¿Cuánta tierra necesita un hombre?

by Martin Veyron

Pajom vive con su mujer e hijo en su parcela de tierra en Siberia. Aunque no es grande, lo que cultiva le da para mantener a su familia. Sin embargo, su huerto no es lo suficientemente vasto para su ambición. «Si solamente tuviera más tierras —suspira mientras eleva la vista por encima de la cerca de su pequeña propiedad—, podría ser al fin feliz del todo».

Martin Veyron (Gran Premio del Festival de Cómic de Angoulême 2001) adapta con éxito el relato de uno de los grandes autores clásicos, León Tolstói (Guerra y paz, Anna Karenina). Una fábula atemporal sobre la codicia y la ambición de los hombres calificada por James Joyce como «una de las mejores historias de la literatura contemporánea».

Genres: Graphic Novels, Bande Dessinée, Comics, Russia, France, Fiction, Classics

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 22, 2016

About the author

French novelist, cartoonist and comics artist.

Reviews

[Ed Erwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a letter to his daughter, James Joyce said that this short story by Leo Tolstoy was "the greatest story that the literature of the world knows". That seems like quite a stretch. But it is a nice story of the life of a man who just can't get enough. A critique of selfishness and private ownership of land. The graphical adaptation is lovely.

[Sylvester (Taking a break in 2023) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was already disposed to love this - Tolstoy's folk tales are superb, and this particular tale is one of the most memorable of the collection. The perfect choice to build a graphic novel around, if you ask me. And the art!! Absolutely fantastic. I loved everything about this graphic novel. I can only hope there are more in the works...
More, please!!

Highly recommended.

[Knjigoholičarka]

Rađen prema istoimenoj Tolstojevoj priči, "How Much Land Does A Man Need" je pripovest o ljudskoj pohlepi i njenom uticaju na čovekov život i psihu. Strip daje dovoljno prostora za razmišljanje o tome gde je granica između potrebe i pohlepe, kao i o razlikama između korišćenja i besramne eksploatacije, bilo zemlje, bilo ljudske trpeljivosti. Pa ipak, poslednje poglavlje stripa, u kome pohlepa u potpunosti obuzima protagonistu, deluje poprilično "nakalemljen" na dotadašnji razvoj priče, pa bi neka duža i razrađenija tranzicija bila poželjnija. Sad, ja to ovako opisujem okolo kere, pa na mala vrata, da ne spojlujem ništa, i svesna sam da zvučim nedorečeno - baš kao opis preobražaja protagoniste stripa iz običnog seljaka u alavog zemljoposednika. Uprkos tome, zanimljivo štivo, lep crtež, odlična tema.

[Ridwan Anam · Rating 3 out of 5]

লিও টলস্টয়ের বিখ্যাত গল্প -"একজন মানুষের কতোখানি জমি লাগে?" অনুসারে আঁকা গ্রাফিক নভেল। মূল গল্প থেকে এই কমিকস অনেকখানিই ভিন্ন, যাতে এডাপশনটা চমৎকার হলেও টলস্টয়ের মূল গল্পের অসামান্য দ্রুত গতি আর টান টান উত্তেজনা হারিয়ে গিয়েছে। যেখানে টলস্টয়ের গল্পের অর্ধেক জুড়ে আছে জমি কেনার ঘটনা, সেখানে এই কমিকসের মাত্র এক পঞ্চমাংশ বা তারও কম পৃষ্ঠা জমি কেনার ঘটনার পিছনে ব্যয় করা হয়েছে। বইয়ের বেশিভাগজমি কেনার পটভূমি বর্ননা করতেই ব্যয় করে ফেলা হয়েছে।

তারপরেও এডাপশনটা ভালো লাগার কারণ, দুর্দান্ত আর্টওয়ার্ক আর কালারিং। রাশার ঋতু পরিবর্তনের সাথে প্রকৃতির রূপ বদল, ভূমিহীন, প্রান্তিক কৃষকদের সংগ্রামময় জীবনের অসামান্য চিত্রায়ন করা হয়েছে। একেকটা পাতা অনেকক্ষণ ধরে দেখার মতো করে আঁকা।

আমার রেটিং -

স্টোরি - ২/৫

গ্রাফিক আর আর্টওয়ার্ক - ৫/৫

সম্পূর্ন বই - ৩/৫

[Marie Poppins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un récit vraiment différent de ce que j'ai l'habitude de lire, mais qui m'a plu. La réflexion sur la propriété est très actuelle et pousse à la remise en question.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel tries to answer the question, "How much land does a man need," by following a poor peasant who through luck, and money and help from friends, gets, what he thinks, is all the land he could ever want. A whole village worth of land.

Here he is standing in his field, thinking that is it. That this is all he needs.



