Strongly disagree. Translation is like taking a 3D object and trying to convey it in 2D. You can be overly descriptive and accurate but lose all sense of flow.

Strongly disagree. Translation is like taking a 3D object and trying to convey it in 2D. You can be overly descriptive and accurate but lose all sense of flow. You can try to capture the flow of things but then lose the precision of meaning. Or you can approximate both to make the translation as strong as possible on both front, then get slammed from both sides. Sometimes translators can highlight a less considered aspect of the work, like when you hear a great cover song that makes you appreciate the original that much more. I understand the ideal of the perfectly translated thing, by definitionally it can't exist. I suggest going to a library and read the first page of 5+ translations (let's say, Don Quixote) and you will have a pretty clear sense of what the original text must have conveyed as well as several conflicting voices, some of which you will hate and others you may even appreciate. But you can never hear the original through a translation so it might as well be one that is interesting in its own right.