I just finished reading Sir Edgar Rice’s Tarzan of the Apes. Yep the classic. I’m in a mood to read classics these days and boy was I rewarded for the attempt. The book had the essentials of a proper adventure movie which no wonder landed it at the door step of our Hollywood producers. But believe me the movies don't even remotely do justice to this masterpiece of a book.(Another classic which thrilled me so much was Jack London's White Fang)
I loved the writing style. Sir Edgar Rice adopts the narrator’s role through out and he reminds me of a wizened old man with a pipe in his mouth (though his biography doesn’t depict this) sitting by the fireplace and narrating such fascinating stories. While reading the book, you never once question his knowledge of the language or the mannerisms of the animals and Tarzan's bringing up in the depths of the jungle by an Ape named Kala.
My fixation with Tarzan of the Apes started when I first read it with encouragement from my elder brother. That was when I was perhaps 10 years old. I’m not too sure. So fragments of the story kept coming back to me. The most vivid being of Tarzan learning to read and write English on his own with the help of books found in an old cabin, but having absolutely no knowledge of phonetics as he is not in contact with humans. So while he is very versatile in the limited vocabulary of the apes, he is absolutely at a loss when it comes to speaking the language of the humans. I was delighted when I came up on this chapter in the book; that part still had the ability to thrill me.
As I was saying, the book has everything – adventure (loads of it), drama, love(passion like in the M&Bs), heartbreak (so much so that I want to read the part II) as the ending is positive in that.
I have great regard for writers who have the capacity to transport you to the mystical lands and make you believe that such a thing really exists. And that is why the JK Rowlings of the world earn such accolades too. So it was that from the moment I turned the pages of Tarzan of the Apes, I was transported to the jungles of Africa where this ‘primitive handsome giant’ lived with the Apes, learnt their ways and with the combined advantage of deep rooted human instincts, survives the harsh jungle life long after his mother is killed by a human.
Sir Edgar Rice Burrough’s language is smooth with a fine line of humour and his narration is impeccable. One is left feeling as if the whole episode had taken place in front of the writer’s eyes. Sample this:
Here he fastened the rope securely to a stout branch, and then, descending, plunged his hunting knife into Kulonga's heart. Kala was avenged.
Tarzan examined the black minutely, for he had never seen any other human being. The knife with its sheath and belt caught his eye; he appropriated them. A copper anklet also took his fancy, and this he transferred to his own leg.
He investigated and appropriated the feathered headdress, and then he prepared to get down to business, for Tarzan of the Apes was hungry, and here was meat; meat of the kill, which jungle ethics permitted him to eat.
It definitely is a page turner. And it leaves you wanting for more. I felt the ending to be a bit rushed, as if he was preparing for a sequel as he was writing. But even this hitch, can be excused because by then you have already enjoyed the adventures of the King of Apes, the handsome Lord Greystroke, unbelievable though it may seem.
I loved the writing style. Sir Edgar Rice adopts the narrator’s role through out and he reminds me of a wizened old man with a pipe in his mouth (though his biography doesn’t depict this) sitting by the fireplace and narrating such fascinating stories. While reading the book, you never once question his knowledge of the language or the mannerisms of the animals and Tarzan's bringing up in the depths of the jungle by an Ape named Kala.
My fixation with Tarzan of the Apes started when I first read it with encouragement from my elder brother. That was when I was perhaps 10 years old. I’m not too sure. So fragments of the story kept coming back to me. The most vivid being of Tarzan learning to read and write English on his own with the help of books found in an old cabin, but having absolutely no knowledge of phonetics as he is not in contact with humans. So while he is very versatile in the limited vocabulary of the apes, he is absolutely at a loss when it comes to speaking the language of the humans. I was delighted when I came up on this chapter in the book; that part still had the ability to thrill me.
As I was saying, the book has everything – adventure (loads of it), drama, love(passion like in the M&Bs), heartbreak (so much so that I want to read the part II) as the ending is positive in that.
I have great regard for writers who have the capacity to transport you to the mystical lands and make you believe that such a thing really exists. And that is why the JK Rowlings of the world earn such accolades too. So it was that from the moment I turned the pages of Tarzan of the Apes, I was transported to the jungles of Africa where this ‘primitive handsome giant’ lived with the Apes, learnt their ways and with the combined advantage of deep rooted human instincts, survives the harsh jungle life long after his mother is killed by a human.
Sir Edgar Rice Burrough’s language is smooth with a fine line of humour and his narration is impeccable. One is left feeling as if the whole episode had taken place in front of the writer’s eyes. Sample this:
Here he fastened the rope securely to a stout branch, and then, descending, plunged his hunting knife into Kulonga's heart. Kala was avenged.
Tarzan examined the black minutely, for he had never seen any other human being. The knife with its sheath and belt caught his eye; he appropriated them. A copper anklet also took his fancy, and this he transferred to his own leg.
He investigated and appropriated the feathered headdress, and then he prepared to get down to business, for Tarzan of the Apes was hungry, and here was meat; meat of the kill, which jungle ethics permitted him to eat.
It definitely is a page turner. And it leaves you wanting for more. I felt the ending to be a bit rushed, as if he was preparing for a sequel as he was writing. But even this hitch, can be excused because by then you have already enjoyed the adventures of the King of Apes, the handsome Lord Greystroke, unbelievable though it may seem.
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