Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood book Review

Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood book Review

I've only done one prior to this, and you can check out where I talk about a very cool magic system from the *Cradle* series that I'm still reading. There are like 12 books, so I'll be reading it for a while. 

This time, I am talking about something else that is cool. I just finished the graphic novel of *The Handmaid's Tale*. I did not plan to do this. I had read Margaret Atwood's novel *The Handmaid's Tale* back when it was first produced—that's not true. It was first released, I think, in 1985, and I wasn't alive, but I did read it a couple of years ago. It was great; I really loved it, and I would encourage you to pick it up and read it. 

But for this one, I actually read a graphic novel that I picked up at my local library. Every once in a while, when I get the hankering, I go to my local library. It kind of sucks; it doesn't have the widest selection. I was actually looking for something else. The one thing that I wanted was to try to start a manga because I haven't really done any manga before. I wasn't able to find any that I was interested in or any that had been suggested to me, so anyway, that's a gripe—hey, that's not cool. 

But what *is* cool is that I stumbled across this graphic novel, and I thought, "It looks cool. I like graphic novels. I already know the story." Like I said, I read the book and watched the first season of *The Handmaid's Tale*, which I thought they did well with. I didn't watch more because they were just creating something after that—it wasn’t the story anymore. The first season did all of the original novel, so I picked this graphic novel up thinking it would be okay, right?

It was excellent. The graphic novel was excellent! But why it was excellent was because the illustrations added to the bleak, dystopian story that was already very, very good. The illustrations really took it to the next level. In my rating of the original novel, I gave it 4.5 stars. Thinking back, I'm like, "What? I'm an idiot!" It's probably a five-star book. For some reason, I gave it 4.5 stars

I gave this graphic novel a full five stars because I think Renée Nault is the illustrator and adapter. She did both of them, and both her adaptation and illustrations are absolutely excellent. It is difficult to adapt any story, especially a story such as this, but Renée Nault adapted it in such a way that felt good. I didn’t feel like anything was missing from the story being told here in the graphic novel. 

But the reason that I'm here today talking to you about this graphic novel is because of the illustrations. The artwork. The way that she dealt with the art was so good. Typically, in graphic novels, a lot of the time there are panels, correct? Right, like we've got different boxes and artwork within each box, along with the lines of dialogue. She does that, but from time to time, she breaks the rules and goes outside of the panels—or removes the panels entirely—allowing a little bit of the paint to spill over across the page.

If you're familiar with the book and the series, red is a common color and motif throughout the story, and it is used in an exceptional way in this graphic novel. That can’t be done in a traditional novel. As the tension grows throughout the story, that is not only portrayed through the dialogue sequences but through the use of color. Not only is the story itself unsettling, not only are the lines of dialogue unsettling, not only is what is happening unsettling, but the way she utilizes the colors and illustrations adds to that unsettling feeling.

I'm sharing with you a few of the panels from the graphic novel where you can see the distinct color schemes she uses to portray different emotions and feelings. The women in this society have different roles and obligations, and she uses colors to demonstrate that. There’s one panel—or one page in particular—that really caught my attention. All of the color is removed from the panels; it's just pencil drawings, and then red blood splashes across the page. It's such a serious, moving, disturbing moment, but it adds so much to the intensity here.

You’ll notice that the illustration art style isn’t maybe the best if you’re comparing it to other realism in graphic novels. But it’s got its own vibe, and within that unique style that she’s going for, I just think she absolutely nails it. 

This is actually the new *Handmaid’s Tale* medium that I’m going to push on people when they’re asking about it. Not necessarily the show, and not necessarily the original novel—at least not first. I’m going to allow this to be my recommendation for the bridge or pathway into the story because it doesn’t tell it all, but it tells enough. It portrays it in such a way that is very easily accessible. 

I think I read it in one or two sittings because it’s a graphic novel, so you can get through it relatively quickly. If you haven’t read *The Handmaid’s Tale* before, I suggest you pick up this graphic novel and check it out because the illustrations are wonderful. But even if you have, and you want to revisit it at some point, I’d say revisit it here. Try this graphic novel and see if it works for you because it certainly worked for me.

Hey, this is cool—the illustrations of the graphic novel *The Handmaid’s Tale* by Renée Nault. What other really stylized graphic novels are you a fan of? Let me know in the comments down below. You know that I like comics; you know that I like graphic novels. Maybe someday I’ll like manga as well. What graphic novels have this unique vibe, this unique style, that you particularly enjoy? Again, drop them in the comments below, and maybe I’ll get around to reading them someday. 

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