Incident in Book Vivant: Has being a bookseller become a risky profession?

What is a bookstore for? Basically to read. And reading is, in essence, changing the routine of becoming for a pleasant company. Among other things because “the pen is the language of the soul” (Cervantes) and “literature will always be an expedition to the truth” (Kafka). This is because “of the various instruments invented by man, the most amazing is the book; all the others are extensions of his body, only the book is an extension of imagination and memory ”(Borges). Perhaps that is why there are those who say that “learning to read is the most important thing that has happened to me in life” (Vargas Llosa) since “the book is strength, it is value, it is food; torch of thought and source of love ”(Rubén Darío).

But the reality is often more cruel, even with these harmless and wise rigging. Not surprisingly, the Nobel Prize winner for literature André Gide once raised a crucial question: “”. Which happened a few days ago at the bookstore Living Book of San Isidro when two women starred in such a shameful situation that it led us to rethink the bookseller trade: will it be a high-risk occupation? That is, how many times have you had to face intolerance, inappropriate comments, questioning of certain titles or of certain activities in your premises? And how have they assumed complex discussions with obtuse clients?

Two ladies converse

“In truth, being a bookseller often leads you to converse with strangers about issues that can be complex or delicate. Talking about books leads you to talk about ideas, theories, political positions, etc. And, of course, you don’t always agree with what these people think. But that’s what the work of booksellers is about, making the different ideological positions on any subject available to the public. A bookstore should be a meeting point, not a disagreement. It is really ridiculous to want to censor bookstores or authors.”, Says Soledad Cunliffe, from La Rebelde de Barranco.

Where they did not have a good time was very close to there, in Compulsive Pleasures, the first bookstore in Peru dedicated only to women’s literature. “Although we only opened at the end of February,”, Says Verónica Villarán. “In March they gave us a super long note on Trade that had hundreds of reactions and comments, most of them aggressive. From saying that we were discriminatory or exclusive to feminazis or ‘badly taken’. I was surprised and overwhelmed. I did not expect the bounce of the note or the visceral of the reactions. I think there is a lot of frustration and anger in those who take the time to spit so much anger. If they had taken more time to read the note and with less prejudice to know something more about the project, perhaps they would have seen something different there, yes, but not at all discriminating”.

And he adds: “Already in the bookstore, things have been different. When we say that there are only books written by women, the surprise usually turns into interest, curiosity and joy. Only a couple of times have we been told why we discriminate against men. I believe that bookstores have the potential to be real meeting places between different people and what is up to us booksellers is to talk, tell, share why we make our decisions, what we believe in and listen to those who come to know also about their interests (literary, in principle, but many times it is more than that). I really enjoy the rookie book experience. I continue to believe in dialogue and in meeting. ”.

Topics and agents

“The serious problem of book agents, especially those of us who face the final public, lies more in the invisibility of the bookseller’s trade, in the sense that the profile, knowledge and reception we have is not recognized Many of the book professionals as part of the mediation of reading through suggestions, the work of catalogs that allow the clients of the bookstore to inform about the news. Like any trade that has the customer service factor, there is a risk of incidents with people who are in altered states or who are not predisposed to a good attitude for different reasons”, Says Julio César Zavala, owner of the Libre Scene bookstore.

“In my case, having a bookstore that seeks to disseminate the inclusion of different agents and themes (feminist literature, LGTB, etc.), we have received comments against this content, either by clients or through social networks. We understand this attitude as part of the misunderstanding that a certain part of society has and we understand that only education can achieve a change, achieve the respect and tolerance that we need to spread. Regarding the incident at the Book Vivant bookstore, we sympathize with this type of attitudes, we communicate with some colleagues from the bookstore, who are also friends and we hope that these bad times will serve to make this noble profession visible”He adds.

For his part, Paco Sanseviero, from El Virrey, reports a series of daily incidents. “There is no shortage of those who ask to remove Hitler’s biographies or Mónica Torrejón’s book because, they say, it is not appropriate for girls. They also questioned the presence of Anahí Durand at the presentation of Gálvez Olaechea’s book. They also did not approve of the photo that Sagasti took in the bookstore. Once a singer arrived who had a phobia of Mafalda. And things like that”. We also contacted Guillermo Rivas, the bookseller and wine taster at Bon Vivant, to ask us more than his Twitter: “Bookstores are a space for meeting and conversation, the objective of every bookstore is to have all possible books of all thoughts and propose to people that they read what they want and think what they want, always respecting the thoughts of others”.

Unfortunately, until the closing of this article, he did not have time to speak to us about the matter. In any case, everything indicates that, indeed, being a bookseller in Peru matters more than being a literary guide. It is only to be hoped that there is no place for Heine’s helpful thesis: “”. Neither in these nor in other venues.