Nearly a decade ago, around 2017, in Hanoi , people whispered about a used bookstore nestled in a garden. It contained poetry collections and novels that couldn't be found anywhere else.
"But that bookstore is hard to find, and the road to it is winding," they would say. Even so, the prospect of an old bookstore nestled in a garden, deep in an alley on the outskirts of the city, was still captivating enough to make people go to great lengths to find it.
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Box Bookstore. Photo: Tran Hien. |
The bookstore was called "The Box." The story of searching for "The Box," or the hunt for a one-of-a-kind old novel at "The Box," sounds like a romantic tale co-written by the city's dreamy souls. "The Box," then, resembled a secret one wanted to keep to oneself, fearing that if too many people knew, the romantic atmosphere would vanish.
The thrilling hunt unfolds as follows: readers arrive at the Box not with a specific purpose in mind, they simply enjoy the atmosphere and believe they will find something. They stand on tiptoe, crane their necks, bend down, and tilt their heads to read the titles, leisurely searching through the jumble of old books, until a stroke of luck causes their eyes to unexpectedly spot a particular book. They stop searching. Some inexplicable urge tells them they need to buy this book.
Le Tuan opened the Box Bookstore (Au Co Street, Hanoi), also because he enjoyed those coincidences.
What are people looking for in bookstores in the city?
A reporter from Tri Thuc - Znews visited the Hop bookstore on a rare, cool summer morning in Hanoi. The first impression that morning was the music playing from Hop.
"Waiting for someone feels like a very long time."
The person waiting was nowhere to be seen.
The lyrics, expressing the feeling of waiting, coincidentally fit perfectly into the atmosphere of a bookstore. But it's not a story about who is waiting for whom; rather, it's about the books in the Box, waiting for readers on the shelves, waiting for a chance encounter, waiting to be found.
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Old books in a box. Photo: Tran Hien. |
Many years ago, when he was a student, Le Tuan enjoyed wandering through used bookstores. “A used bookstore would be very chaotic. I didn’t know exactly what books they had, I didn’t know what I liked or needed, but I liked the feeling of searching. I liked looking in the corners that others overlooked or paid little attention to,” he said.
Searching for old books reveals traces of their previous owners. In the past, books were precious gifts that people would pool money to buy for others. The dedications in books could convey feelings or mark a memorable milestone in the reader's life.
Such joys and interesting encounters with books instilled in Le Tuan the idea of opening a bookstore. But he didn't yet know what to name it.
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The bookstore is located in what used to be a village specializing in ornamental plant cultivation, now overgrown with trees and plants. Photo: Box Bookstore. |
In 2017, a chance encounter led to the name "Hộp" (Box). That day, Le Tuan was sitting with a friend when they heard a dog howling. His friend pointed to a nearby garden and explained that a dog lived in that tiny plot of land. The dog had spent its entire life in a cage, never allowed outside. People heard its bark, but never saw its face. "Its sound wasn't exactly barking, nor exactly howling, but more like a cry. Every night it would cry, and the sound was like 'Hộp Hộp Hộp'," he recounted. He and his friend decided to use that sound for their bookstore and wanted to place it in that very garden.
The garden is located in a residential area that was once a village specializing in ornamental plant cultivation. The people in this community are accustomed to growing up surrounded by greenery, so both the yards and the interiors of their homes are always filled with plants and flowers. As a result, the Box space naturally benefits from this lifestyle. The bookstore sits in the shade of a tamarind tree.
Gradually, word spread about the Bookstore. Some recounted, "The first time I went to the Bookstore, I found a book I'd been searching for for a long time," while others said, "I didn't intentionally come to the Bookstore looking for a specific book, but every time I visit, I find a book that holds many memories for me." People also came out of curiosity, to verify the story, or to see how the owner of the Bookstore managed to find books that weren't available elsewhere. Over the years, a community of readers gradually formed.
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Le Tuan - owner of Box Bookstore. Photo: Tran Hien. |
What are those readers looking for in the Box? Le Tuan pondered. Perhaps they are looking for a quiet, airy place, full of greenery, connected to the atmosphere of books, or a space for their spirit. Perhaps they are looking for an adventure in the city, to discover a new face of the city they have become so familiar with.
It's also possible that those readers simply wanted to find something different in the Box, a different answer to their question. Like Le Tuan, who found different ways of understanding the world through literature. “There was a period when I felt that literature couldn't answer my questions, nor could it offer any suggestions. But gradually, I understood that the world around me isn't simply something that can be answered, explained, or clearly proven; it clearly has other ways of understanding. That's when I realized the meaning of literature goes beyond what one can initially imagine,” he said.
It's also possible that readers are seeking a spiritual connection with the city they live in, a connection with other young people who share similar concerns. They want to feel more connected to the city, more than just a place to live and work. Many readers have gone to the trouble of visiting bookstores because they love and empathize with what the bookstore owner wrote after reading the books.
It's also possible that readers simply want to find a place to rest temporarily, between their explorations of the city.
A city with bookstores is more fun.
“The existence of the Box reflects my own contradictions,” says the owner of the Box bookstore. He wants the bookstore to be in a more accessible location for growth, but on the other hand, he still wants the Box to be in its current garden setting. On one hand, he wants the bookstore to be neat and tidy for easy access to books; on the other hand, he also wants it to be sometimes messy and disorganized, because that's the natural state of a used bookstore, since browsing and selecting books will inevitably be chaotic, and it doesn't need to be that neat.
Are bookstore owners today, to varying degrees, harboring similar contradictions and anxieties? Especially as bookstores in Hanoi are gradually closing to switch to online sales or adapt their models to suit new tastes. A traditional bookstore – in the sense of only selling books – is a somewhat stubbornly unrealistic dream.
Fortunately, there are still such "dreamers and stubborn ones" in the city. Faced with the irresistible changes of the times, the Box is about to leave the garden and move to a new location. The bookstore will have fewer trees, but it will continue to exist, thanks to a few people who, at all costs, still want to live in a city with bookstores.
"The city is changing very quickly, but luckily people still share the idea that a city with bookstores is still more vibrant and fun," Tuan said.
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The interior space of the Box. Photo: Box Bookstore. |
Bookstores in Hanoi have witnessed the growth of many generations. About ten or fifteen years ago, bookstores symbolized the childhood and youth of many city residents. For many, bookstores were places sparkling with childhood joys. Many remember the times their parents took them to bookstores, where they chose their first book, a book that would stay with them forever. For others, bookstores were a stopping point on the aimless wanderings of youth.
A bookstore for the city provides spaces for observation, interaction, a broader perspective, and the discovery of new ideas. A bookstore for Le Tuan and others like him, offering a space and time to contemplate future projects and what lies ahead.
As time goes by, some generations no longer grow up surrounded by bookstores. City life has also changed somewhat. The city may see fewer bookstores, but they haven't disappeared, because there are still people who need a place for their minds.
More importantly, knowing that bookstores still exist—even if they are hidden away somewhere—gives people hope that the city remains gentle and willing to nurture reflection, imagination, and dreams.
*Lyrics from the song "For Life - Little Monster".
Source: https://znews.vn/cuoc-san-lung-nhieu-me-hoac-trong-hieu-sach-post1658102.html
