The present survey concerns itself with the production of this past decade. It takes about 18 months to translate a book, once it has been picked out. Goncourt 1985, the author of Les Noces Barbares, translated in 35 countries, probably owes his taste for travel and a nomadic life to his Celtic origins, making him an ambassador of French contemporary literature. I think that the first time I was translated was in Romanian, for Le Charme noir, and it was unforgettable. One has the feeling, once published, of being confronted with oneself.
Translation gives that feeling an entirely new geographical and cultural dimension.
One realizes that the act of writing is more serious than one thought, that each word is a commitment, but one also realizes that writing is less selfish than it seems. Readers' letters comparing their culture to your book reveal things you did not think you had in you. Vietnamese translators send me their work. I like that literary piracy. I am unfortunately unable to appreciate the translation, being quintessentially French, unable to use any other language save a few words of English.