Abstract

This paper addresses the difficulties involved in translating Calvino. It stresses that a successful translation depends especially on the translator's ability to understand the author's work and his idea of literature. Calvino's writing, which must represent a world which cannot be pinned down to a final definition, is suspended between two extremes: precision and chaos. The more Calvino's language is clear and transparent, the more the resulting image turns out to be opaque, complex and inextricable. The translator must be able to reproduce the paradoxical effect, grasping all its facets, but with a wealth which only great writers possess. The translator can hav full confidence in the author and in his use of language.