This article proposes an analysis of the usage of racist stereotypes in the novels Verre Cassé (2005), by Alain Mabanckou and Pelourinho (1995), by Tierno Monénembo, so as to observe the new meanings they produce once translated in Brazil. Some essentialist categories involving « race » or « identity » sometimes seem out of place after being translated, due most notably to the interpretation potential available to the target reader.