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3 things prevent me from giving this a higher rating: the unabashed racism present throughout the novel, the unpalatable violence and the abrupt and unsatisfying ending. But, Burroughs is a very capable writer and knows how to captivate a reader. If nothing else, I have a much better foundation for the numerous adaptations of this novel (I know there are sequels to Tarzan but this seems to be the most popular).
Super racist, but also super boring. Burroughs was paid by the page, and it shows.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Tarzan man, Tarzan man, doing the things that a Tarzan can, really racist and kinda sexist, Tarzan man...
Had to be done. The writing is catchy and well done. Something that I couldn't avoid was that in order for Tarzan to function as Tarzan, everyone else has to be too stupid to live, and Tarzan has to things both physically and mentally impossible--like learning how to read English when he has no huamn-level language skills, and a prticular moment when he uses brute strength to kill a great ape. Uh-huh.
Had to be done. The writing is catchy and well done. Something that I couldn't avoid was that in order for Tarzan to function as Tarzan, everyone else has to be too stupid to live, and Tarzan has to things both physically and mentally impossible--like learning how to read English when he has no huamn-level language skills, and a prticular moment when he uses brute strength to kill a great ape. Uh-huh.
Meh. Decent for audiobook listening. Kind of want to know how the next ones turn out, but not sure I care to spend the time on it.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A surprisingly entertaining book -- far different from my preconceptions of what to expect. It makes me want to read the next book in the series.
Interesting, enjoyable story. The author overuses the word "denizen" - in some parts it was used practically every other page. As other reviewers have noted, it got rather far-fetched towards the end, but I wasn't expecting it to be realistic. I liked it enough to want to read the next one.
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There are a few things I liked about this book. For one, I liked Jane. She is always cool under pressure, and very often, she’s the most logical of the characters in the story. She seems to be an antecedent to the strong female leads we see in stories today. I also liked the whole idea of the plot. It’s wildly implausible and laughably absurd at times, which is part of what made it a fun adventure tale.
That being said, I only gave this two stars because of the the constant racism, sexism, and colonial imperialistic attitudes. I normally give books a pass for sentiments that were considered acceptable in former time periods, but instead of these attitudes being a peripheral part of the book, they were major themes, and I felt inundated by them. The descriptions of the black villagers and Jane’s black maid were especially hard to take. I might have even liked the nature vs. nurture theme if Burroughs hadn’t been so heavy handed in equating noble bloodline with superior human beings. I almost quit several times, and my dislike of leaving books unfinished is the only thing that compelled me to continue.