In the immediate aftermath of the port blast, bookseller Adhib Rahhal read “Tender is the Flesh” by Agustina Baztericca and “Severance” by Ling Ma.
“Both are very timely and very relevant,” says the owner of The Little Bookshop, which is tucked away in a side street north of Hamra. “They’re dystopias, but realistic ones. In many ways, we truly are living in a dystopia, and these books both act as a warning and as an incentive.”
Just trying to inspire myself to believe i can read all these this month. pic.twitter.com/gY3LBXzcOo
— Ashley ? (@spookishmommy) November 11, 2020
In March, The Daily Star surveyed the difficulties facing Beirut booksellers with the COVID-19 pandemic and the country’s worsening economic situation. Since then, conditions in the country have only deteriorated, for the country and its bookshops.
The Beirut Port blast destroyed the premises of some bookshops and further reduced market demand. A second government-ordered lockdown to combat rising COVID-19 cases has now forced all stores to close until Nov. 30.
Since the March lockdown Dar Bistro & Books, in Wardiyyeh, has closed its bookstore permanently. Aaliya’s Books, Papercup and Librairie Antoine’s store in Beirut Souks were badly damaged by the port blast and require extensive renovation.
After the explosion, Papercup found a temporary home in Kalei Coffee in Ras Beirut, but it remains uncertain if the art bookstore will return to its Mar Mikhael premises.
The restoration of Aaliya’s Books’ Gemmayzeh location is almost complete and the bookstore and coffee shop are expected to re-open after the lockdown.
“As long as we could find the means to do it, I knew that we would rebuild,” said Niamh Fleming-Farrell, co-owner of Aaliya’s. “My partners and I still have energy left for that.”
Librairie Antoine does not expect to reopen its Beirut Souks branch in the near future, citing both the need for a resolution with their insurance company regarding the damage from the port blast and a return to a more stable economic situation.
The Little Bookshop’s location and heavy metal doors protected it from the physical impact of the port explosion but not the downturn in demand that followed.
As is the case for most businesses across Lebanon, the freefalling value of the Lebanese pound and clients’ diminishing resources have created problems for bookshops. Importing books has become increasingly expensive and many bookstores report that prices are now out of reach for their average customer.
Bill Kennedy launches crowdfunder for Beirut book industry, the campaign aims to raise £100k, and will support those who work in Beirut's book industry, following the devastating explosion that killed over 200 people in the Lebanese capital last week: https://t.co/SXh2VAUSCq pic.twitter.com/w0OBIEWmZk
— The Bookseller (@thebookseller) August 11, 2020
Aaliya’s Books plans to focus on selling second-hand books at affordable rates rather than importing new books. However, second-hand bookstores have not been immune to the currency fluctuations, with Hamra’s Book Bazaar having to increase prices for its books (in Lebanese pounds). As Papercup bought all their current stock in US dollars, they have had to maintain their prices at the Central Bank exchange rate for the moment.
The Little Bookshop continues to import books but on a much smaller scale than before.
“I have not yet gone into the second-hand market yet in any serious fashion,” Rahhal told The Daily Star, “though in the future, if things stay the way they are, I might have to.”
Librairie Antoine CEO, Sami Naufal, said their outlets have been seeing a decline in orders and an increase in the cost of importing books but noted that the Central Bank was subsidizing school books at a rate of LL3,900 to the dollar, which will enable Librairie Antoine to keep its prices “at a relatively low level until the end of 2020.”
Before the current lockdown, Book Bazaar’s Mariam Kanaan reported an uptick in sales, with customers looking for books on politics. In contrast, Hamra’s Dar al-Rafidain customers were looking for novels and fiction.
“They don’t want to read about plagues,” said Dima, the bookshop assistant. “They want to escape.”
Naufal said Librairie Antoine stores had seen increased demand for children’s books and would continue to provide an online sales service during lockdown.
In past years, it was expected that the internet and high rents would bring about the demise of the hardcopy book and the brick-and-mortar bookstore. The challenges that bookstore owners could not have anticipated were economic and financial crises, a pandemic and a catastrophic port blast.
It’s a dystopia many hope can be overcome.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
