PL
The paper brings an analysis of interpretational shifts connected with elimination,addition or substitution of various paratexts in translation. The study is based onBoris Akunin’s historical detective novels in Polish editions, as compared to originalones. In the first part, the author focuses on illustrations, their communicative andassociative potential. (Other paratexts will be further discussed with regard to theirfunctions: identifying, hermeneutic, informative and commercial). The shifts in paratextualuse in the translated editions are interpreted in terms of the ambiguoustension between features of literary and genre fiction displayed by Akunin’s novels.Conclusions about the overall strategy of the publisher and its consequences for receptionare ventured. In particular, Polish paratexts testify to the novels’ gravitatingmore obviously towards mass literature in the target context.