• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2019 April #2
  *Starred Review* Given the evergreen veneration of Atwood's dystopic classic that, since its 1985 publication, has spawned audio, film, radio, theater, opera, and ballet incarnations and, most recently, the wildly popular television series, this graphic novel was certainly inevitable. Canadian artist Nault is credited with the illustrations, while both Nault and Atwood appear on the copyright page for adaptation; with a faithful narrative ensured, Nault spectacularly transforms lines and color into fear, resignation, desperation, and the tiniest glimmers of hope. Handmaid Offred, in her sweeping red robe, must survive her third posting, manipulated by the Commander, disdained by his wife, and coerced into cooperation in exchange for any news about her young daughter from "before." Whether her work is contained in panels (the orderly march to the shops) or across a double-­page spread (the hanging bodies against the Wall—"we're supposed to look"), Nault draws with precision; most piercing throughout are her affecting use of color (red—"the colour of blood"—and its portentous hues of orange, crimson, rust) and scale (the indistinguishable handmaids trapped in plain sight). She adds softness when Offred recalls her past, with less-saturated colors for happier memories and the thickened, darker lines for the repetitive nightmares. With Atwood's announcement of a September 2019 sequel, The Testaments, fans may find Nault's vision to be an ideal refresher. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.

MARGARET ATWOOD, whose work has been published in thirty-five countries, is the author of more than forty books of fiction, poetry, and critical essays. In addition to The Handmaid's Tale, her novels include Cat's Eye, short-listed for the 1989 Booker Prize; Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy; The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize; Oryx and Crake, short-listed for the 2003 Man Booker Prize; The Year of the Flood; and her most recent, The Heart Goes Last. She is the recipient of the Los Angeles Times Innovator's Award, and lives in Toronto with the writer Graeme Gibson.

Renée Nault is a Canadian artist, illustrator, and graphic novelist known for her vivid watercolor and ink illustrations. Her work has appeared in books, magazines, newspapers, and advertising around the world. She is a frequent illustrator for the Los Angeles Times. Please visit www.reneenault.com.