Rick B. (bup) - , reviewed on 3/5/2010 + 165 more book reviews

Amid a charmingly terrible understanding of his chosen setting (example - Burroughs seems to believe that 'ape' is a species, as distinct from gorilla, chimpanzee, etc), Burroughs constructs an absurd, laughably unbelievable tale.

Then, the last two chapters blew me away. I had no idea Burroughs had it in him - it was like it was ghost-written by Hemingway or something. Seriously - if you can make it through the first twenty-six, the last two make it all worth your while.

Did I mention how bad his understanding of nature was? Lions roam singly and thickly in the densest, lushest part of Africa - I'd say there's about one per acre/one per chapter.

Tarzan, by the way, teaches himself to read English, from books - alone - no people, but cannot speak English. However, he can write his name. Don't think about that too hard. It'll make you less willing to accept all the other ridiculousness (like where bad guys decide to bury treasure. Yep, we got bad pirates burying treasure herein).

I'll leave you one more teaser if it will encourage you to read the book just to find out if I'm lying - the book ends in a train station just beyond the reaches of a forest fire. In WISCONSIN.

Check your brain at the door, and you'll enjoy the heck out of this book.

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