Description

Offred lives as a handmaid in the Republic of Galaad. Its rulers ban women from jobs, books, and friends. She serves a Commander and his wife, Serena Joy. They expect her to bear his child. Birth rates have fallen. Handmaids count only while they can bear a child. Their red clothes link their role to blood.

Offred recalls her old job, family, and her own name. These memories keep her sense of self alive. Even her will to live defies the new order. This graphic novel shows a harsh world that controls women. It looks at freedom and how we recall the past. It also deals with sex, feminism, and faith.

Renée Nault turns Margaret Atwood’s novel into full-colour art. Iulia Gorzo translates it from English. Atwood won the Booker Prize in 2000 and 2019.

The novel has faced calls for bans and US bans since 1990. States include Florida, Texas, Missouri, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. They also include South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Critics object to sex and coarse words in the book. They also see parts of it as attacks on Christianity.