The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Stories Book

Anti-bellum Baltimore is the setting for “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” a fantastical tale with some Poe-like overtones about a baby born at age seventy who then lives life in reverse. Also included are “The Lost Decade,”“Three Hours between Planes,”“The Bridal Party,” and “Babylon Revisited.”

Publishers Weekly

Each story in this collection is narrated reverently and carefully. In "The Bridal Party," Grover Gardner distinguishes nicely between the affluent bridegroom who is about to feel the repercussions of the 1929 stock market crash and the jilted suitor whose fortunes are rising due to an inheritance. In the often anthologized "Babylon Revisited," Ray Porter does an outstanding job of performing the female characters. Those two stories hint at the range of this collection. Most of them, including "Three Hours Between Planes," performed by Jeff Cummings, feature typical Gatsby-like figures who suffer the pangs of unrequited love. The title story, performed by Scott Brick, is a gimmicky tale of a life lived from grave to cradle. Fans will enjoy this collection's lesser known but neatly contrived stories that appear alongside some of the author's canonical tales. For those who may have read one or more of Fitzgerald's novels from the '20s, this audio is a great opportunity to sample his shorter works. (Apr.)