Tarzan of the Apes (Tarzan, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Jun 22, 2015 Steve rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: pulp

This one is kind of hard to rate. As a novel it's a complete mess, but that's also part of its charm. Then again, maybe it's just Tarzan, with a dead lion draped over his powerful shoulders, rising above it all. The first half (or more) of the novel is the best. The part where Tarzan becomes Tarzan. His learning to read on his own (remarkable), to survive, to hunt, to kill -- and with a vengeance, is way cool and way pulpy. The second part, where Jane Porter and her father arrive, hunting treasu ...more

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Jan 28, 2016 Nadine in NY Jones rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, saw-the-movie-b4-i-read-the-book, classic, gutenberg, 1001-books

I started reading this as a bit of a lark. My opinion of ERB is quite firmly set, but hey! This is on the list of 1001 books to read, so why not! It's a classic from 1912! Expectations set to: Low, with a side of extraneous bigotry and sexism. Amazingly, this book exceeded my expectations. And not in a good way.

I didn't really expect to become quite as engaged as I did. I mean, make no mistake, this book is a shit show. But it's like a train wreck: horrid and captivating at once. And the old-fas ...more

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Jul 15, 2012 Suvi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: _north-america, 1900-1939, novels, _africa

I remember fiddling these books at the library when I was a child, but the thickness of them probably stopped me from ever borrowing them. Instead I just stuck to girly books, like Nancy Drew. The tv series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures on the other hand was one of my favourites. Ok, I'll admit, I watched it mostly because of John Lara :D And oh boy, the films with Johnny Weismuller, my great love! So, like with a lot of other people, the story of Tarzan was familiar even though I never actual I remember fiddling these books at the library when I was a child, but the thickness of them probably stopped me from ever borrowing them. Instead I just stuck to girly books, like Nancy Drew. The tv series Tarzan: The Epic Adventures on the other hand was one of my favourites. Ok, I'll admit, I watched it mostly because of John Lara :D And oh boy, the films with Johnny Weismuller, my great love! So, like with a lot of other people, the story of Tarzan was familiar even though I never actually read the book.

Now that I'm an adult, I take note on different things than what I would have as a kid. I was able to enjoy the story for what it was and be swept away by the epic adventures, but Burroughs was definitely a child of his era in regards to attitudes. The African tribes are described as being cruel, even monstrous cannibalist savages, whereas Esmeralda, the servant of white people, was mostly a childlike, hysterical and stupid nervous wreck. These basically overrule Burroughs's idea of fraternity between humans, or did it just concern white men? Alice and Jane were mostly just weak and useless (Jane a bit stronger, though), who apparently weren't able to 'think reasonably like men'. It was also unfathomable, that Tarzan's aristocratic instincts were supposedly hereditary, 'a natural result from generations of fine upbringing'. Seriously? Even though he'd been brought up by an ape after being orphaned as a baby? Thankfully Mr. Philander and professor Porter offered a little welcomed comic relief to the story.

Ok, so you could probably draw a conclusion from all this that I didn't like the book, but it's quite the opposite. The story was a great dose of pulp entertainment, even though the end felt a bit rushed and glued on. Because of my personal lack of interest towards wrestling with animals, I was happy for the arrival of Jane and the contrast it brought, but as a whole this was a great adventure novel of which I will definitely read the next installments at some point. ...more

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Jun 01, 2014 Erica rated it it was ok

An amazingly scary cultural document of the white British-American worldview of 1914. Come for the heinous racism; stay for the shocking sexism; go home pondering how Americans were making sense of Darwinism at the turn of the 20th century. A colleague of mine teaches this novel in a course on Darwinism--very easy, transparent read with clear cultural messages for a lower-level undergrad audience.

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