Difficulties in translation of Sergei Dovlatov from Russian into English language

The study is based on three of Sergei Dovlatov's books and their translation into English: "Невидимая книга" (The Invisible Book, translated by Katherine O'Connor and Diana L. Burgin), "Компромисс" (The Compromise, translated by Anne Frydman), and "Чемодан" (The Suitcase, translated by Antonina W. Bouts).; Difficulties that translators encounter when working with Dovlatov's texts are viewed at the lexical, grammatical, textual, and pragmatic level. This study demonstrates that most of the difficulties can be overcome; however, each translator has employed different techniques and has chosen different strategies to represent Dovlatov's books in English. The translation of The Invisible Book is more source-text oriented, because it explains and clarifies cultural context. The Compromise's translation appeals to readers' background knowledge. The translation of The Suitcase is more target-culture oriented without overloading readers with too many cultural references.