of physical age, Cornell depicts not just the transformation of Benjamin's face, but also his changing poise and confidence with well-rendered body language. While a thoroughly fine work, the lightly funny, softly satiric material will not produce peals of laughter, and the subject matter may strike teens as more unusual than engaging. Still, this is a work of quality that should find a small but appreciative audience.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The impending release of a movie version starring Brad Pitt has made this humorous tale, formerly among the least known of Fitzgerald's short stories, a hot property. DeFillippis and Weir's adaptation preserves the original's straight-faced tone describing the career of a man who begins life in his 70s and grows progressively younger. If bystanders find this more than curious, they usually are just irritated at Benjamin for not behaving like other people. He himself is surprised as his body morphs, but is always open to new possibilities; his good-natured adaptability gives the social satire a gentle edge. Readers should, of course, look up Fitzgerald's original, but there's much to enjoy in this handsome little hardbound book. Cornell's sepia watercolor panels are especially clever at showing physical and emotional changes as Benjamin moves backward through life while America rolls forward for 70 years. A useful, gracefully written afterword by Donald G. Sheehy, professor of English, completes the volume nicely. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

One of Fitzgerald’s (until recently) lesser-known stories, this satire follows the life of a man born as a septuagenarian who progresses through life backwards, becoming younger and younger each year. Here, the story is reproduced as a graphic novel, with sepia-toned art that lends itself to the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century time period. While this effort is admirable for the fact that it has Fitzgerald’s original text nearly intact (save some abridgement for the sake of dialogue), some of the time-sensitive satirical elements may not resonate with young readers. Still, growing old by growing young holds a certain universal curiosity, and extends the appeal of this to readers other than Fitzgerald fans or those looking for new entry-points into classic literature. Of course, the big-budget movie adaptation starring Brad Pitt will only amplify interest. An afterword provides some context for this work in the whole of Fitzgerald’s oeuvre, and offers a nicely ironic aside to his agent in which he despaired that it was unlikely this story “will ever bring me any movie money.” Grades 10-12. --Ian Chipman

Edition details

• Publisher: Quirk Books
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1594742812
• ISBN 13: 9781594742811
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Cornell Kevin
• Number of pages: 128