Verre cassé/Pezzi di vetro. Two Translations

by Daniele Petruccioli and Martina Cardelli

Verre Cassé, Congolese writer Alain Mabanckou’s masterpiece, has been translated into Italian twice in less than ten years. Its two translators, Daniele Petruccioli and Martina Cardelli, take the opportunity to compare and discuss their respective versions. Starting from the special linguistic and stylistic features of the text, the two translators unveil the body of their work, comparing their choices and attempting through this parallel to learn something not only about the book, but also about their profession. The result is a brief reflection on translating and retranslating, in an attempt to go beyond the hackneyed dichotomy of mistaken versus well-chosen translation and to achieve a form of criticism (and self-criticism) based on the enriching concept of plurality.