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The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Apt. 3W Audiobook
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(3.09) - 90 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
These nine brilliantly inventive stories capture the eccentricities of the residents of Manhattan’s West 89th Street. Five stories are set in one apartment building, where young Davie Birnbaum watches his neighbors’ lives unfold. The title story reworks F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” with the hero fading away toward infancy on the third floor. In apartment 7E, a lawyer named Zauberman reenacts the life of Hawthorne’s Wakefield, abandoning his family so that he can spy on them. And the proctologist in the penthouse plays Icarus and Daedalus with his misfit son.
These are tales of literary voyeurism, as the narrators look in on other people’s everyday victories and misfortunes—marriages, car accidents, love affairs, and adoptions—and make sense of it all by thinking about the stories they know best.
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"This collection of short stories is wonderfully written. I didn't realize that the curious case of benjamin button was a re-writing of the original as by F Scott Fitzgerald... Now I want to re-read this collection, as well as Fitzgerald's original story before the movie comes out in December "
— Camilla (5 out of 5 stars)
Quotes
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“A breathing monument to childhood, to Manhattan, and in its good-natured way, to literature itself.”
— Los Angeles Times -
“Marvelously smooth hybrid tales that prompt readers to think twice about the intersection of life and fiction.”
— Publishers Weekly -
“Brownstein combines humor, absurdity, and elegy to create linked stories that are strong enough to stand on their own…Sympathetic and perceptive, unpretentious yet engaging, these stories are infused with a genuine sense of place; Brownstein’s New York is a home for memories, a refuge for eccentrics. Highly recommended.”
— Library Journal -
“Mysterious, resonant, haunting; their echoes will stay with you long after you've finished his lovely, lovely book.”
— Dale Peck, author of Now It's Time to Say Goodbye -
“Scott Brick’s performance is up to his usual high standards…The different actors work well together and strengthen the sometimes loose ties that bind the stories. The actors, especially old pro Scott Brick, bring the characters to life…[A] fascinating quilt of tales.”
— AudioFile
Awards
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Winner of the 2003 PEN/Ernest Hemingway Foundation Award
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Apt. 3W Listener Reviews
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" A series of stories based on one apartment building - very Salinger's - Nine Storis-esque in that each story is related to the main character; they're all intertwined. He did a fantastic job of taking existing short stories and modifying them to make them his. "
— Wendy, 11/19/2013 -
" Mixed feelings on this one, many of the stories were sort of meh, and a few were very good. Stick to the original, perhaps. "
— Rebecca, 5/9/2013 -
" I'd so read this one again and again and again ... Loved the little short story involving Icarus and the Inventor of Love. Has inspired me to read Kafka and Auden. "
— Sediqa, 5/1/2013 -
" too flowery; doesn't seem to be very well written; this is a book of short stories; only read the first four "
— Liz, 4/11/2012 -
" This collection of short stories is wonderfully written. I didn't realize that the curious case of benjamin button was a re-writing of the original as by F Scott Fitzgerald... Now I want to re-read this collection, as well as Fitzgerald's original story before the movie comes out in December "
— Camilla, 9/24/2011 -
" This book is quirky; unlike most things i read (mystery, historical fiction). Each story is a little different and creative - for us ADD readers, it keeps you entertained. Very "curious" - if you want to try something different, this is it. "
— Keri, 4/27/2010 -
" This book was an intriguing journey to follow. Once I got sucked in, I couldn't put this book down. "
— Jennifer, 7/14/2009 -
" I'd so read this one again and again and again ... Loved the little short story involving Icarus and the Inventor of Love. Has inspired me to read Kafka and Auden. "
— Sediqa, 4/20/2009 -
" A series of stories based on one apartment building - very Salinger's - Nine Storis-esque in that each story is related to the main character; they're all intertwined. He did a fantastic job of taking existing short stories and modifying them to make them his. "
— Wendy, 2/11/2009 -
" too flowery; doesn't seem to be very well written; this is a book of short stories; only read the first four "
— Liz, 12/10/2008 -
" Mixed feelings on this one, many of the stories were sort of meh, and a few were very good. Stick to the original, perhaps. "
— Rebecca, 11/20/2008 -
" This book was an intriguing journey to follow. Once I got sucked in, I couldn't put this book down. "
— Jennifer, 6/11/2008 -
" This book is quirky; unlike most things i read (mystery, historical fiction). Each story is a little different and creative - for us ADD readers, it keeps you entertained. Very "curious" - if you want to try something different, this is it. "
— Keri, 6/3/2008
About Gabriel Brownstein
Gabriel Brownstein’s stories have appeared in Zoetrope: All Story, Northwest Review, the Literary Review, and the Hawaii Review. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
About Arte Johnson
Arte Johnson is an award-winning narrator and an American comic actor who won an Emmy Award for his role in the television series Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. His audiobook narations have won two AudioFile Earphones Awards, and he placed as a finalist for the Audie Award for best narration in 2003 and 2007.