Fitzgerald like you've never seen him
I should have seen this coming. Whenever Brad Pitt gets involved with a project, the whole world pays attention.
And so, ahead of the Christmas Day opening of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: The Movie, we get The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: A Graphic Novel.
Now, I knew going into it that Fitzgerald has Baltimore ties. But I didn't know this little tale was actually set in 20th-century Baltimore.
With every throwaway line about Charles and Monroe streets and Mount Vernon Place, I got a little thrill. This must be what's its like for Manhattanites whenever they go to a movie.
I read this in one sitting, and it was absolutely charming. I really appreciate it not only for the creativity -- which ties the fantastical so closely to reality -- but also for the flexibility it shows on the part of Fitzgerald. There wasn't a jazzman or boozy flapper in sight.
The origins of the short story, as explained in the afterword by Donald G. Sheehy, a professor of English, lie in a Mark Twain quote.
“This story was inspired by a remark of Mark Twain’s to the effect that it was a pity that the best part of life came at the beginning and the worst part at the end,” Fitzgerald once explained. So, his short story follows the life of a man born elderly, who grows increasingly younger throughout his life.
Button himself is highly sympathetic, due largely to Fitzgerald's skill. Button is increasingly isolated from everyone around him, and yet proves himself to be the most highly adapted person in the tale. He finds himself shunned and embraced by nearly everyone in his strangely unfolding life, and as the reader, it makes you explore your own feelings on age more acutely.
Apparently Fitzgerald was quite excited about the prospect of this fantasy genre. Unfortunately, it never really caught on in his lifetime, and so works like Benjamin Button were largely left unnoticed. Until Hollywood rediscovered it, of course.
Of course, I think you should go out and buy this gorgeous work of art right now. But if you want to experience the story without the graphic filter, you will find all 11 chapters here, thanks to the University of Virginia's American Studies department. Enjoy!
