Hardboiled or overcooked? Translating the crime fiction of Léo Malet

Abstract

Few of Malet's more than forty crime novels have been translated. Much of the attraction of his work to a source readership lies in his playful use of language rather than in the twists and turns of plot: puns, running gags and jokes of various types abound. Translating this humour poses challenges of three main types: linguistic (ie semantic), cultural and genre-related. Moulding the text to target reader expectations (of the 'hardboiled' subgenre) results in significant omissions, as does the treatment of culturally-embedded allusions, an important element in Malet's writing. Following a brief introduction to Malet's work and a preliminary description of his style, drawing comparisons with stand-up comedy techniques, along with some consideration of French verbal humour in crime fiction, the present study takes examples from translations into English, Spanish, German and Italian and suggests that genre models can radically alter the types and frequency of humour-creating techniques typical of the author.