Rhonda Mullins won the 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation for Twenty-One Cardinals (Les héritiers de la mine).
On October 28, Twenty-One Cardinals, Mullins’s English version of Jocelyne Saucier’s Les héritiers de la mine, took home the 2015 Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation. Mullins was a finalist for the same award three times in recent years, recognizing her ability to transmit the complex nuances of French literature into a fitting English adaptation.
While the two languages have many similarities, the cadence, flow and word play does not always transfer easily, she explains. At times, one pun or twist on words in French can lead to months of searching for a suitable English equivalent.
Working on contemporary novels means she can, if need be, ask the author questions for clarification after her first draft. Yet she says it remains a challenge to capture the rhythm and meaning of French literature while still making it sound beautiful in English.
“I don’t know how much of the French language you’re taking with you or how much you’re leaving behind,” says Mullins. “It still feels a bit mysterious to me.”
Her translation of Jocelyne Saucier’s The Birds Rained Down (Il pleuvait des oiseaux) was a CBC Canada Reads Selection in 2015 and was shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation in 2014. Her other shortlisted works were Élise Turcotte’s Guyana (2014) and Hervé Fischer’s The Decline of the Hollywood Empire (2007).
In all, Mullins has translated 10 books while continuing to maintain a freelance writing and editing career over the last 15 years.
Twenty-One Cardinals