Reproducing the stylistics of a psychological thriller in the Ukrainian translation of Colleen Hoover’s novel “Verity”

Abstract

The current paper explores the translation of stylistic devices in psychological thrillers, focusing on the Ukrainian rendering of Colleen Hoover’s novel «Verity». Psychological thrillers rely heavily on suspense, emotional tension and internal character conflict to engage the reader. These effects in the novel under consideration are achieved through a variety of stylistic means such as metaphors, similes, personification, and syntactic constructions like repetition, rhetorical questions, parallel constructions, nominative sentences and aposiopesis. The study highlights the translator’s task not only to transfer meaning but also to preserve psychological depth, implicit information and emotional intensity. Using methods of continuous sampling, contextual analysis and comparative analysis, the research examines how key stylistic means function in both the source and target language texts. While many devices such as anaphora and parallel constructions were successfully adapted, others underwent shifts in tone and imagery. Similarly, emotionally intense metaphors and personifications were sometimes softened in translation. The findings demonstrate that grammatical and lexical translation transformations impact the suspense-building mechanisms of the target language text, influencing the reader’s emotional perception and cognitive engagement. Moreover, the analysis reveals that stylistic shifts often stem from the translator’s attempts to align the narrative with cultural and linguistic norms of the target audience. The study concludes that while the translator achieves a high degree of equivalence, subtle linguistic and cultural differences inevitably affect the preservation of stylistic nuances in the target language. Ultimately, the research emphasizes the delicate balance between fidelity to the source text and adaptation to the target culture in literary translation.