The tale tells the story of a man who is born old and dies child, traveling in reverse all ages and stages of life. Too shabby and weak for children's peers games, and too child to enlist in World War I, Benjamin manages to keep in time with life and the world only in the age halve when despite being mature is still bright enough to attract young women and entertain the young gentlemen of his rank. Weird weirdness after year after year, its "decline", led him to end his days poppando blessed the milk of a nurse, while consciousness and memory slip in the dark.