Customer Reviews

The Tarzan Twins

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This long out of print story is a rare treat for fans of Tarzan and Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan wrote two short novellea about Dick and doc, a pair of fourteen year old cousins who visit Tarzan and have jungle adventures.

I am sorry to report that the previous reviewer is not correct. Only the novella THE TARZAN TWINS is included in this edition. Fans can only hope that AEgypan Books will also publish TARZAN AND THE TARZAN TWINS WITH JAD-BAL-JA THE GOLDEN LION in the near future.

I also feel compelled to say that parents may want to use some discretion in giving this book to youngsters. It is true that there is no inappropriate sexual material and the violence is minimal, but there are racially insensitive comments and characterizations aimed at the African characters. I don't believe Burroughs was the racist some reviewers make him out to be, but he was a man of his times, and bought into many of the racial stereotypes common in the early 20th century. Parents who buy this should be prepared to talk with their children about these attitudes. African American parents may want to pass.

Aside from that, the story is fast-moving and exciting. The boys learn about friendship, courage, and self-reliance as they dodge peril in the jungle. It's an adventure many young readers will enjoy sharing with them.

After reading the introduction to the book, and how horribly it did when first released I was prepared for the worst. However, it really isn't that bad. Yes, it does have the usual racial sterotypes that Burroughs often relied on, though there was a sentence or two about how Dick and Doc (the twins) found some of their narrowminded assumptions corrected. Clearly Burroughs was making attempts to correct some of the sterotyping he had done. Even one of the horrible cannibals becomes an almost compassionate character by the end. Which is a huge step from alot of Burroughs' other books.

I enjoyed this book, it was a really quick read, it lacked alot of the physical descriptions that drag down some of the other novels. Tarzan has a breif cameo. And what I really liked was the humour the twins managed to carry through their entire adventure, I am not usually laughing during ERB's novels, (except perhaps at some of the improbable plot devices). It's too bad this edition didn't have any of the award winning illustrations that were mentioned in the introduction.

A kid's story, to start with.

A couple of boys, both with alliterative names starting with D, are off to visit the jungle. The only problem is when they get there, they get a bit sidetracked, and lost, and the Lord of the Jungle doesn't know quite where they are.

They end up running into a lion, and cannibals, as you do, when lost in Tarzan's Africa. They manage to find a couple of decent local blokes though, and eventually Tarzan tracks them down.

This is the only ERB book written especially for children. I consider Burroughs to be one of the greatest fiction authors of the 20th Century. He was certainly one of the most imaginative and prolific. His books are well written grammatically, and Burroughs had the ability to capture the reader in the first few pages of a work. So who cares if he didn't write magnificent prose! He certainly influenced a lot of people. A recent piece in Science magazine noted that about three-fourths of scientists had been influenced by science fiction. When the late astronomer Carl Sagan was asked why he decided to become a scientist, he replied "Mr. Burroughs tole me to." Why did I decide to become a scientist, world traveler, and adventurer?, I reply "Mr. Burroughs told me to." Needless to say, I have all ERB's books and the short stories that have ben published. Now let's look further at The Twins. They were not twins; their American mothers were. One sister married an American and the couple had Doc, and the the other sister married an Englishman with Dick as the result. Dick's father was distantly related to Lord Greystoke, who invited the boys to come to Africa and stay two months at the Greystoke estate. However, the train taking the boys there derailed, and repairs would take considerable time So Dick and Doc headed into the jungle and were soon lost. They are captured by cannibals, but with the help of some slight-of-hand magic by Doc and two fellow captives, they escape. Wandering the jungle, they are soon rescued by Tarzan and his Waziri. But soon a massive storm rolls in, and they become separated from their rescuers. Soon they run into a band of renegade Sun Worshipers, expelled from Opar by La, who are looking for a place to build a new temple. A captive with them is a young girl, the daughter of a missionary, who is to be their new High Priestess.. Dick and Doc set out to rescue her and are successful. This book can serve the young reader in two ways. First, it introduces them to other Burroughs books, especially "Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar." Second, it can lead to questions about Africa's geography, peoples,and fauna and flora.

This was one of the few Burroughs books that I didn't have. I haven't had a chance to read it yet but it is probably a typical Burroughs book that keeps you interested all through the book.