Version vs translation

Reading a translation is always an act of faith, almost a religious act of faith: we must believe as fact and truth that the "translation" is a veritable reflection of the original. And we accept as Gospel truth that what we are reading is a good rendering of the original because we have no way of knowing otherwise. So I was thinking we should do away with translations and install "versions" instead.

This is what José María Carrascal has done in his novel Un sueño irlandés, An Irish Dream, where he did two different versions of it, instead of simply translating.  (https://www.amazon.es/Irish-Dream-English-Maria-Carrascal-ebook/dp/B07C1DQJ1P)
 But, of course, Carrascal is the author, not the translator and he knows both languages well.
If a "version" of a Spanish novel appears in English, we cannot complain if it differs slightly from the original, after all it is not a "translation."
Methinks this is either a wonderful idea, or a a hackneyed, harebrained proposal.
I will let you be the judge.