The tools offered by genetic criticism, which retracing the dynamic process in order to characterize the genesis of texts, are useful tools in the translation process and, particularly, in the stage of understanding the original text. The preliminary documents and manuscripts may offer some alternatives in the investigation of what Nida called "The closest possible equivalent" as shown in the comparison of Raymond Queneau’s manuscripts of Blue Flowers and Italo Calvino’s translation. The contribution of genetics to textual translation, however, does not limit the translator’s freedom. Thanks to genetic analysis, on the contrary, the translator can find the necessary tools to overcome the obstacles of untranslatability, to reduce the proliferation of assumptions, and to avoid, at the same time, what Lewis defines "abusive translation".