This is a eulogy; and I am writing this to mourn the death of my favorite second-hand bookshop in Cebu – La Belle Aurore.
It was in 2010 that I was introduced to a bookshop that stands unassuming along H. Cortes Street in Mandaue City.
A signage says “La Belle Aurore” so I thought, “Maybe the owner is French or has a connection with France or Paris, its capital.” I am not sure if the owner actually meant “a beautiful daybreak” but the name fits for an initiative that one seldom witnesses in this little island in the Pacific.
In the film Casablanca, La Belle Aurore was the bistro where Ilsa and Rick stayed during the German occupation in France. I don’t know if it was a deliberate decision to name it as such. Maybe the owner loves the film.
I never met its owner, Joseff Lee, until January 2014 when I read on Facebook that they are closing their doors. As clearance sale, there is a “Buy One, Take One” promo on selected titles.
It broke my heart.
How can Cebu lose a gem of a bookshop that was so supportive of literary events, writers, poets and homegrown talents?
“It’s losing. (Profit from) people coming in to buy books are not enough to sustain the bookshop,” Joseff told me on the first time we met on a Monday after the social media announcement was made.
“Are you sad?” I asked him.
“Siyempre (Of course),” he said.
If I am unhappy, then Joseff maybe in a much painful state. It must not be easy for a young man in his 20s to temporarily leave school and borrow P50,000 from his Filipino-Chinese parents to start a second-hand bookshop back in 2009.
La Belle was a unique bookshop in a city where bookstores are limited to those found in malls. It was inspired by Paris’ Shakespeare and Co., which exudes warmth and friendliness. It is cozy and unintimidating. It has that creative flair that makes you want to write and channel Ernest Hemingway or James Joyce.
In 2012, Joseff opened a second branch on Junquera St., downtown Cebu near the University San Carlos but he closed it down after a year because of losses too. People are just not buying the printed word found in books.
You may argue that Joseff could have done his due diligence by conducting a more thorough study on the market to determine if it was indeed feasible to open a small bookshop in a location that is off the beaten path.
La Belle needed to sell its books to survive. Market first. Business is business. Years of being exposed to economic reporting and forming sustainable, mutually-beneficial livelihood projects have cemented that in my brain.
But let me be very straightforward. If indeed Joseff has not been that (business) thorough, I thank him. I thank him for his carelessness and boldness. For La Belle wouldn’t have been there in the first place if he went through the painstaking task of conducting a survey to ask people if they will buy second-hand books. Well, actually he did an informal survey and people said they will buy second-hand books. But perhaps, the survey purists among us would say, “That wasn’t the right sample.”
Traditional people like me refuse to believe the growing belief that the business of printed paper put together in one solid mass to form what is now known as books is outdated.
I am stubborn and refuse to believe so.
So I thank Joseff for the courage in opening a bookshop in a place where reading (especially from books) is considered a luxury and not a necessity. La Belle was a symbol of a young man’s brave act to counter the move of so many publications, which ended its printed edition to focus on online platforms. La Belle was a hardheaded attempt to encourage people to read even when a big bookstore in one of Cebu’s major malls shutdown to give way to a retail store. La Belle was heartwork and hardwork combined. It is Joseff’s battle against ignorance; his was a battle against conformity and convenience; his was a battle against the hovering danger of death that awaits reading.
Did he lose because the bookshop is closing down?
My answer is… No! Because Joseff tried. For four years, he managed to bring life to La Belle Aurore, which has been a place not only for buying books, but a haven of good vibes and positive aura where people found new friends and shared colorful stories and brilliant art and literary masterpieces.
So even with a heavy heart, I say go on and close your doors La Belle Aurore. But we thank you for opening our minds and our hearts to the truth that there is no shame in trying especially for the love of reading.
As Dr. Seuss puts it, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
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La Belle Aurore will officially close shop on March 31. On the evening of March 7 – a day before the bookshelves will be dismantled – The Reading Ruffolos will hold “A Beautiful Sunset”, a night of songs, poems and stories to celebrate the bookshop’s four wonderful years of existence. Wear black and bring books which you can swap with other attendees. You can also bring some light snacks to share.
