Thankfully, Tarzan isn’t like that at all. I always find myself shying away from classic books they’re intimidating and the language is sometimes so ambiguous that I have to guess at what is going on. I think it’s a fantastic story and there’s no need whatsoever to change things! My only wish is that someone made a movie adaptation of this accurately. Yes there’s romance, and yes Tarzan is a gentleman at heart, but the aristocratic fanfare that Jane has to deal with is very real and it’s never going to be as simple and just swinging off into the trees with her Ape man. This is no easy fairytale story as Disney would have you believe. “Only a fool performs any act without reason.” ~ Tarzan I am, right now, about to keep reading and go into book two because I can’t wait to see what Tarzan does next. I highly recommend this book if you’re a fan of Tarzan and interested in seeing how the original story unfolds. Well, if you couldn’t tell from my previous enthusiasm, the short answer is: yes. It’s really interesting to explore as a story because so much of it was completely new to me and Tarzan himself is way more barbaric and gross (which makes a lot more sense).

I won’t tell you much more than that, but Jane is definitely the most accurately represented character in movies, etc. We are introduced to Tarzan’s character and follow his journey of growing up with the Apes through to meeting Jane and the rest. The book will pull the rug out from under your feet by introducing Clayton as Tarzan’s father – whilst he is not the Clayton we know from Disney, it was certainly a shock to see such a hated character imposed on top of one we knew to be loving. In my opinion, Tarzan is the second most inaccurately retold story following Frankenstein – and it’s such a shame! But let’s come back to retellings later. This original story of Tarzan is nothing like you’re expecting it to be if you’ve only ever seen remakes and retellings.

I think the thing that blew my mind the most about this book is the fact that it was written in 1912 – at times I found it really hard to imagine Burroughs sitting at a desk so long ago putting pen to paper and creating this fantastical story. This is my favourite Disney movie so it was really interesting to see where the story had come from and wow! It’s very different.

I really enjoyed this! I have a stunning edition of the first three novels bound together and I can’t wait to continue reading – this finishes on such a cliff hanger! Despite this taking me the best part of a year to pick through (honestly, if that isn’t the definitely of a short attention span then I don’t know what is) I loved the original tale of Tarzan. Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs 4/5 STARS

Tarzan of the apes book cover