Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
New York: Ballantine, 1992
Description
Back in Boston, Massachusetts, he was a blue blood named Waldo Smith-Jones. But when he found himself cast ashore on a lost island in the Pacific, an island populated by primitive men and beasts, he won not only a new name but also the hand of the cave princess, Nadara. This is the exciting tale of his desperate efforts to survive, of his victories and losses, and of his quest for romance.A Blackstone Audio production.
User reviews
LibraryThing member twolfe360
The Cave Girl introduces us to the ERB theme of the transformed man. In At the Earth’s Core, we meet David Innes, a character that steps away from the earlier Burroughs super men. By super i mean beyond normal. Tarzan is raised by Apes exhibiting extraordinary abilities, John Carter is possibly
Waldo Smith-Jones is a Boston blue blood who eschews physical endeavors in favor of being a learned momma’s boy. He is thrust into a primitive world by a rogue wave washing him overboard. He meets Nadara who guides him in his transformation from Waldo Smith-Jones to Thandar the killer. In the romance of Waldo/Thandar and Nadara, Burroughs mines his prevalent theme of the two protagonists miscommunicating as they fall in love with the other.
The first half of the book is whimsical in tone more towards Minidoka than Burrough’s other works. It isn’t as frivolous but the narrator is poking fun at Smith-Jones upbringing and the inadequacies of such an upbringing outside of Boston.
I would speculate that there was a period of time between the writing of the Cave Girl and the writing of second part “The Cave Man”. Mainly the speculation is based on the change in tone with the latter being a more straightforward telling of the adventure with less reflection on the inadequacies of Waldo’s upbringing.The change in tone also could have been editorial. ERB’s theme of refinement vs. the primitive is still explored but with less humor.
Personally I enjoyed the romp even though it has one of those ERB ironic tropes. In a section he describes the vastness of the ocean, detailing how Smith-Jones has no concept of the impossibility of finding Nadara or anyone else. Yet the impossible happens and all the players end up together on another island after a storm. At the end Burroughs does my favorite conceit which is to connect the written story to the ‘real world”. With no introduction as with his Barsoom or Tarzan books, I found I missed that piece so it was a pleasant surprise to read the last paragraph.
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immortal, Prince Richard in Outlaw of Torn seems to be born with an innate ability to use weapons but Innes is just a well rounded fellow who is thrown into a fantastic situation. Innes transforms slightly in At the Earth’s Core but it is the first half of The Cave Girl that we see a full character transformation.Waldo Smith-Jones is a Boston blue blood who eschews physical endeavors in favor of being a learned momma’s boy. He is thrust into a primitive world by a rogue wave washing him overboard. He meets Nadara who guides him in his transformation from Waldo Smith-Jones to Thandar the killer. In the romance of Waldo/Thandar and Nadara, Burroughs mines his prevalent theme of the two protagonists miscommunicating as they fall in love with the other.
The first half of the book is whimsical in tone more towards Minidoka than Burrough’s other works. It isn’t as frivolous but the narrator is poking fun at Smith-Jones upbringing and the inadequacies of such an upbringing outside of Boston.
I would speculate that there was a period of time between the writing of the Cave Girl and the writing of second part “The Cave Man”. Mainly the speculation is based on the change in tone with the latter being a more straightforward telling of the adventure with less reflection on the inadequacies of Waldo’s upbringing.The change in tone also could have been editorial. ERB’s theme of refinement vs. the primitive is still explored but with less humor.
Personally I enjoyed the romp even though it has one of those ERB ironic tropes. In a section he describes the vastness of the ocean, detailing how Smith-Jones has no concept of the impossibility of finding Nadara or anyone else. Yet the impossible happens and all the players end up together on another island after a storm. At the end Burroughs does my favorite conceit which is to connect the written story to the ‘real world”. With no introduction as with his Barsoom or Tarzan books, I found I missed that piece so it was a pleasant surprise to read the last paragraph.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1925
1925-03-21
1913-07
Physical description
249 p.; 18 cm
ISBN
0345378334 / 9780345378330