A review by d_iris
Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs

5.0

Just thinking about this book makes me smile, and it amazes me how dozens of film and TV versions of this story have been adapted, and none can touch this seminal classic. Tarzan is more than an ape and more than a man, he is an idea to strive for. A philosophical entity manifested and brought to life. He understands morality and ethics without ever having been preached at about it; without ever having someone tell him what it is. He understands what it is to be a man and that is...phenomenal...astounding...pride inducing. It really makes you wonder and think of how and why we are here, and how and why we are who we are. It's so much more than the pulp novel it was peddled as way back in its day.

And Jane! oh mama. Jane is a heroine to die for--to strive for. She is welcoming and curious, she is proud and humble. She does what she wants, what she likes, but understands the value of duty to others. (And she's a blonde American! Oh Mother, may I?) Together, Tarzan and Jane tell one hell of a story that just begs to be told and retold, read and reread, year after year, decade after decade.

This book is one of my all time favorites. A perfect story. 5/5