Shelf Unbound October/November 2013 October 2013 | Page 15

of the drafts for Exit and Kolia both
took six months.)
In spite of the vow of poverty this
work entails, I wouldn’t do anything
else. Literary translation is enormously satisfying, and although it
isn’t regarded as such, it is a genre
unto itself that seems to be ideally
suited to me and my “skill set.” It
demands analytical skills that constantly test a translator’s knowledge
of language, linguistics, culture and
history. But what really draws
me to this particular métier
is that it rests upon the
act of writing, which, if
it is done well, has the
power to transport literature across the river that
Shelf: What are the chaldivides two languages and
lenges of translating literary fiction two cultures, and recreate the aesand what do you enjoy about it?
thetic experience of the original text
Hamilton: The major challenge is for the reader of its translation. And
paying the rent! Literary translation that is its greatest challenge.
in Canada is almost exclusively funded by the Canada Council for the For more on Arachnide Editions,
Arts, and the rates paid to transla- House of Anansi’s new imprint for
tors remain woefully low when you French-to-English translations showconsider that the translation of an casing the best voices from Canada’s
average-length novel can take up to Frenh-speaking regions, visit www.
half a year. (The writing and revisions houseofanansi.com.
unique and groundbreaking is that
it is set entirely outside a Canadian
context and is “outward looking,”
whereas much of Quebec fiction is
introspective and insular. Leblanc
manages to create a sense of place
and historical veracity that is both
evocative and convincing—despite
her never having set foot inside the
former Soviet Union. In the character of Kolia, she succeeds in crafting a hero who immediately captures the reader’s loyalty and
whose odyssey towards
self-acceptance is a daily
struggle that resonates
with the mundane and the
universal.

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