But, the story doesn't stop there. He gets greedier, and sadder. He wants more land, and more land, and so he goes in search of it.



The pictures, when they are pastural, are lovely. You can tell it is a short story, stretched out. But, the pictures, make up for it.

Nicely drawn, but, we could have chucked half the book, and kept, what appears to be the main content of the short story. Still, this builds up our view of the protagonist, and those around him.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

[Susana P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Une histoire féroce sur l'ambition, adaptée de Tolstoï! Très bon album graphique.

[Elene Figuer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adaptación gráfica de un cuento corto y moralista sobre la codicia, un poco al estilo del "cuento de la lechera"; de Tolstói, autor de "Ana Karenina" y "Guerra y Paz"; con ligeras licencias en los detalles de la trama sin repercutir en la esencia de la misma y que carece de los detalles fantásticos (personaje del diablo, me refiero) del original.

El dibujo me recuerda a los cómics de Tintín, con sus ojos a puntitos; veía al Capitán Haddock por todas partes.

En la novela gráfica he captado mejor la moraleja del cuento: "Tres arshines de la cabeza a los pies bastaron." VS "Dos metros de largo por un metro cincuenta de ancho y de profundidad... He aquí cuánta tierra necesita un hombre."

[Nour Al-Sarraj · Rating 3 out of 5]

قصة مصورة عن قصة قصيرة ل تولستوي بعنوان: كم هو نصيب الإنسان من الأرض

[Juan Fuentes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excelente adaptación del cuento de Tolstoi del mismo título, una reflexión acerca de la sociedad, la propiedad privada, el ansia de posesión y la libertad.

[Karine Mon coin lecture · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5
Adoré!
Mon avis sur le blog:
http://moncoinlecture.com/2017/04/qui...

[Electra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une nouvelle de Léon Tolstoï très bien adaptée

[MisterHobgoblin · Rating 4 out of 5]

How Much Land Does A Man Need is an old Tolstoy short story. My form teacher read it to my class when I was 13 and it has stuck with me.

So when I saw that it had been adapted into graphic novel form, I jumped at the chance. This is beautifully illustrated, creating scenes of pre-Revolution peasant life in Siberia. The man and his wife live a happy but poor life, but are tempted by their upwardly mobile city relations. It takes only minor provocation from the land agent to drive the village to rise up and seize (purchase) the land for the common good. But our hero wants more and more, and is willing to make unwise bargains to attain it.

Needless to say - this is Tolstoy - it doesn't end well.

I don't have too much experience of graphic novels, but this one seems to be faithful to the original story, to convey both the story and the atmosphere, and to seduce the reader with awesome illustration. I don't know how long graphic novels are supposed to take to read, but from memory this was about the same length as the original story. Some pages are dense, others contain just a single scene.

The title is available as both paper copy and eBook copy. I obtained a copying PDF, which gave me colour and zoom ability which I valued. It would be a shame to read this in black and white.

[Alex-Mot-à-Mots · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cette bande dessinée est basée sur une nouvelle de Tolstoï.

Sur son lopin de terre de Sibérie, le paysan Pacôme vit avec sa femme et son fils. Il n’est pas riche mais il subvient aux besoins de sa famille.

Cependant, Pacôme se sent à l’étroit. « Si seulement j’avais plus de terres, soupire-t-il en regardant par-delà la clôture, je pourrais être tout à fait heureux. »

Un appétit, tant pour les terres que pour ce qu’elles rapportent, qui va aller grandissant…

J’ai aimé l’humour dans cet album : les paysans qui ont mal aux fesses depuis l’arrivée du contre-maître sur le domaine.

J’ai aimé le dessin et les couleurs qui rendent si bien la sensation d’hiver.

Et quelle fin…

https://alexmotamots.fr/ce-quil-faut-...

[Tabuyo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un libro ilustrado con la historia corta que más me gusta de Tolstói tenía que gustarme sí o sí pero ni me ha gustado el estilo del ilustrador ni la tipografía que han usado. Cuesta distinguir a los personajes y algunas viñetas son un poco confusas.

[DevOroria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Une nouvelle BD adaptée d’un classique de Tolstoï est franchement plutôt bien réussie. Alors on se retrouve certes dans notre monde, mais la Sibérie du XIXe siècle, c’est tout nouveau pour moi et (j’imagine) la plupart des lecteurs. On découvre au travers de cette BD une période complexe et un monde particulier qu’est la Sibérie. Au travers des dessins de l’auteur on découvre de nombreux paysages différents, avec des éléments spécifiques qui offrent un écrin particulièrement juste à cette histoire. En effet, les dessins sont marqués par un style particulier qui offrent un cadre sympa et fixe dans notre esprit l’univers qui nous est proposé. De ce fait, si on explore que peu l’univers, puisqu’on ne voyage pas beaucoup, on se retrouve tout de même propulsés dans cette histoire avec aisance.

