The 628-E8 
Octave Mirbeau
Translated by Colin Boswell
First published in 1907, The 628-E8, one of the masterpieces of French literature and one of the ever-eccentric Octave Mirbeau’s most eccentric works, is here presented for the first time in an unabridged English version, excellently translated by Colin Boswell.
Is it a novel? Is it a travelogue? Is it a diary?
While it might be none of these, or all of the above, it is most certainly a collection of dreams, reveries, memories, impressions, and tales which, quite frequently, have no relationship to, or visible link with, the countries visited.
An experimental work of metafiction far ahead of its time, The 628-E8, a literary potion of extreme potency, will continue to stun readers, more than one hundred years after its original publication, with its honest iridescence.
About the Author
Octave Mirbeau (1848-1917) was a prolific French journalist, novelist, playwright and art critic. In the latter capacity, he was an important early advocate of Vincent van Gogh. Mirbeau is nowadays deemed to have been a significant member of the Decadent Movement, largely because of his classic phantasmagoric fantasy Torture Garden (1899). Among his other novels of note are Abbé Jules (1888) and The Diary of a Chambermaid (1900).
About the Translator
Colin Boswell studied French Language and Literature at University College London. Whilst completing a PhD he began his career lecturing in French at Goldsmiths University of London and later at the University of Kent, where he was also Development Director. He then created and served as Executive Director of the first European office of the US-based Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). He has published books and articles on the French language and on Émile Zola, and his translations include Gustave Kahn’s The Mad King (Snuggly Books, 2021).
Paperback, 394 pages. Release date: December 20, 2022
ISBN-13: 978-1-64525-111-8
Price: US$28.00
Hardcover, 396 pages. Limited edition of 100 copies
Release date: December 20, 2022
Price: US$39.00