Tarzan of the Apes (Tarzan, #1) in Building a SciFi/Fantasy Library

Sep 07, 2008 Stephen rated it it was ok

Shelves: easton-press, on-deck-next, pulpy, to-re-read

2.5 stars. Not one of the "classics" that I particularly enjoyed. It has been over 20 years since I read this and I may put this on the list to re-read at some point to see if my opinion has changed. For now, my recollection is that it was okay but forgettable. ...more

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Dec 03, 2022 Keith rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, audio-books

First of all, I found the widespread claims of racism against this book to be almost completely unfounded. If you walk away from reading it offended, then I think you're a pathetic snowflake searching for something to get upset about. Since this was written in the early 1900's and I'd heard so much about how racist the book was, I came in expecting to read some pretty terrible things. Then, as I progressed through the book, I kept thinking, "The racist parts must be coming up." But they never re First of all, I found the widespread claims of racism against this book to be almost completely unfounded. If you walk away from reading it offended, then I think you're a pathetic snowflake searching for something to get upset about. Since this was written in the early 1900's and I'd heard so much about how racist the book was, I came in expecting to read some pretty terrible things. Then, as I progressed through the book, I kept thinking, "The racist parts must be coming up." But they never really did. There were at most a couple of lines throughout the book that you would kind of wince at. I found the majority of the book to be the opposite of racist and incredibly enlightened for the time it was written. (view spoiler)

The book itself was mostly good. I would say that the pace is slow and steady, so it won't blow anyone away but I wanted to keep reading throughout the entire book. The biggest problem of the book were annoying characters. (view spoiler)

Obviously, you have to approach this book with a good deal of suspension of disbelief. The thought of a human swinging through the trees with the skill and rate of speed described in the book is ridiculous, so your entire gauge on what is realistic has to be seriously adjusted. Even with that adjustment, there will be quite a few times you just have to laugh at Burroughs' reasoning for why Tarzan would be able to learn something or survive in the circumstances described. My favorite was (view spoiler).

Like many books more than 60-70 years old, this one is very casually brutal and wildly different than modern interpretations. (view spoiler)

The ending felt really bizarre to me. (view spoiler)

I'll give the next book in the series a try. I think I saw that there are something like 20 sequels, so I'm sure they get pretty wild and even crazier than this book. ...more

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Feb 22, 2011 Morris rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, boys-own

I had avoided this book for a long long time. Far too long.

Why avoid it? Well, I've seen the movies, I've seen the tv shows, I've seen the cartoons. We all know the muscley guy swinging through the trees with a pet monkey and grunting "Me Tarzan, You Jane", don't we? Not at all.

This novel is so much more than any adaptation I have ever seen of it. There is philosophy within the text, discussion of evolution and of faith. The idea of an inbred sense of honour is the central theme of the text, wit ...more

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Jun 21, 2009 Brett added it · review of another edition

Adventure

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Jan 07, 2009 Max rated it it was amazing

I haven't read this book in ages, and ended up reading it again in 1 sitting. Old style of writing, but still a page-turner. ...more

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Aug 08, 2011 Dale Pearl rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: first-in-a-series, straight-fiction, 2014, y2014-april, adventure

Some would find great faults in this novel. If you look you can find undertones from time period in which Burroughs first penned this novel.
For me I an find no wrong.
The originality of the work often copied but never duplicated.

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