Tarzan of the Apes & The Return of Tarzan

by Edgar Rice Burroughs

John Clayton, Viscount Greystoke, is marooned on the west coast of Africa as an infant, and is adopted by a tribe of apes. A feral child, he matures into Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle, with the ability to climb, jump, and swing from vines, while maintaining flawless ethics and judgment whenever he is thrust back into the bonds of society. Edgar Rice Burrough’s stories of this preternatural hero inspires readers to examine their own morality and their relationship with the great outdoors.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure, Pulp, Romance, Literature

464 pages, Flexibound

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Edgar Rice Burroughs was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan and the heroic John Carter, although he produced works in many genres.

Reviews

[Jason Waltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Returning these books to my shelves in a cool little leather piece, correcting my error of getting rid of all my old hardcovers. 5 stars for impact on life.

[Michelle D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very unique story. I enjoyed reading and re-reading this story.

[Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75??

Listen idc if y’all agree but I know I’m right in saying this: Tarzan = Rambo

[Cindy · Rating 2 out of 5]

TARZAN OF THE APES
05.13.18
3/5 STARS

I love that this is written with a child-like innocence to it. It’s fun to read, especially during Tarzan’s childhood. I really enjoyed the humor and WONDER in the writing style as Tarzan discovers the cabin and teaches himself to read and write (which I allowed myself to suspend my disbelief in the possibility of being able to do that.) There’s also a lot of action and brutality which is inherent in the jungle; I was surprised by how it fit into the story since the overall tone was more lighthearted.

I really didn’t expect for this story to turn into a romance once we’re introduced to Jane Porter. I know Tarzan and Jane are a thing but there was more relationship “drama” than I anticipated. She’s not the most well-rounded/developed character and neither is the romance all that romantic but I went along with it.

Tarzan is very curious and that is what drives the story. My only issue with the story was the pacing. Once Jane and company are introduced and need to be rescued and eventually return home, Tarzan goes through so much development from being “Tarzan of the Apes” to a somewhat “civilized” man; learning to speak practically over night (my suspension of disbelief can only go so far.)

It’s a simple/primitive/fluffy story and I feel that there’s a lot of enjoyment in it because of how it’s written. I also like the way it ended. It was clever and caught me by surprise.

Overall, this book made me want to re-watch the Disney animated movie and I’d recommend it to anyone who isn’t going to read this critically; the storytelling is pretty basic and the characters other than Tarzan and the apes aren’t well rounded but it’s a fun silly/light fast-paced read with a lot of adventure.

RETURN OF TARZAN
06.10.18
1/5 stars

This story was POINTLESS and LONG WINDED. “Tarzan of the Apes” ends on a cliffhanger that offer intrigue, this picks up in the most DULL/BORING outcome ever imagined. I’m suppose to care about Tarzan and Jane and this forced triangle they are in but I don’t because there’s very little time spent developing their relationship. They spend so much time apart and the shenanigans Tarzan gets mixed up in are not all that interesting. Aside from that, For a man that spent 20 years living as a savage, I’m surprised he hasn’t been arrested in those 2 years he spent in civilization. He’s got quite the temper.

The writing in the first part was what intrigued me, I was thoroughly entertained. However, the sequel lacked any intrigue. I wasn’t invested in the new characters, the “adventure,” returning to the Kongo, or the rekindling of Tarzan and Jane. Slow read; won't remember this in t-1hr.

[David Heaton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling, raw, and primal, the savage story of Tarzan of the Apes will be read again and again.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A billion stars!!

Definitely was not what I was expecting! As I've watched the Disney movie so many times since I was a kid, I thought it'd be a longer and more detailed version of that. But no. It was SO different!

From Tarzan's parents to the apes and watching Tarzan grow up, to him first meeting white man for the first time, falling in love with Jane, living in civilisation for two years and all the troubles he goes through, his enemies trying to kill him, all his adventures, the heartbreak, returning to the jungle, and all the way to the very end. I. Loved. Every. Single. Second. Of. It!

