Translation is simply creating a new version in the target language. The style of the author needs to remain intact and yet, it is a whole new set of words. Transcreation rather than translation, then.
The greatest compliment is when an author says: ‘This is what I would have written, if I was fluent in that language!’
I have translated several books from Dutch to English and others from English to Dutch. Just recently, I was part of the English-language team for the International Hanseatic Days in Kampen.