Maybe you're trying too hard? Translating technical writings probably does require a good degree of accuracy, but with fiction, as long as the plot's the same, I'd think getting the feel of the writing right is all that matters. And there's no reason why your take on the book shouldn't shine though, any more than a film-director's take on a book shouldn't be apparent on the screen.

"Door in the Wall"? It rang a bell, but I was expecting a Russian work - not H. G. Wells! (I read a huge amount of Wells' books when I was young.)

Anyway, have you ever tried translating from Russian to English?