Bookstores are simple in appearance and contain a lot of money, which is quite hidden in the city. Pushing open the mottled wooden door, time seems to go back seventy years.
The plump and charming Shanghai girl, the detailed portrait of the beauty of the Republic of China hanging high, the comic books scattered at the feet of customers, and the traditional titles of China written from right to left on the map all seem to want to hypnotize the customers who come here, make people miss their childhood and yearn for the most charming and character Shanghai where their ancestors lived.
This is an architectural bookstore. It is said that the owner is not a student of architecture, but a publisher who loves architecture. His various collections are randomly placed in every corner of the store, but they are not messy and seem not afraid of being stolen.
After experiencing the war years, or witnessing the changes of the times, every collection can tell a story, as if only you are quiet can you hear its whispers and stories.
Compared with clusters of new books, more books in the store have been turned over with damaged covers and rotten corners. But they are still carefully held in the hands of the architects who came here, just like finding a treasure.
The leisure of playing chess with grandpa in the courtyard, the thrill of wild cats jumping in from the tiger window in the middle of the night, and the caution of climbing into the attic … were all spent in the bookstore. All afternoon, those memories of the old house kept emerging.
Unfortunately, as a local who is not interested in Shanghai's past, coupled with poor writing, even if its emotional appeal fascinates me, it can't be presented truthfully. After going home, I searched the internet and didn't find much information about the bookstore. Maybe all the people who have read it, like me, feel that the expression of words is pale and weak, and I am afraid it has desecrated its charm.