Burroughs is such an amazing writer! So entertaining and very descriptive yet in an attractive way. Every single one of his ideas were awesome. The scenarios he creates and the scenes. His words are so captivating! I love his writing and I cannot get enough! I usually struggle to read long books as I find it's difficult to keep a long book entertaining enough to not want to give up on it. I don't think many authors are capable of it but Edgar Rice Burroughs? F yes! Yes he definitely can! And though I read a couple books in between, you don't forget any of the details like I sometimes do with other books, I recalled the past chapters and it doesn't ruin your read because once you start reading this book you're trapped in that world. Not only am I in love with Burroughs' writing but I'm in love with Tarzan!

[Sherelyn Ernst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Much of this is really terrible! So why did I finish it and even like it? I liked the full-of-adventure plot--I'm a sucker for swashbucklers. Scarlet Pimpernel anyone? They don't make them like that anymore. I also liked what made it really awful: sexism? rampant; racism? egregious; elitist white supremacy? slathered on; ignorance of of the world of which he writes? pretty gross. All this artless and completely unconscious bigotry on the part of the author, though, shows perfectly why those damaging attitudes persist today in less obvious and more disguised forms. Interesting to discover how/why these attitudes persist. Burroughs didn't invent them, but he reflected them and promoted them in an insidious and entertaining way. This is full of appalling food for thought.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, the first two books have been completed. The story follows what we know from the Movies of ‘Tarzan and Jane”. This is where the analogy ends. The movies portrayed Tarzan as the dim witted Ape Man. The books, the easily adaptable intelligent suave Parisian who can easily fit into Western Society as talking to apes in the Jungle.

I do find it hard to believe that for a person to live 20 years in the jungle with NO HUMAN CONTACT can learn multiple languages and fit into society so quickly, then, re fit back into jungle life.

From what I have read so far, I am shocked on how different both books and movie(s) adaptations are.

[Theat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tarzan Of The Apes
Edgar Rice Burroughs

You really have to let your own "Suspension of disbelief" kick in or you won't enjoy this one at all.  You have to let go of all the films you have seen, prepare yourself for early 1900's writing, believe the impossible and get ready for alot of violence and a transformation of how you thought Tarzan was.  If you can do this, you are in for a trip you will really enjoy, I was in love with Tarzan sooner than Jane was.

See full review here
https://gszengarden.wixsite.com/mylit...

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading these stories about Tarzan. Very well written, fast-paced action, and humor, too. A fun, adventurous tale. I wonder, though, if Louis L'Amour didn't get some of his ideas for The Haunted Mesa from The Return of Tarzan. Close similarities in those passageways described in L'Amour's book. I just found that interesting, especially since I had only read Haunted Mesa a short time ago. Otherwise, it might have escaped my attention altogether.

[Vicki · Rating 3 out of 5]

The original novel "Tarzan of the Apes", is very, very silly, but a good deal of fun to read.
It's sequel, "The Return of Tarzan", is really very dull and repetitive, not to mention completely ridiculous. Not only does the ape-man speak perfect French and English, but he's literate and fits in seamlessly with European society. Plus, he can kill lions with his bare hands! A true superhero.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read/ listened to this story while doing year end/ Beginning clean up. What a wonderful tale. You feel like you are really with the characters. If you have only ever seen the movies, READ THE ORIGINAL!

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read/ listened to this story while doing year end/ Beginning clean up. What a wonderful tale. You feel like you are really with the characters. If you have only ever seen the movies, READ THE ORIGINAL!

[Debbie Nijssen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read classic for every booklover!

[Eva Chen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brave novel with lively description and creative plot. Tarzan is a hero and I am glad that he finally found his true love. But to some extend, it’s a little difficult to understand.

[Erdem Karaadam · Rating 4 out of 5]

First book deserves 5 stars...
The second one I have to tell is a real bore, I had to stop it before the end.
It can be consumed only in comics.

[Len Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this for my book club, way better than the disney movie, though Disney did a great job cutting out the violence. Very enjoyable, might have to read the second book some time.

