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The Return of Tarzan
First published 1915 · 508 pages
A breathless plunge into primal jungles and high-stakes heroics where the veneer of civilization strips away to reveal the wild heart beneath.
What it feels like
Reading this classic adventure feels like unearthing a time capsule of pure, unadulterated pulp escapism. The narrative moves at a propulsive clip, sweeping the reader from the stifling drawing rooms of Europe back into the perilous, sun-dappled canopy of the jungle. It is a story soaked in melodrama and earnest heroics, where every shadow hides a deadly beast and every encounter is a matter of life or death. The prose is ornate and breathless, painting a vivid, if highly romanticized, portrait of the wild that contrasts sharply with the corruptions of civilized man. It will delight fans of vintage swashbuckling tales who are looking to lose themselves in a sweeping, high-stakes journey of survival, primal instinct, and fated romance.
- Mood
- thrilling
- exotic
- perilous
- sweeping
- Tone
- earnest
- melodramatic
- heroic
- adventurous
- Pace
- propulsive
- Themes
- civilization versus savagery · primal instincts · noble savagery · survival and dominance · fated romance
- The writing
- Breathless and highly descriptive, featuring the ornate, slightly purple melodrama characteristic of early twentieth-century pulp fiction.
- The arc
- The journey moves from the suffocating constraints of modern society back to the liberating, dangerous embrace of the wild, culminating in a triumphant reclamation of identity and love.
- Who it's for
- Readers who crave vintage, swashbuckling escapism and do not mind the archaic tropes of classic pulp adventure.
Content notes
- colonialist attitudes
- racism
- animal cruelty
- violence
- outdated cultural depictions
About the book
The Return of Tarzan is Edgar Rice Burroughs' second novel in the series starring the man raised by apes, and the story picks up where Tarzan of the Apes left off. Tarzan finds himself back in the coastal jungle of his upbringing after being thrown off a ship by his deadly enemies.
Description from Open Library.
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