Bookstores

I have known for years about the importance of Sylvia Beach’s little American bookstore in Paris called Shakespeare and Company. Her membership-supported enterprise was so much more than just a book shop. It served as a refuge and haven for some of the most gifted expatriates and writers of the early 20th century, including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ezra Pound, T. S. Eliot, and most especially James Joyce. Until I read her memoir (with the same title as her store) early in 2024, I had no idea that she was the first publisher of Joyce’s monumental novel, Ulysses. She really was a remarkable human being, one who made great sacrifices to support an amazing and historical intellectual community. She even risked her own life during the Nazi occupation of Paris by refusing to compromise her standards or cater to the monstrous regime that swept across Europe before and during World War II.

In addition to presenting valuable historical information about her store and its many patrons in her 1959 book, Beach shares some side-splitting anecdotes about her customers, friends, and acquaintances. Some of her own experiences at and away from the store are just hilarious. I laughed myself silly at her account of the performance of the Ballet Mecanique at the Theatre des Champs Elysees (1925), which included the use of plane propellers generating such a strong wind current that it “blew the wig off the head of a man . . . and whisked it all the way to the back of the house.”

James Joyce was clearly Beach’s most favored member, client, and dear friend. She turned out to be his most valued benefactor. As such, readers of her memoir learn more about the Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic than any other person she encountered. She offers insights into his personality, quirkiness, brilliance, innovation, and talent, as well as his tragic flaws and his greatest fears. He was deathly afraid of dogs, and Beach includes a story about an occasion when Joyce was the object of a rather large dog’s affection at a luncheon. Observing Joyce’s fearful reaction, the woman who owned the dog had it removed and told the guests that the canine had once chased a plumber out the window and that she had to buy the man a new pair of trousers. Joyce shuddered and whispered to Sylvia Beach, “She’s going to have to do the same thing for me.” Again, I laughed myself to tears.

The address of her bookstore was 12 Rue de l’Odeon in the 6th arrondissement on the Left Bank. She was forced to close the store in 1941 because of the Nazi occupation of France during WWII, but she continued to live in her upstairs apartment, surrounded by her treasured book collection. Sylvia Beach died in 1962. Over the decades since her death, the first-floor location of the bookstore has been the home of various retail establishments. There is currently a Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris inspired by Beach’s store, but it is not at the original address. Even when my wife and I were in Paris in 2016, I decided it would not be worth our time to locate the original address since it was no longer a bookstore.

Original location of Shakespeare & Company Bookstore in Paris — Original location of Shakespeare and Company Bookstore in Paris

Fast forward to September 2024 when we were back in Paris again. Something almost miraculous happened to us on our last full day in the city. We visited the Luxembourg Garden and then strolled over to a nearby restaurant for lunch called the Le Hibou. We weren’t even paying attention to where we were walking after lunch, but we passed by a small clothing shop, Moicani, with some beautiful scarfs and decided to go in for a look. Jean Helfer, the affable proprietor, asked where we were from, and I said, “The States, in Missouri.” He replied in an almost reverential tone, “Do you know where you are standing right now?”

He pointed to a photograph of Sylvia Beach with Ernest Hemingway, in the very place I was standing! Totally by accident, we had stumbled on to the location of the original Shakespeare and Company bookstore. He handed me a brochure he has created giving a brief history of the bookstore, along with other addresses on the street of famous historical figures such as Gustave Flaubert and Thomas Paine. He was so gracious and kind. I was almost speechless the whole time we were in his shop.

What an incredible way to end our wonderful vacation in France. And yes, my wife bought a beautiful scarf!

Jean Helfer - Moicani, Paris — Jean Helfer – Moicani, Paris

The last Saturday in April is designated as Independent Bookstore Day, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, bookstore sales increased 2.5 percent from 2014 to 2015. The American Booksellers Association, which represents independent sellers, reported 1,712 member stores in 2015, up from 1,401 in 2009. These figures should put to rest the notion that books made of paper are soon to be replaced by electronic forms. I realize there are plenty of readers who still hold great affection for traditional books — the paper kind. There are scholars who have argued that reading physical books is a completely different experience than reading eBooks. Most bookstore owners would probably agree. Both formats seem to be doing fine, which should be good news to all readers.

Once a medium of information is introduced, it tends to survive no matter what other “new and improved” medium follows. Some platforms may become obsolete (stone tablets, 8-track tapes, Beta videotape, etc.), but in general, new forms of information delivery don’t dispatch previous ones. The written word has never stopped people from telling stories or stage acting. Motion pictures certainly didn’t do away with reading. Radio didn’t destroy movies, television didn’t stop radio broadcasts, and the availability of videos hasn’t destroyed the television industry. One could argue that computers have only facilitated many of these delivery methods rather than replacing them. More importantly, none of these has killed the book, regardless of how we decide to read.

There is no question that the last few decades have been tough for small, independent bookstores. Many of the ones that survived the advent of the mega-bookstores were finally wiped out by the online providers. Electronic books no doubt delivered another crushing blow to bookstores, but the truly creative entrepreneurs figured out a way to stay relevant and competitive as a niche market. One approach is to create a salon-type atmosphere that welcomes the reading shopper and provides a sanctuary, a respite from the fast-paced grid that characterizes so much of our society. Nicole Sullivan, owner of Denver’s BookBar, was quoted in a recent article in The Denver Post. “As it gets harder for brick-and-mortar businesses, hybrid businesses become more important,” Sullivan said. “It’s either get it fast and cheap online, or come into a store and have an experience. That’s what indies have to offer, a more personalized experience and that sense of community we’ve lost a lot of over the years.”

I have fully accepted the convenience of eBooks and have been an Amazon Kindle customer since the first year they came on the market. I’m sure some of my library colleagues were horrified by the introduction of virtual books, but now eBooks are a big part of library holdings. For fiction and other books that rely very little on illustrations or graphics, I actually prefer eBooks. However, I treasure the large, hardbound gardening, history, and travel books that fill our shelves at home. Not even iPads or desktops are acceptable for those titles for me. I also prefer to browse through slick-paper magazines by physically turning pages, not touching a screen. Because we live in a rural area, the chances of an independent bookstore surviving for very long are slim, so we order many of our books online. We also go to the web to shop for household goods, clothes, and equipment. But, when we travel to places like San Francisco, Chicago, and New York, I almost always make a point to visit an independent bookstore. To me they all seem to have their own “personality” that makes them unique. If a book is the door that leads to imagination, then a bookstore is a hallway with almost endless possibilities.

If You Want My Opinion

Here it is!

Stumbling Upon a Treasure in Paris

The Independent Bookstore: A Reader’s Oasis