[Craig Schlossin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Superman, Batman, really the first super hero. A terrific read, nothing like the ridiculous movies.

[Whale Read · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old vocab - Fuxing hard.

first 10 pages there are no conversation at all

scary fighting Scene surely not for children.

Morning found them but little, If at all refreshed...

Tarzan = white skin

Though but ten years old he was fully as strong as the average man of thirty.

They were evidently no different from the black men -- no more civilized than the apes -- no less cruel than sabor

Using 1st person POV
Made characteristics stand out.
Clearly when the lion chasing Prof

คุณชายตกยาก + รูปหล่อ + สมชายชาตรี + stereotype ชายรักหญิงงดงามบอบบาง หญิงรักชายแข็งแกร่ง

With him near who could entertain fear.

"Beast ?" She murmured. "Then god make me a beast; for, man or beast, I am yours."

Jane jungrai
"Yes," she whispered
Bad ending for the first book

He was the man who had's Tarzan's title and Tarzan's estates, and was going to marry the women whom Tarzan loved - the women who loved Tarzan.
Finished Tarzan of the ape

"Mon Dius!" He soliloquized but they are all alike. Cheating murdering, lying, fighting, and all for things that beast of the jungle would not deign to process - money yo purchase the effeminate pleasure for weakling.

The first law of nature compels them to cling tenaciously to life ...to fight for it; but it does not teach them to fear the death

คนดีทาร์ซาน ตกน้ำไม่ไหลตกไฟไม่ไหม้
ให้อภัยเสมอ และเป็นที่รักของทุกคน

ตกน้ำในมหาสมุทรแล้วเจอเรือเก่าลอยมาอะคิดดู

ผู้หญิงในเรื่องอ่อนแอ งี่เง่าแบบ stereotype
คาดหวังให้ผช สู้กับสิงโตตายอย่างกล้าหาญ แต่ตัวเองก้ทรุดตัวลงสวดภาวนา

Like his fellows beast, he preferred to suffer in silence and alone

He had started life an ape -- as an ape he would die

The return of Tarzan
(Second part)
is quite boring always rescue girls in various situations, show superhuman power

Maybe that's why the book comes together!
Otherwise, no one bothers to buy the 2nd episode

Have no idea that It is the intention of the author or a social norm at that time.
Women seem to be a burden yet a condition to the happiness of men.

Or it is just my opinion lol.

Tarzan = superman god of forest perfect
Unreal
Unbelievable

Bad guys go to jail not death.

[Danzaiss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulp fiction... I needed something fun and easy.

[Dany Doncel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic read! An incredible adventure from beginning to end with never a dull moment. I especially loved the writing style. The way Burroughs uses language is inspiring and motivating. My personal writing style has a slight similarity to his, so being able to read his diction and his sentence structure really helped me in taking mental notes for my own writing. Not to mention, there were just some golden sentences in there that I had to stop reading to appreciate. Thoroughly enjoyed the book, more than I thought I would.

[Ellemay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lets remember this book is pulp fiction from the 1910s. Lock your political correctness in a cupboard, put your brain in neutral, and enjoy an adventure from a bygone era where men were either heroes or cowards and women spent their time fainting or falling into danger!
Evocative descriptions of the African continent, fast paced action and adventure, and a fascinating insight into social attitudes during the beginning of the 20th century.

[Halley Sutton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ugh, finally. Too much Tarzan. Too much racism. Too many obviously serialized adventures in which Tarzan is, in fact, in no danger. Jane Porter a silly ninny. Glad to be done with this. Probably would've been okay with reading just the first Tarzan but back to back-- way too much.

[Bert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read/ listened to this story while doing year end/ Beginning clean up. What a wonderful tale. You feel like you are really with the characters. If you have only ever seen the movies, READ THE ORIGINAL!

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fun to read where it all began - the vine swinging, the chest thumping... Africa never seemed so scary.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very fun book to read aloud.

[Kevin Hull · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pure pulp fun from start to finish.