The Riddle of Qaf by Alberto Mussa: The Heterodox Reinvention of Translation in Contemporary Brazilian Fiction

Abstract

This article analyses the representation of the translator and the process of translation in the novel The Riddle of Qaf (2004), by the Brazilian author Alberto Mussa. The novel is based on the work carried out by the author to translate The Suspended Odes (2006), created in the 6th century by the best Bedouin poets. Thus, the aim of the article is to understand how the protagonist of the novel, also called Mussa, undertakes a creative translation of one of the poems. The work will be analysed from different perspectives: the importance of migrant literature, the growing centrality of the translator in fiction, the study of motifs related to translation in contemporary literature and the blurring of the boundaries between authorship and translation.