The present article discusses part of the theoretical underpinnings of a new descriptive methodology applicable to the study of translated fictional texts. This methodology was applied to the study of lexico-semantic translation shifts in the Spanish translation of Lawrence Durrell's The Alexandria Quartet. The interdisciplinary nature of Translation Studies is recognised but attention is focused on the need for anchoring methodological work on sound linguistic (lexicological) principles that may help to deal adequately with the multidimensional nature of meaning in translation. Emphasis is laid on key concepts such as interpretation and intersubjectivity from various perspectives and the main orientation is lexico-semantic/textual but pluralistic enough to incorporate a number of cognitive and pragmatic aspects.