Inspired by the work of Rosemary Arrojo, we explore how translation has figured in Colombian literary works, presented as vignettes of three Colombian novels that offer some perspective on translation-related issues. In the process, we came across some ethical concerns. which we also explore. If we accept the premise that in the absence of formal translation theories in Latin America, literature has been seen as an autochthonous way of producing discourse on translation, what are the implications of reading Colombian literature together with (and against the grain of) traditional discourses originating in the West? And what are the stakes of enlarging translation theory by encroaching on the literary sphere? In sum, is there a way in which approaches to fiction from the perspective of translation can avoid such colonial, disciplinary gestures and reinscribe themselves in the pursuit of an understanding of difference that translation both as a trope and as a cultural practice has the potential (or rather the promise) to unveil? Based on the novels we explore, we propose an ethics of reading and translation that takes difference as its ground, while acknowledging the potential problems of engaging with others in a cultural context that favors transparency over opacity.