L’histoire qui nous est présentée est assez simple et directe, mais ne manque pas d’élégance. En effet, l’intrigue n’est pas des plus complexes, mais elle reste agréable à suivre : les pérégrinations d’un homme qui cherche à obtenir plus de terres pour lui et sa famille et donc s’enrichir qui découlent sur une conclusion des plus terre à terre. J’ai trouvé par ailleurs le final excellent car c’est à ce moment là que toute l’ironie qui réside dans le titre de la BD se déploie. En outre, les actions qui parsèment le récit permettent d’apporter un rythme agréable qui motive le lecteur à poursuivre sa lecture. Il n’y a certes qu’une seule intrigue, mais elle reste assez intéressante pour ne pas ennuyer le lecteur avant le final.

Les personnages sont par ailleurs plutôt bien réussis, bien qu’ils ne soient pas nombreux. On découvre pas mal de personnages au fil de la série, mais la plupart semblent peu développés : puisqu’il n’y a pas vraiment d’intrigue secondaire, seul le personnage principal compte, ce qui donne pour les autres une impression d’être uniquement des pantins utilisés en faveur du personnage principal. Ce dernier est certes assez bien façonné, même si j’ai eu du mal à m’attacher à ce dernier. Sa personnalité est peu présente en profondeur, mais elle a tout de même le mérite d’être présente. De plus, aucune relation ne se tisse au fil de la lecture, puisque tous les personnages se connaissent, mais elles ont au moins le mérite d’évoluer quelque peu face aux actions de cet homme et surtout face à ses aspirations.

La plume de l’auteur est également particulière. D’abord, il est important de garder à l’esprit qu’il s’agit d’une adaptation d’une nouvelle déjà écrite par Tolstoï, ce qui laisse peu de place à l’improvisation dans ce cas présent. Néanmoins, il arrive à donner vie à cette histoire grâce à ses dessins. Alors ils sont peut-être particuliers avec ce style bien à lui, mais ça ne m’a pas dérangée outre mesure. De plus, j’ai plutôt bien aimé la façon dont il arrive à mettre en place une atmosphère chaleureuse mais adaptée au roman et aux actions qui sont présentées. Elle arrive à englober le récit et le lecteur afin de le faire s’immerger dans cette lecture au plus profond et de leur permettre de poursuivre sans aucun soucis la lecture de ce livre.

Une bonne adaptation d’un classique russe

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short fiction, especially Russian short fiction does not get enough attention these days. When we think of Tolstoy in the 21st century, we often forget that his works outside of Anna Karenina were far shorter and tinged with his political and religious beliefs. How Much Land Does a Man Need? is much closer in literary theme and concept to The Death of Ivan Ilyich and Confession than it is War and Peace even though the setting of this book feels far closer to some of W&P's provincial/land estates .

This book captures both the essence of the original short story and a snapshot distillation of his other short works of fiction and nonfiction by the author. It's also a look into the lives and feelings of average people between the abolition of serfdom and the rise of the Soviet politics. The time and setting are fairly loose as is the specific location because this was much more of a religious/morality story than one about realism. On that, I quite liked that the graphic adaptation opted not to include the literal devil in the text; it relies on the devil inside each man. That's not necessarily a traditional perspective for Russian spiritualism or Orthodoxy, but it is one that makes the work feel more updated and relatable to those who are unfamiliar with the intricacies of religion in Russia at the turn of the 20th century.

Wrapped inside this book are little nuggets of cultural knowledge that would be hard for the Western world to learn without direct references to them. As with some of his other works, we learn about ethnic minorities in and around Eurasia. This work discusses the very real Bashkir people. What the adapter did in the update was to simplify their dress to make them seem less exotic than they might have at the time of Tolstoy's original publication. Additionally, since the devil character was removed and the Faustian elements replaced with internal struggles, the Bashkirs are simply people that are sought out who give him a task meant to measure his greed rather than people who appear to the protagonist as the devil/evil in his dying fever dream.

The closing concept and answer to the titular question is kept intact.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'How Much Land Does A Man Need?' is adapted from a short story by Leo Tolstoy with art and adaptation by Martin Veyron. It is humorous, in an ironic and kind of dark way.

A farmer and his wife live contently on their small farm until a visiting relative talks about how he should have more. Shortly afterwards, the local large landholder gets a new steward who is stricter about how the farmer and his neighbors use the land. This leads the villagers to decide to buy the land they farm on, but then they can't decide what to do with it or even how to divide it fairly among them. This leads the farmer on a journey to discover how much land a man really needs, and how, sometimes, you should really stop while you are ahead.

