Tarzan of the Apes
category: fantasy, author:Edgar Rice Burroughs
introduction by John Seelyebook 1 of Tarzan
original copyright 1914,
read in November 2010
(and only once before, a couple of years ago)
Agamedes' opinion: 9 out of 10
Agamedes' opinion is 9 out of 10, "really, really good". Is that really, really true?Well, I enjoyed it. Very, very much. And, as it says, it's "opinion". Enjoyment has a strong effect on my opinion. Still...
It is so very unbelievable! But then, it's fantasy.
There are errors of fact! Plants and animals in Tarzan's jungle which normally live in a different environment -- or on a different continent. But it's fantasy!
This time through, I noticed something new (to me). "The Apes" are not apes of any common genus... Without really thinking about it, I had in my mind that Tarzan was raised by gorillas: the largest of the primates. Yet Tarzan's Apes swing through the treetops. And they battle with their traditional enemies -- the gorillas!
One more layer added to this fantasy: In the depths of the unexplored jungle is a tribe of giant apes. Apes which have never been seen before... or since.
Okay, now it seems obvious. But it was new to me, the realisation that Tarzan was reared by Apes which only exist in the fantasy world of the Tarzan stories.
Ridiculous characters. Over-the-top characterisations. Racial and badly dated stereotypes. Unbelievable action... Yes! It's absolutely great!
Tarzan is fantasy, action, adventure, romance... Pure escapist fun. Read Tarzan of the Apes, perhaps be embarrassed by it... enjoy it.
Oh, and there's a bonus!
I read the Penguin Classic edition of Tarzan. There are explanatory notes -- and they actually help the reader!
Earlier, I read Wells' The Sleeper Awakes, in Penguin Classic edition. The notes were printed -- intrusively -- in the text. And the notes were worthless: self evident at best and with no notes for the truly confusing parts of that book.
Seelye has done a good job of producing interesting notes which actually add to the reader's understanding of -- or interest in -- the book. Then there's his Introduction... which is a fascinating examination of the evolution of the "wild man" in literature. An examination which is almost incomprehensible to the reader who has not studied the topic! Yet it still provides enough interest to be worthwhile.
Thinking about it... Perhaps "9 out of ten" is too much. It's not a great book.
Not a great book in the sense that it is well written and it stands alone as a shining example of the skill of the superior author.
Yet, as a very enjoyable book... Taking fantasy out to new horizons and back home for enjoyment by hordes of readers... As the precursor to a score of popular books and uncountable other media releases... As a book which is widely known and well remembered (if only indirectly) a century after its publication...
Tarzan of the Apes is very, very good. Well worth that 9 out of 10.
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