Interview With Renée Nault: The Dark Art of Oppression in 'The Handmaid's Tale' is Now a Dystopian Graphic Novel

Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale has been reimagined as a graphic novel for the first time ever, featuring stark and vivid artwork by Canadian artist Renée Nault juxtaposed against the chilling reality of Gilead in Atwood's words.





The graphic novel, released on March 26th and is currently #1 on Amazon's 'Dystopian Graphic Novels' list, marries cinema's visual drama with the tangible pleasure of reading a book at home on a Sunday afternoon. This 240-page adaptation – each one a full watercolor illustration – was two years in the making from its initial concept sketch to drying the final draft.





We caught up with Nault to discuss the making of the graphic novel, from why she abandoned her signature style to collaborating with Atwood on her seminal novel, & the two groups of readers she most wants to reach with her work.





(Credit: The Handmaid's Tale Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood & Renée Nault, published by Doubleday Books)



We understand Atwood personally selected you. What was it like to receive that call, & what made you agree to take on the project?



I was extremely excited to be chosen for this project. I'm a big fan of the book, so being chosen to adapt it was like a dream. I knew it would be very difficult to create the version of the book that I envisioned, but I never considered turning it down!



The simplicity of illustration in these excerpts seems to differ from the majority of work on your website, where the ukiyo-e influence is readily apparent. Why did you take a different approach to The Handmaid's Tale?



Dropping out all extraneous detail really brings the story into sharp focus. Nothing in the art is incidental. In this story, color is especially important since it conveys each person's role in society, so I stripped away all color that didn't relate to the characters & their relationships.

(Credit: The Handmaid's Tale Graphic Novel by Margaret Atwood & Renée Nault, published by Doubleday Books)