Tarzan of the Apes ~ The original jungle story written in 1914 by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Like his John Carter of Mars series, it's as exciting to read today as it must have been over one hundred years ago! This introduced a character we had never seen before - full of bravery, honour, and adventure that lasted through twenty-five sequels and became an enduring cultural legend. We all know the story, but as it has been reimagined and watered down over the years, reading the original book was really entertaining, full of violent battles, gruesome cannibals and the strange twists of fate.
John Clayton, the English nobleman Lord Greystoke and his wife were exploring off the coast of Africa - indeed they had discovered a buried chest of gold - when the crew mutinied and left them on the shores of a deserted lagoon. They survived in their shelter a while, giving birth to a son. After an attack on the hut from a pack of wild apes, John dies and the baby is picked up by Kala, an ape who recently gave birth. She raises Tarzan (White Ape) as her own and as he grows into a teenager, discovers he can do many things the others cannot, like climb higher and run faster, even swing from tree to tree like the chimpanzees do. As a teenager, he discovers the abandoned hut and explores the books inside, teaching himself how to read.
Enter Professor Porter and his daughter Jane, explorers who discover the hut also and slowly the two storylines intersect, with Tarzan saving them several times from attack before making himself known. From them he learns to speak French as well as English and by reading his father's diary that he is the rightful heir to the Graystoke fortune.
It's one of the best adventure stories I've read - with cliffhangers, savage battles with panthers and other apes, a blossoming love story, buried treasures, cannibalism, African tribes, mutiny - everything I was expecting and more. The storylines switch back and forth, overlapping each other. For something written in 1914, it does not read dated rather fresh and immediate like it was just written. Most of the story is about Tarzan surviving, jostling for power to become leader of the apes, hunting prey and eating the raw flesh, and discovering he is more than a white ape. Taller and stronger than most men, he lives naked in the jungle until his late teens.
Jane is also a dynamic character - courageous and clever. It's surprising after seeing her rescued by Tarzan in the movies that she is written as a strong female capable of fighting off whatever is attacking.
Captivating, original, thrilling, page-turning - A completely satisfying adventure!
Can't say enough about it. The end was such a surprise! I luckily had the sequel handy so I could pick right up from where it left off and continue reading. I have a few of the old hardcovers from Grossett and Dunlap, that were printed in the early 30's which are a pleasure to hold and read.
If you are interested, many of the Tarzan novels are available as free ebook downloads.
Highly recommended - I give it my highest rating.
1914 / Hardcover / 392 pages
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