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Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Do I have to tell you what this book is about? An English Lord and his wife are stranded in Africa by a shipwreck. They have a baby, but die before he is one year old, and the baby is rescued and raised by great apes in the African jungle.
Unsurprisingly, given when it was written, the book is quite racist and sexist. You can't really help but come away from it thinking that Tarzan only becomes the great and honourable hero we all know because of his lordly, white, English heritage. And Jane swoons at all the right times. The African wildlife is presented as needed for dramatic purposes only, you certainly don't come to this book looking to be educated; even the "great apes" (something like a cross between a gorilla and a chimpanzee, that are central to main part of the story) are entirely fictional. The writing is unashamedly commercial; short, dramatic, heavily romanticised, cliff-hanger chapter endings - the works.
So why did I nominate it?
Okay, first let me admit that that I haven't read much from this decade in recent times, so my choices for nominations were limited. But there are reasons to take the nomination seriously.
Firstly: It's a great yarn. It's fantasy, you're not supposed to take it too seriously - I'm pretty sure the author didn't. Put aside your more tender sensibilities about political correctness and it can be great fun.
Secondly: Influence. There is something about this story that has sparked ongoing interest. Movies, comics, books, television series, action figures - and so on. Whatever you think about the quality of the original work, it has been a hit with many people over many years. And, even more than that. Tarzan is now an iconic figure. The name has become part of the English language - he's even in the OED! Great literature it might not be, but it's undoubtedly been a memorable and popular book.
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