Cocoa l’Orange

Abstract

This work consists of the commented translation of a short story—that delves into the personal and professional impact of the COVID pandemic and the lockdowns on a married couple—written by Mary O’Donnell, a well-known and highly regarded Irish writer of poetry, short stories and novels, and published in The Manchester Review in August of 2022. The translation itself is preceded by comments that highlight some of the main challenges and that attempt to justify the decision-making process within the theoretical framework defined by the notion of “instrumental reading” (Averbach, 2011), and based on the analysis of differential features between English and Spanish and the translation strategies detailed by López Guix and Wilkinson (1997). The main purpose of this exercise is to bring to Spanish readers a small sample of the works of a contemporary author that dwell on topics that are relatable and relevant across borders and cultures due to the globalized nature of the major issues of this time.