SOURCE: “Translation, Criticism or Subversion? The Case of Like Water for Chocolate,” in Translation Review, Vols. 48 & 49, 1995, pp. 10–4.

In the following review, Britt disparages the translation of Como agua para chocolate because of numerous errors and altered text.

“What is being translated? A text?

A reader’s experience? An interpretation?”

—Eugene Chen Eoyang

The premise of this essay hinges on the question: “What level of betrayal is acceptable in translation?” Although the question presumes the contrary, I would argue as a translator that translation has nothing to do with betrayal. We strive to rewrite an author’s words faithfully, retaining meaning and approximating style, in order to make a text available to a public that otherwise would not have access to it.

As a reader, however, I find traitors lurking among the pages of my books, hiding behind the most innocent-looking words and, sometimes, robbing entire novels of their...