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Tarzan of the Apes [Blackstone Edition]

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Tarzan of the Apes [Blackstone Edition]

By: Edgar Rice Burroughs
Narrated by: James Slattery
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Summary

Deep in the heart of the Congo a small baby is adopted by Kala, a fierce anthropoid ape of the tribe of Kerchak. Here, protected by his savage foster mother, Tarzan (for so she named him) learned the secrets of jungle life - how to talk with all animals, how to move like a shadow, how to swing freely through the teeming forest, how to fight barehanded the great carnivores. Here he acquired the strength and agility of his guardian apes, and the same keen sense of smell and sound that all wild creatures need to protect themselves. Here he cemented his lifelong friendship with the tribe of Tantor, the great grey elephants. And here, in time, his human intelligence brought him to the leadership of his own tribe.

Fierce, proud, free, superlatively stong and nobly made, Tarzan of the Apes proved himself truly the unconquerable Lord of the Jungle. But civilization holds traps for the jungle-bred. And even Tarzan was not immune to the craft and guile of human beings.

Public Domain (P)1994 Blackstone Audiobooks Classics Africa
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If I were to adapt Tarzan as a film for today’s audiences, I would propose to do the following.

Make Jane Porter black.
Make Esmeralda her nanny less of a racist childish caricature.
Certainly include more African tribes who are not cannibals with filed teeth.
Reduce the clear bias towards white people and Englishmen as genetically superior to blacks- Edgar’s clear love of eugenics made many passages very uncomfortable to listen to, and I’m white. (No virtue signalling intended)
Perhaps make Jane less obligated to follow so rigidly the customs of her society.
Maybe make Tarzan less unintentionally biased towards black people in general.

I can absolutely see the struggle Disney had with writing both the film and the tv series, and admire the writing team with the creative way in which they pulled characters and locations from the books to remould as memorable characters in the franchise.

I can definitely see the story if not the series adapted into a Primal esque animation by Genndy Tartakovsky. It certainly fits the same vibe in places with its tragedy and brutality.

Overall a decent listen but a story that aged poorly as a result of being a product of its time with a clear preference to white characters. True there are evil white characters, but they do not receive the same dehumanising treatment the author brings in his descriptions to black factions and characters. Tarzan’s race and vaunted heritage would surely have had little to do with an innate desire to learn more about his past, and had he met a friendlier African based tribe, he would certainly have yearned less for the company of white people if said tribe had accepted him.

Edgar Rice Burroughs does demonstrate through an explanation of one of his characters that the black people shown in a negative light in the book are not representations of them as whole, and of course there are the Waziri tribe who to my knowledge in later books Tarzan befriends, but in this text alone, it would have done perhaps to include them in this text. The depictions of black African folks in this text is too unfavourable.

Not to mention that any study into feral children will tell you that only by outside intervention can such individuals overcome their animalistic upbringing. I would be curious to see a Tarzan incarnation who wasn’t white, but until then, I will have to stand by my preference of his noble depictions in the dynamite comics and perhaps the films like Legend of Tarzan as well his Disney incarnation.

Narration itself was a good listen and compelling enough, ignoring the car that went by in the background while the narrator was reading. Overall 7/10

A violent and thrilling story of a man raised by killer apes- hampered unfortunately by unflattering racism

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I didn't want it to end. How the movies have poorly portrayed this beautiful story!

A masterpiece

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i have seen tons of Tarzan films and while some are good , none are as good as this the original story. such a great story full of love , socail politics, the brutality of natural and even some humour!!

a true classic of storytelling

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Edgar Rice Burroughs body of work is arguably defined by Tarzan of the Apes. Bearing in mind this book was written at a time when casual racism was not recognised nor understood, Burroughs did seem to be respectful, at least, of his black characters. I loved this book as a child and was delighted to have it read to me on Audible. It’s well performing by the narrator, who made the book come to life for me, it’s brutal at times but always compelling and exciting. Enjoy!

Beautifully written, artfully performed

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Such a fantastic book. So glad I listened to it. One of my all time favourites

A must read!

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