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First published in 1914, Edgar Rice Burroughs's romance has lost little of its force over the years--as film revivals and TV series well attest.Tarzan of the Apesis very much a product of its age: replete with bloodthirsty natives and a bulky, swooning American Negress, and haunted by what zoo specialists now call charismatic megafauna (great beasts snarling, roaring, and stalking, most of whom would be out of place in a real African jungle). Burroughs countervails such incorrectness, however, with some rather unattractive representations of white civilization--mutinous, murderous sailors, effete aristos, self-involved academics, and hard-hearted cowards. At Tarzan's heart rightly lies the resourceful and hunky title character, a man increasingly torn between the civil and the savage, for whom cutlery will never be less than a nightmare.
The passages in which the nut-brown boy teaches himself to read and write are masterly and among the book's improbable, imaginative best. How tempting it is to adopt the ten-year-old's term for letters--"little bugs"! And the older Tarzan's realization that civilized "men were indeed more foolish and more cruel than the beasts of the jungle," while not exactly a new notion, is nonetheless potent. The first in Burroughs's serial is most enjoyable in its resounding oddities of word and thought, including the unforgettable "When Tarzan killed he more often smiled than scowled; and smiles are the foundation of beauty."
Tarzan of the Apes Oustanding action and a different look at wild beasts and their comparison to civilized man. Great action.
A great read for primates of all types I only discovered Edgar Rice Burroughs by accident a couple of years ago when I picked up a copy of this book "just because". It turned out to be far better and far cooler than any expectations I might've had.
If you think you know Tarzan and haven't read this, I've got news for you. YOU DON'T KNOW TARZAN. He's a hundred times more savage and a thousand times more interesting than all those movie versions of the character. He's also surprisingly complex and sympathetic even as he slaughters nearly everything that crosses his path. I'm amazed this book was written nearly a hundred years ago. It's so graphic and unapologetic for Tarzan's bestial nature.
That said, there are a few small flaws. Elements of the plot can be a bit contrived, but since it usually serves to get to more action, I can forgive that. Burroughs's writing, while still engaging, is a little stilted by today's standards. And it doesn't end with Tarzan getting Jane. That's the story of "The Return of Tarzan".
Not ending in a book ALWAYS bugs me. I hate cliffhangers. I don't need to be blackmailed to read the next one. You can read this book and enjoy it without reading the others. Still, even the great Edgar Rice Burroughs loses a star for this flaw because I REALLY HATE CLIFFHANGERS. Sorry, Eddie.
Do yourself a favor and pick this up. It might ruin you for other so-called adventure stories, but it's worth it.A Lord is Always a Lord. Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875-1950) was a prodigy of imagination. He started his writer career quite late; his first work was published in 1912. From that point on a ceaseless flow of imaginary worlds&heroes poured from his pen: John Carter of Mars, Carson Napier of Venus, David Innes and Abner Perry on Pellucidar at Earth's center and the most famous of them all Tarzan of the Apes.
Tarzan's world is Africa. But an extraordinary Africa populated with apes more intelligent than any known ones and in later adventures with a plethora "lost cities", "ant-men" or whatever suit ERB in order to deliver a fast paced adventure.
As many other reviewers point out do not expect "politically correct" tales, they are the product of a society still torn by racial prejudices. Another assumption that closely follows this is: "superior traits" are inherited directly and a Lord will always be a Lord no matter what the circumstances. The reader may assume all this adventures occurs in an "alternate reality" that have some common traits with our world such as the ones depicted by Guy Gavriel Kay for example.
Now you'll be ready to enjoy the original story of Tarzan as it was delivered by ERB, free from Hollywood changes or comic stereotypes. A couple of English nobles are abandoned by a mutinous crew in the coast of Africa where they barely survive. Adversity proves to be more than what they may endure and both die leaving an infant that is miraculously adopted by Kala an anthropoid that has lost her baby-ape. Protected by her Tarzan starts a life struggle to conquer a space among the over towering brutes. His natural intelligence combined with a strengthening body allows him to survive and in due time lead the ape tribe. ERB ability renders all this astounding fates credible: Tarzan learns to read and write all by himself; Tarzan defeats a Gorilla with his father's knife; Tarzan helps a group of marooned white people and fell in love with Jane; Tarzan...continue delivering one prowess after other... and you'll believe it.
I read "Tarzan of the Apes" at my teens and continue reading many of his 23 following adventures, borrowing volume after volume from a nearby library. When I grow up and gain economic independence I bought and kept this book and some more Tarzans.
I warmly recommend this series to any reader who is fond to read unending adventures in a magic world. If after reading Tarzan's stories you still want more from ERB try the Martian series, they are almost as good as this one. Reviewed by Max Yofre.
