Sherry Huang: December 2008 Archives

"Life is defined by moments, even the ones we choose to miss." - Benjamin Button

While the premise of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is about a baby who is born old and who grows younger through the years, the true heart of the movie is not so much about a peculiar man-child but about the moments, decisions, and people experienced by Benjamin Button that define and mold his character.

Inspired by a short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald (a novel titled "The Confessions of Max Tivoli" was also inspired by Fitzgerald's story), the story starts in the modern day as an older daughter (Julia Ormond) takes care of her aging, dying mother, named Daisy, in the hospital. As a hurricane approaches the city, Daisy asks her daughter to read from a diary kept by a man named Benjamin Button.

Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is born on the night World War I ends. As his mother dies in child birth, his horrified father impulsively takes the wrinkled and shriveled baby and leaves it on the steps of a house that turns out to be a retirement home run by an African-American staff that includes Queenie (Taraji P. Henson) and her lover, Tizzy (Mahershalalhashbaz Ali). When Queenie sees the baby, she feels compassion, believing him to be a child of God despite his ugliness. She names him Benjamin.

Arriving with surprisingly low-key Muggle murmurs, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" is the newest book written by J.K. Rowling after the final Harry Potter book came out last year.

For those who read Deathly Hallows, you'll remember a book of wizard fairy tales (the wacky equivalent of the Muggle world's Grimm's Fairy Tales) play an important part in Harry's horcrux search. J.K. Rowling compiled seven hand-written and hand-drawn versions of the tales, bound in dark brown leather and embossed with silver filigree. Six copies were given to close friends involved in the Harry Potter success while the last was auctioned off for charity and acquired by Amazon.com.

Luckily for Rowling's readers, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard" has been mass produced so that everyone can add it to their Harry Potter collection. There are two versions: 1- The Collector's Edition which costs $100 and looks like a miniature version of the original book. 2- The Standard Editon which costs (a more wallet-friendly) $12.99 and looks more like the Harry Potter schoolbooks, with Mary Grandpre-illustrated covers.

I can't wait to purchase a copy and pore over the pages with a bag of Bertie's Botts Every Flavor Beans by my side. You can also read more about the five fairy tales on Amazon.com.

Are you excited about the latest Harry Potter-themed book? Do you think J.K. Rowling should continue books from/about the wizarding world...or should she move on to something different from Harry Potter?