How Much Land Does a Man Need?

by Leo Tolstoy, L. Maude, A. Maude

Overview

This 1886 novel by Leo Tolstoy tells the intriguing tale of a rapacious farmer named Pakhom. Despite being in good health and having a happy family, Pakhom is unhappy when he hears about his cousins' enormous success. He makes the decision to search for more land, only to discover that with each new purchase, more issues arise. How Much Land Is Required for a Man? delivers a charming glimpse into traditional Russian ideals, many of which, you won't be surprised to learn, still exist today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781776672370
Publisher:	The Floating Press
Publication date:	10/01/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	202 KB

About the Author

A Russian author of novels, short stories, plays, and philosophical essays, Count Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was born into an aristocratic family and is best known for the epic books War and Peace and Anna Karenina, regarded as two of the greatest works of Russian literature. After serving in the Crimean War, Tolstoy retired to his estate and devoted himself to writing, farming, and raising his large family. His novels and outspoken social polemics brought him world-wide fame.

Date of Birth:

September 9, 1828

Date of Death:

November 20, 1910

Place of Birth:

Tula Province, Russia

Place of Death:

Astapovo, Russia

Education:

Privately educated by French and German tutors; attended the University of Kazan, 1844-47

Editorial Reviews

A man's greed leads to his downfall in this adaptation of an 1886 short story. Pakhom is a peasant whose wife is happy with life but who himself has an insatiable desire for more and more land. He follows rumors and stories from place to place, enlarging his holdings each time, until he hears that the Bashkirs are practically giving away huge tracts of land. He investigates, to find that for 1,000 rubles, he can claim as much land as he can walk around in a day. Greed keeps him walking until sundown, when he finally reaches his starting point-and falls down dead. It is a sudden end to what has until that point been a fairly sprightly tale about greed and contentment along the lines of the many variants on "The Fisherman and His Wife." The final illustration depicts Pakhom ascending with a host of angels, but it is doubtful that this will do much to soften the text: "Pakhom's servant . . . dug his master a grave-just as long and as wide as Pakhom's body where it lay upon the earth." As an adaptation, the story cuts much from the original that lends it psychological and political depth, notably the involvement of the Devil in Pakhom's lust for land and Pakhom's relationships with various local Communes and landlords. Kiev-based Abesinova's illustrations are humorous and highly detailed, cramming every possible element into richly colored, flat tableaux. Although they are entirely pleasing of themselves, they do little to extend the story of a man who is so driven to own land that he literally walks himself to death. For more psychologically satisfying treatments of the same theme, stick to the aforementioned folktales. There are no translation/abridgment/adaptation credits; however, abiographical note on Tolstoy follows the text. (Picture book. 6-8)

Kirkus Reviews