I read this story a number of years ago, and it's one that has stuck with me. I was pleased to see a graphic novel adaptation of it. I really enjoyed the adaptation and the English translation by Montana Kane. The illustration style is quaint and fits the story perfectly. I had a lot of fun reading this one.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Javiernes · Rating 5 out of 5]

La historia trata sobre Pajom, un campesino que vive con su mujer y su hijo en un pueblo perteneciente a los boyardos, vivian tranquilos sin mayores precupaciones hasta la visita de su cuñada y marido desde la ciudad, los que comienzan a hacerles cuestionamientos de su vida, posesiones y ambiciones. A pesar de que su esposa hace caso omiso a los comentarios, Pajom comienza a sentir cada dia mas incomodidad y despierta su ambición por poseer mas de lo que tiene.
La historia va entre traiciones, desconfianza y envidia por parte de los lugareños, egoismo al no escuchar a su esposa en temas que afectan a ambos, codicia y una buena cantidad de moralejas y frases memorables que pueden hacer reflexionar entorno al actuar del ser humano.
Me gustó el final, pensé que iba a pasar algo mas obvio, como que no alcanzara a terminar de cubrir el terreno que esperaba por ambicioso, pero el toque del final rapido, preciso encontré que fue un buen remate

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know this story even existed until I went looking for a something that fit into some reading challenges and this bright cover caught my eye. Safe to say I forgot about the book I was looking for and borrowed this instead and it was a doozy of a read.
My first Tolstoy read and am wondering what other short stories he has written because there was a lot of detail and depth in this one that thanks to the comics format were illustrated through the use of panels instead of all words.

This adaptation shows through the panels one farmer's lust and greed to covet more than he could handle, more than he needs, more land than he can make use of within his means and against his wife's very reasonable judgement gets what he had coveted and can't even enjoy it.

[Kanwarpal Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of a greedy peasant named Pakhom. Although Pakhom enjoys health and family happiness, he feels dissatisfied when he learns of the grand fortunes of his relatives. He decides to go on a quest for more land, only to find that with each new acquisition new problems develop that is desire and greed.

Then suddenly he came to know of a village that sells land according to your strength and the stamina of walking for a very small amount. He went there and started his journey but his greed made him delusional and he went on walking but when it's time to return to the starting point his heartbeat was fast and his body gaving up on him and when he reached the point he fall on floor even though he got the land , he will not be able to plough , his children but at what cost of life.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This graphic novel presents something of a folk story (adapted from Tolstoy), and it drew me in much faster than I expected. The story, however, is pretty meandering as it searches for the answer to the titular question - and the answer/ending is a bit of a punchline. I'm torn between thinking it's brilliant and being a bit disappointed at investing so much emotion just to get to said punchline. It was an enjoyable enough read, though, that I don't think I would discourage anyone else from picking it up.

I received access to this title via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Dewi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Novel grafis ini merupakan adaptasi dari cerita pendek Leo Tolstoy. Seorang petani tak sengaja mendengar percakapan istri dengan saudaranya, membandingkan kehidupan di kota dan di desa. Sang petani ini akhirnya membeli tanah yang lebih luas, berambisi membesarkan pertaniannya. Sampai suatu saat dia mengembara utk menemui orang Bashkirs. Mereka sepakat utk menjual tanah kepada sang Petani. Seluas apa? Sejauh mana dia bisa berjalan berkeliling dalam satu hari. Cerita ini diakhiri dengan kesimpulan sebetulnya seberapa luas tanah yang dibutuhkan seseorang.
Nice one.

[Mohi Cano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bonita adaptación de la novela de Tolstoi, aunque como casi todas las adaptaciones de novelas extensas al cómic a veces la trama se atropella. Bonito dibujo y color evocador del clima "agricultórico" que se describe.

[Arbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha encantado. Las ilustraciones son preciosas y de la historia original poco hay que comentar: un relato maravilloso del gran Tolstói que se me antoja más necesario que nunca en estos tiempos. Una fábula sobre la ambición desmesurada... la avaricia que todo lo consume.

[Brown Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai adoré l'histoire, je découvre que c'est une nouvelle de Tolstoï, il me faut maintenant la lire !
Très sage, réflexion très intéressante sur l'homme et sa fâcheuse habitude de "vouloir plus", a tout prix....

[Maza B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

La fin justifie la lecture ! :)

[Dina Rahajaharison · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Il y a des poursuites de bonheurs stupides."

[Marjolein (UrlPhantomhive) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

Full review to come!

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una gran historia que nos hará reflexionar, las palabras del maestro Tolstói y la creación artística Martin Veyron se unen para crear uno de esps comics que todo el mundo debería de leer.